Course Introduction
This advanced training course is designed for executive leaders, headteachers, and senior safeguarding leads who play a pivotal role in shaping and overseeing safeguarding practices across educational settings. With a strong focus on strategic leadership, the course explores how schools can work effectively within multi-agency partnerships to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children.
Participants will deepen their understanding of their statutory responsibilities, develop leadership approaches to drive a culture of safeguarding, and strengthen collaboration with key external agencies. This course supports leaders in making informed decisions, influencing safeguarding systems, and embedding effective practices across their organisations.
Benefits of the course
- Strengthen participants’ strategic understanding of statutory safeguarding requirements in educational and multi-agency contexts.
- Enable executive leaders to confidently lead and quality assure safeguarding systems across schools, ensuring compliance with national legislation and partnership expectations.
- Equip leaders with the skills to interrogate safeguarding audits, develop improvement plans, and ensure governance oversight is child-centred and
- Clarify the strategic role of headteachers and DSLs in multi-agency processes including Section 47 enquiries, MASH referrals, and LADO involvement.
- Embed learning from serious case reviews, local safeguarding partnerships, and national education policy to drive a culture of continuous improvement.
Topics Covered
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, delegates will be able to:
Strategic Safeguarding Leadership
- Apply Section 11 Children Act duties to the MAT context and demonstrate how strategic safeguarding responsibilities are discharged.
- Explain the relationship between governance, DSL practice, and regulatory expectations including Ofsted and KCSIE.
- Develop, review, and lead safeguarding audits, risk registers, and improvement plans that reflect the latest national learning and inspection frameworks.
- Analyse safeguarding data and reports to inform Board-level assurance and
Multi-Agency Working and Education Role
- Describe how headteachers and Trust leaders contribute to multi-agency thresholds, referrals, and escalations.
- Lead safeguarding partnerships with confidence, including liaison with children’s services, LADO, police, and health services.
- Understand the role of education in strategy meetings, case reviews, and escalation procedures including professional challenge.
Education-Focused Safeguarding Practice
- Articulate the responsibilities of DSLs and senior leaders under KCSIE and support effective compliance across all schools.
- Recognise and respond to child protection themes including exploitation, harmful sexual behaviour, and domestic abuse.
- Ensure systems are in place for supervision, training, safer recruitment, and recording of low-level concerns.
- Embed a reflective and learning culture that enhances outcomes for children and supports staff accountability and resilience.
Course Description
This one-day complex course (formally known as level 4) will allow participants to deepen their understanding of their statutory responsibilities, develop leadership approaches to drive a culture of safeguarding, and strengthen collaboration with key external agencies. This course supports leaders in making informed decisions, influencing safeguarding systems, and embedding effective practices across their organisations.
This course is fully aligned with:
- Working Together to Safeguard Children
- Keeping Children Safe in Education
- Section 11 Children Act 2004 (Organisational duties)
- The Children’s Social Care National Framework (2023) and Built on Love Reforms
- Ofsted
It supports compliance with the expectation that senior leaders:
- Understand their legal and strategic safeguarding responsibilities
- Contribute confidently to multi-agency systems, including safeguarding audits and serious case learning
- Create a safeguarding culture where systems are robust, reviewed, and consistently applied across educational settings
Course Outcomes
See Topics Covered
Who The Course is For
Course Aimed at –Executive team members, headteachers, and senior safeguarding leads responsible for leading or overseeing safeguarding practice across schools and contributing to multi-agency arrangements.
Technical Requirements
Laptop with audio and video access is required for all virtual training.
