Safeguarding Awareness Week 2026
Safeguarding Awareness Week 2026, brings together educators, safeguarding professionals and school leaders from across the UK and around the world to help define what proactive safeguarding looks like in practice.
This year’s focus is on moving beyond compliance towards culture; building systems, confidence and shared responsibility that help schools act early, consistently and effectively.
Why this matters
Safeguarding in schools is becoming more complex, not because schools care less, but because the landscape has changed.
New risks, digital harms, increasing vulnerability and rising workload mean that minimum compliance alone is no longer enough. Schools need:
- Clear, consistent systems
- Confident staff
- Strong leadership oversight
- Practical tools that support day-to-day decision-making
Safeguarding Awareness Week 2026 exists to support schools to build safeguarding cultures that are proactive, not reactive.
When is Safeguarding Awareness Week?
| Event | Date | Location |
| Safeguarding Awareness Week 2026 | 18-22 May 2026 | Online |
The 2026 safeguarding survey
Your insight shapes the future of safeguarding
The Tes Safeguarding Survey 2026 is the foundation of this campaign.
By sharing your experience, you are helping to:
- Define what safeguarding best practice looks like in 2026
- Identify what supports proactive safeguarding culture
- Shape evidence-based guidance and practical tools
- Influence charter recommendations and policy conversations
The survey takes around 10 minutes to complete and is open to:
- Teachers
- Safeguarding / child protection leads
- School leaders
- Governors and trustees
- School staff across all roles
What we’re producing
Insights from the survey will inform a suite of resources designed to genuinely support schools:
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Safeguarding reports (2026)
- UK flagship report
- International Schools (British & IB) report
- Global report
- Australia report
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New research and frameworks
- Safeguarding Confidence Index
- Safeguarding Culture Maturity Model
- 2026 safeguarding trends analysis
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Practical support for schools
- Proactive safeguarding toolkits
- Behaviour, misogyny and online harms guidance
- Case studies from schools demonstrating best practice
- Leadership and DSL wellbeing insights
From compliance to culture
What does proactive safeguarding actually mean?
Proactive safeguarding culture is not about doing more, it’s about doing things earlier, more consistently and with greater confidence.
It means:
- Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility
- Systems support staff, rather than creating burden
- Data is used to spot patterns early
- DSLs are supported to lead strategically
- Practice is consistent, not dependent on individuals
Safeguarding Awareness Week 2026 is about helping schools take practical steps towards this future.
Safety, standards and charters
This year’s campaign will also explore:
- The case for greater consistency in safeguarding standards
- A UK Safeguarding Best Practice Charter
- Global safeguarding principles for international schools
These recommendations will be grounded in real school experience and informed directly by survey responses.
Sign up for updates
Register your interest in the 2026 report.
How Tes supports schools
Tes works with thousands of schools worldwide to support safeguarding through:
Previous Safeguarding Awareness Week themes
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2025 - Empowering and protecting students in a digital world
In 2025, we focused on Empowering and protecting students in a digital world, exploring the latest challenges in online safety and digital safeguarding in schools.
Although the week has ended, you can still access a wide range of resources and catch up on all our expert-led events, practical tools and insights.
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2024 - Everyone has a right to feel safe
In 2024, our campaign emphasised that everyone has the right to feel safe. We focused on providing schools with guidance and support to make their environments as safe as possible. As part of this effort, we heard from industry experts, shared insights from the sector, and highlighted outstanding safeguarding practices both in the UK and internationally.
You can download our 2024 safeguarding survey, watch a panel discussion with three safeguarding experts, access free resources, and explore our informative blogs.
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2023 - SPEAK, SHOUT, SHARE
Encouraging children and young people to talk to a trusted adult in school is an essential part of a good safeguarding strategy. But how can you ensure your students know who to speak to and feel confident in doing so? And how do you make sure your colleagues know what to do when a child does confide in them?
Watch our free Live Lesson with NSPCC, download our classroom resources, explore our useful blogs and more, to help keep everybody in your school safe.
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2022 - Everyone has a right to feel safe
Following reports in the rise of sexual harassment in schools, our first safeguarding awareness week examined what it means to feel safe and what schools can do to protect all their students.
See how we raised awareness during the week, watch recordings of our free webinars with leading experts, view the results of our safeguarding week survey, download our classroom activity sheet, access resources from our safeguarding experts, and more, by visiting our Safeguarding Awareness Week 2022 page.
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Join the movement
Safeguarding Awareness Week 2026 is about collaboration, not judgement.
Whether you work directly with pupils, lead safeguarding, sit on a governing board or support schools in another role; your experience matters.
By taking part, you are helping to shape a safer, more proactive future for schools and the children they serve.