Safeguarding Isn’t a Department — It’s Everyone’s Business
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In too many services, safeguarding sits with “the designated person” — while everyone else assumes it’s someone else’s job. But safeguarding works best when it’s shared, embedded, and owned by the whole team. And that’s exactly what commissioners are looking for in tenders: shared responsibility, not box-ticking.
🌍 Everyone Has a Role to Play
It’s not enough for one person to hold safeguarding knowledge. To create a genuine safeguarding culture, every staff member should:
- Understand what safeguarding looks like in their role
- Feel confident raising concerns — and believe they’ll be acted on
- Know how to respond to disclosures, even informally
This doesn’t mean everyone is a safeguarding expert. It means everyone knows their part in creating a safe environment.
🛠️ How to Build a Shared Culture
Here are some ways providers embed whole-team safeguarding culture:
- Making safeguarding a standing item in every team meeting
- Encouraging staff to reflect on safeguarding scenarios together
- Having open discussions about near-misses or concerns (not just logging them)
- Appointing ‘safeguarding champions’ at all levels
When staff regularly discuss real-world dilemmas, safeguarding becomes part of how they think — not just what they’re trained on.
📢 Tell This Story in Tenders
Use your bid responses to show how safeguarding is:
- Reinforced in supervision, training, audits, and handovers
- Part of how staff are supported to reflect and speak up
- Owned by leaders, managers, and frontline teams alike
Commissioners want assurance that your service won't depend on one individual — they want to see a sustainable culture of vigilance and accountability.