Safeguarding Network

Safeguarding Network Safeguarding support for Designated Safeguarding Leads, training, audits & more! safeguarding.network

Established in 2017, the founding team behind Safeguarding Network are John Woodhouse & Andrew Martin. We are two social workers, who have over 40 years combined experience in working with children and young people. We are concerned that there is an increasing requirement on schools to fill the void left by decreasing social care budgets, with little by way of support particularly when something i

s not deemed to meet the social care thresholds. Head teachers repeatedly tell us that they are teachers, not social workers, and that they feel ill equipped to lead the school in relation to safeguarding responsibilities. The role of designated safeguarding lead is often in addition to an already busy work day, and the requirement of Keeping Children Safe in Education to ensure that staff are “regularly updated” is significant. Safeguarding Network is therefore designed with the aim of reducing this burden.

If you have an interest in child safeguarding, it can’t have escaped your notice that there have been A LOT of new items...
02/09/2026

If you have an interest in child safeguarding, it can’t have escaped your notice that there have been A LOT of new items of law and guidance during the past 12 months:

- Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026
- Crime and Policing Act 2026
- Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026
- Relationships and s*x education (RSE) and health education (RSHE)
- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026
- Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework
- Restrictive interventions, including use of reasonable force, in schools
- School suspensions and permanent exclusions

Even the most attentive of us might struggle to keep track of what these pieces mean in practice – especially when some propositions have been spoken about for a long time but never actually made it into legislation until now.

To help you get up to speed, we have written a comprehensive explainer guide to all of the new legislation and guidance that is relevant to the safeguarding of children and young people.

Read the article, and download a copy to share with your colleagues: https://zurl.co/mWUhC

The DfE has published the final version of KCSiE 2026. The statutory guidance takes immediate effect.Read it here: https...
01/09/2026

The DfE has published the final version of KCSiE 2026. The statutory guidance takes immediate effect.

Read it here: https://zurl.co/DqLBN

Last call to book your free place on September 2nd's FREE KCSiE Safeguarding Update and Changes WebinarKCSIE 2026 will c...
01/09/2026

Last call to book your free place on September 2nd's FREE KCSiE Safeguarding Update and Changes Webinar

KCSIE 2026 will come into force on 1 September 2026.

The changes to KCSiE this year are the most significant for several years, including changes brought about by Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 and the enactment of the Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Act. It also integrates the much-awaited guidance around children who are questioning their gender.

There are also changes in relation to what information all staff in schools and colleges are expected to know; how settings should understand online harms, including those involving AI; and the identification and prevention of child-on-child abuse.

Book your free seat now: https://zurl.co/VhWam

Children questioning their gender guidance has been incorporated into Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 for consul...
31/08/2026

Children questioning their gender guidance has been incorporated into Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 for consultation.

DSLs will be taking significant responsibility in this area and once the guidance has been issued in September Safeguarding Network will be providing careful and balanced support on implementation. Come along to our webinar with Andrew Martin, Director, Safeguarding Network

All registrants will be able to view a recording of the session and receive a copy of the slides.

Date and time: 17th September, 4pm - 5pm

Members: Free
Non-members: £10 + VAT

Book now: https://zurl.co/zp9ei

One week to book your free place on September 2nd's FREE KCSiE Safeguarding Update and Changes WebinarKCSIE 2026 will co...
28/08/2026

One week to book your free place on September 2nd's FREE KCSiE Safeguarding Update and Changes Webinar

KCSIE 2026 will come into force on 1 September 2026.

The changes to KCSiE this year are the most significant for several years, including changes brought about by Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 and the enactment of the Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Act. It also integrates the much-awaited guidance around children who are questioning their gender.

There are also changes in relation to what information all staff in schools and colleges are expected to know; how settings should understand online harms, including those involving AI; and the identification and prevention of child-on-child abuse.

Book your free seat now: https://zurl.co/4Ra4p

Are you making a difference to the lives of the children and young people you work with? Safeguarding Network gives you ...
27/08/2026

Are you making a difference to the lives of the children and young people you work with? Safeguarding Network gives you the tools, knowledge, and confidence to create a culture where safeguarding isn’t just a policy, it’s a daily practice. Because when we work together, we make a real difference.

Our expert-led DSL training courses are designed for newly appointed leads, their teams, those already in the role wanting to enhance knowledge and confidence, and those in supervisory roles - providing practical support every step of the way. You’ll feel equipped, empowered, and ready to keep children safe in your setting.

Explore our DSL-focused courses and meet your safeguarding responsibility head on.

Find out more about our DSL support training courses: https://zurl.co/nvAub

Children referred to the Prevent programme, published in August 2026, examines the experiences of children referred to P...
26/08/2026

Children referred to the Prevent programme, published in August 2026, examines the experiences of children referred to Prevent and highlights a significant change in those referrals.

This new report from the Children’s Commissioner for England raises some very difficult questions about what happens when professionals are seriously worried about a child but that child does not fit the service they are referred to...

Read our thoughts: https://zurl.co/MPSMe

The White Paper Cutting Youth Crime. Changing Young Lives is the youth justice system reform and delivery plan published...
25/08/2026

The White Paper Cutting Youth Crime. Changing Young Lives is the youth justice system reform and delivery plan published by the Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, providing a blueprint for earlier intervention, more targeted support, and tackling the root causes of youth crime. The long-term aim is to create safer communities and fewer victims and perpetrators of youth crime.

He stated that many of the children in the justice system have been known to services long before they committed any crimes. “Their lives have often been shaped by instability, trauma and neglect – the kind of childhood most of us could barely imagine”. These children would inevitably be in our schools, and it is important that we look at how school staff can be aware of these pupils in order to support and safeguard those who are already in the youth justice system or at risk of becoming first time entrants.

This plan includes piloting new Youth Intervention Courts, uniting judges, youth justice services and specialist support to tackle the drivers of offending. They will also provide intensive supervision and tailored interventions, including health or educational requirements. Parents and carers will also face greater responsibility for children who commit crime or cause anti-social behaviour, recognising the vital role families play in reducing reoffending.

Lammy’s comments make clear that youth crime is underpinned by safeguarding issues, and so the DSL should have a central role in identifying young people early, working with families and coordinating interventions to help divert young people from entrapment and exploitation in criminality. One area in the Foreword to the report is particularly relevant to schools and colleges as the agency who arguably know most young people the best.

The paper explores in depth and through extensive research what poses the biggest risk to pupils, and these are summarised in this article.

Read the blog: https://zurl.co/QUPZ6

Last call for August 25th's FREE KCSiE Safeguarding Update and Changes WebinarKCSIE 2026 will come into force on 1 Septe...
24/08/2026

Last call for August 25th's FREE KCSiE Safeguarding Update and Changes Webinar

KCSIE 2026 will come into force on 1 September 2026. The DfE's ‘for information’ versions are intended to provide schools with details on the changes in advance of the implementation date.

The changes to KCSiE this year are the most significant for several years, including changes brought about by Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 and the enactment of the Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Act. It also integrates the much-awaited guidance around children who are questioning their gender.

There are also changes in relation to what information all staff in schools and colleges are expected to know; how settings should understand online harms, including those involving AI; and the identification and prevention of child-on-child abuse.

Choose your date and book your fee seat now: https://zurl.co/vrAv2

From September 2026 schools will be expected to be a “mobile phone free" environment by default, with anything other tha...
21/08/2026

From September 2026 schools will be expected to be a “mobile phone free" environment by default, with anything other than this being an exception only. Behaviour policies will need to be reviewed to reflect this change, and staff should be clear and confident in the way that it is communicated to parents and carers. In reality, this is going to be a big shift for pupils as they see mobile phone use (specifically smart phone use) disappear from their classrooms, corridors, and playgrounds.

Melissa Pollard looks at the areas of focus for educational settings. As schools prepare for September, each setting will need to adopt an approach that reflects its unique context, recognising that a solution effective in one school may not be appropriate in another.

Read the blog: https://zurl.co/Quu5w

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