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When safeguarding guidance changes, nursery leaders have decisions to make. Which policies need reviewing? What does the team need to understand? How will leaders know that the changes are being followed when the nursery is busy?
The EYFS framework has strengthened welfare and safeguarding requirements, and Ofsted has clarified how inspectors consider safeguarding and the quality of children’s care within the early years inspection toolkit. The Information Sharing Duty guidance has also been published, adding to the guidance leaders need to consider.
These changes give leaders an opportunity to look beyond whether documents have been updated. Do practitioners understand what has changed? Can they explain what they would do? Does the practice seen during a busy day match the setting’s policies?
A new policy can be shared in minutes. Helping a whole team understand and apply it takes more thought. Practitioners need to know which parts affect their role and have time to ask questions about situations they might encounter.
Information sharing is a good example. If a child moves to another setting and there have been safeguarding concerns, does the team understand who takes responsibility for sharing relevant information? Are records factual, accurate and sufficient to explain the concern? Do practitioners know where to find support if they are unsure what can be shared?
Leaders do not need every detail of national guidance committed to memory. They do need to know where to find it, how it connects to local safeguarding procedures and when to seek advice. A short discussion using a realistic scenario can reveal uncertainty that a signed policy acknowledgment might miss.
Safeguarding leadership is often most visible in the parts of the day that can become familiar. Mealtimes, sleep checks, nappy changes and outdoor play all offer opportunities to see whether agreed procedures are understood and followed.
Spend time watching a snack or lunch. Are practitioners washing their hands and helping children to do the same? Is food prepared and served in line with safer eating guidance? In the baby room, are sleep checks completed properly when colleagues are covering lunches and children are arriving or leaving? During an outdoor check, does a practitioner know what to do when they find a risk?
The record matters, but the action behind it matters more. Joining a practitioner for a check and asking them to talk through what they are looking for can be useful. It gives leaders a clearer picture of practice and creates a chance to support someone before a gap becomes a problem.
A practitioner may hesitate to raise a concern because they are unsure whether it is serious enough. The response they receive at that moment can influence whether they speak up again.
Leaders can help by listening carefully, taking concerns seriously and making the next steps clear. This applies to worries about a child, an unsafe routine or the behaviour of a colleague. Practitioners should know who to speak to when the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) is unavailable and how to follow the setting’s whistleblowing procedure, including when their concern involves a leader.
It is worth asking practitioners to explain the route in their own words. In settings with an owner, manager, operations team and room leaders, a generic answer about “telling someone senior” may hide confusion. Clear reporting routes give people the confidence to act when it matters.
Policies set expectations, and leaders need to know whether those expectations are happening. If a setting says it collects annual suitability declarations, are these current? If it has chosen a process for checking the DBS update service, is that process followed and recorded? Do risk assessments describe what practitioners actually do?
A procedure that is difficult to follow may need reviewing. A clear procedure that is being missed calls for support, follow-up and, where necessary, challenge. Small exceptions can become habits when they go unaddressed.
The same principle applies to training. A certificate confirms attendance; it does not show how confidently a practitioner will respond to a concern. Following training, leaders can use supervision, team meetings and short scenarios to ask what someone would notice, record and do next. This gives practitioners another opportunity to practise their thinking and helps leaders identify where further support is needed.
Safeguarding can feel like a long list of responsibilities, especially when new guidance arrives alongside the usual pressures of running a nursery. Progress often begins with one useful question: What happens here in practice?
Choose a routine to observe this week. Ask practitioners how they would raise a concern. Check that room leaders and DSLs can find the current local safeguarding thresholds. Agree one improvement, explain why it matters and return to it. Repeating that cycle helps the whole team understand that safeguarding is an everyday responsibility.
Safeguarding is just one part of the challenge of leading a nursery. Building a team that can take ownership, make good decisions and respond confidently also depends on strong management.
Our Management Mastery sessions are designed to help nursery leaders develop the practical leadership skills they need to lead their teams more effectively.
For those responsible for leading safeguarding, our EY Designated Safeguarding Lead Training provides practical support around managing concerns, referrals, recording, reporting and leading effective safeguarding practice.
Because strong safeguarding starts with people who understand their role — and leaders who create the conditions for them to do it well.
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