1.1 What is safeguarding?

What is safeguarding?

Safeguarding is the action we take to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.
It is not limited to responding when something goes wrong – it’s about creating environments where children and young people can learn, develop, and thrive safely.

How Leading Organisations Define Safeguarding

Different organisations use slightly different wording, but all share the same goal: to keep people safe from harm, abuse, and neglect.

UNICEF
“Child safeguarding is the responsibility that organisations have to make sure their staff, operations, and programmes do no harm to children.” (UNICEF – Safeguarding).

It focuses both on preventing abuse and ensuring that children’s rights are respected in all settings.

NSPCC (UK)
“Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.” (NSPCC – Safeguarding and Child Protection).

It means protecting children from abuse, preventing harm to their health or development, ensuring safe and effective care, and taking action to enable children to have the best outcomes.

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Safeguarding includes:

• Protecting children from abuse and neglect.
• Preventing harm to their physical and mental health.
• Ensuring that students grow up in circumstances consistent with safe and effective care.
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

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Child protection

Child protection is part of safeguarding. It focuses on protecting individual children who may be at risk of significant harm.

💡 Think of safeguarding as the overall commitment to safety, and child protection as what you do when a specific child may be in danger.

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Safeguarding and Adult Learners

While legal safeguarding duties most often refer to children and young people under 18, the same principles of safety, respect, and professional boundaries apply when teaching adults – especially those who may be vulnerable due to disability, health, or personal circumstances.

Adopting good safeguarding practices with adults helps you to:

• Build a culture of trust and professionalism across all your lessons.
• Maintain clear boundaries and prevent misunderstandings.
• Promote wellbeing and inclusion, supporting every learner’s right to a safe and positive learning experience.

The same behaviours that protect young learners – clear communication, professional boundaries, secure record-keeping, and a respectful teaching environment – also help create a safe and ethical space for adults.