A survey during last month’s Safeguarding Awareness Week revealed that 73 per cent of school staff feel there are more safeguarding concerns raised now than this time last year.

Given headlines about worsening attendance and increasing concerns about anxiety and other mental health concerns, this is not very surprising - but is very worrying.

As such, it is vitally important for designated safeguarding leads (DSLs) and school leadership teams to ensure that they have the systems and processes in place to handle this growing number of referrals and to support staff in dealing effectively with safeguarding concerns so appropriate action is taken.

Here are some key strategies that can help to ensure that every concern raised is addressed.

1. Staff training

With the number of concerns rising, staff may have less time to make sure that each one is dealt with correctly and that the right protocol is followed. 

This makes it more important than ever that there is ongoing and effective staff training on how to spot safeguarding and pastoral concerns, and how to deal with such concerns when they arise. 

This training does not have to be time consuming or expensive but could take the form of a regular slot with the DSL during the weekly staff meeting, for example.

The best training is often done in the form of scenarios, with staff being asked to think about what they would do in a certain situation rather than just having the safeguarding policy read to them.  

Many schools may do this already but it is clear that many staff would welcome more training, with the survey also showing that 39 per cent of school staff don’t feel there is sufficient guidance on how to deal with allegations of sexual harassment and violence.

2. Spread the workload

The Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance still talks about the DSL as an individual, but increasingly schools have a team of safeguarding leads so one individual is not left dealing with an ever-mounting caseload.

As such, it is very important that schools, unless they are very small, have a number of people who are trained as DSLs and who engage with safeguarding concerns as they arise and make referrals as required. 

Similarly, the responsibility of supporting students can also be spread. Teacher mentors can be invaluable here, and for more minor pastoral concerns you can train older students to be mentors.

3. Use technology effectively

Most schools now use a digital platform to record safeguarding and pastoral concerns. These can be invaluable in supporting staff so that their safeguarding workload is made more manageable - but it is important that this technology is used effectively and with purpose.

For instance, schools should ensure that, as much as possible, their digital safeguarding platform is integrated with the other software that the school uses so that staff are not having to enter information more than once.

It is also important that staff are given clear protocols for how to enter concerns concisely and objectively with the correct tags and categories. 

This is important as logged incidents can then be used to spot trends and perhaps pre-empt concerns. For example, if it looks like there is a pattern of bullying incidents happening in a particular part of the school, a member of staff could be put on duty there or the layout of that part of the school changed to stop this pattern recurring. 

To help with this, some schools employ someone, often in the admin team, to oversee their safeguarding platform to ensure that concerns are logged and categorised correctly and that the platform is being used correctly.

4. Clear prioritisation strategies

Given how stretched resources can become, it is important that safeguarding teams are really clear about how they will prioritise concerns, particularly at busy times. 

Clearly, serious safeguarding concerns that require referral always need addressing straightaway, but there will also be others that arise that may be less serious or not time sensitive. If there is a clear protocol for how concerns are prioritised then that can help to ensure that the safeguarding team stays on top of things.

A simple numbering or colour-coding system (such as red - amber - green) can make it clear which level of support a particular concern needs in the first instance.

5. Seek help from others

While social services, Camhs and the police are always stretched, there may be other council organisations that can help with supporting students. Numerous charities also support students with mental health concerns or help with safeguarding education. 

One useful site is Kooth, an organisation that works with the NHS to provide anonymous online mental health support for young people around the country. It provides a quick and easy platform for students to access and get support on any smart device.

Schools could also see what they can do to support each other - those in trusts may have that benefit already but it is still worth engaging with schools in your local area regardless of trust or local authority set-up to share local concerns or issues, such as if there is a gang operating in the area.

6. Tackle the problem at the source

Of course, the best way to reduce workload is to have less work. Schools should always be looking to see what they can do to pre-empt safeguarding concerns and reduce their number - chiefly by ensuring that PSHE and relationships and sex education lessons are used to educate children about potential safeguarding issues such as misuse of technology or misuse of drugs or alcohol. 

As such, while concerns may be rising and this takes up more time in this area, schools must not overlook the importance of building strong foundations for pupils to be secure in school.

7. The silver lining of rising concerns

As part of creating that culture, schools must ensure that pupils are made to feel confident they can report concerns. This is not always the case, though, with the survey also finding that 20 per cent of staff don’t think pupils feel confident reporting concerns to a member of school staff.

However, as concerns rise, it is possible to imagine that as schools become focused on reducing numbers, staff feel pressure to reduce the number of reported concerns - and so issues that should be flagged are ignored and pupils stop feeling confident in reporting an issue. 

As such, any school seeing an increase in safeguarding concerns should, on one level, welcome this as evidence that pupils have the confidence to come forward.

While it does create more work, it is far better to be aware of the issues that exist so you can work to support students, rather than be unaware of them and for children to be dealing with issues alone.

Luke Ramsden is the deputy head of an independent senior school and chair of trustees of the Schools Consent Project