Safeguarding for the childcare sector

It is the expectation that all providers have a sound understanding of safeguarding children and child protection.

Here you will find local and national guidance and information to support you in meeting your statutory duties. Leicester’s Safeguarding Children Partnership Board (LSCPB) and HM Government publications can be found via the links included on this page. These resources can be utilised by designated safeguarding leads in embedding quality safeguarding practice.

All early years providers are required to have a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).

As the designated lead, you are responsible for ensuring that all safeguarding concerns are appropriately managed, that staff feel supported in their safeguarding practice, that your settings safeguarding policies and procedures are up to date and are being effectively implemented.

Whilst this is not an exhaustive list of the tasks linked to the role of the DSL, it illustrates how far the scope of responsibilities stretch. For more information on what is expected of a DSL, see the Education Inspection Framework and EYFS statutory framework.

To ensure that you are a competent and confident DSL, it is strongly advised that you schedule time in your calendar (as frequently as you consider necessary) to explore the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership Board (LSCPB) website. There is a wealth of information available relevant to your role and being skilled in navigating the website and familiarising yourself with the content, will only improve your practice as a DSL. Not only will you keep your knowledge and understanding up to date, you will be better equipped to support your team (they too should often explore the site to keep themselves up to date), children, and their families.