Lessons Will Be Learned

This book is the only one of its kind, wholly focused on strategic safeguarding in education. This unique book combines the authors’ 75+ years of experience in child protection, safeguarding young people and vulnerable adults, into a digestible and easy to read format.

The critical role of the safeguarding lead in education and the support that they need is a key focus of the book. Targeted towards safeguarding practioners, senior leaders, governors and trust board members, the book gets to the very crux of the critical issues of governance, leadership and management in safeguarding. It also addresses the importance of multi-agency working and information sharing and the vital need to be proactive rather than reactive.

The book provides real insights and examples from safeguarding leads on the front line. It highlights how you can achieve outstanding safeguarding and child protection in your education setting, using a revolutionary new strategic framework that really works. This book is essential reading for anyone passionate about improving outcomes for young people.

Presenting a new, unique 8-point strategic model for safeguarding in education.

Too often, safeguarding in education is an unsatisfactory mix of tactical reaction, box-ticking, and interminable paper trails that leaves children at risk and staff constantly anxious.

Safeguarding and child protection challenges in education have never been more complex, nor the legal duties on schools and colleges more stringent. Child criminal exploitation, child sexual exploitation, FGM, radicalization, and online safety are all now part of the remit, along with self-harm arising from the increasing prevalence of mental health issues. The impact on children suffering such Adverse Childhood Experiences – ACEs – is life-long and life-limiting, with enormous consequences for their health and wellbeing into adulthood. The responsibility for staff in schools and colleges – and particularly for safeguarding leads – can feel overwhelming.

This book shows how to transform your organisation with a strategic framework for achieving outstanding safeguarding. It sets out an 8-point approach that will enable you to spot problems before they arise, deal with them more effectively when they do, and build a network of support both within and outside your organisation, so that you can protect both your children and your staff and let them both get on with the real work of education.