Safeguarding is more than a role, it’s a responsibility that involves protecting the most vulnerable and ensuring their safety and well-being. With this level of responsibility come challenges that test our compassion, resilience and leadership.
Here are five of the greatest challenges safeguarding leaders face and how to overcome them.
1) Keeping up with changes to legislation
In just 12 months, there have been at least twenty updates to the key documents safeguarding leaders rely on. Implementing these changes in a timely manner is essential, but it can also be time-consuming and, at times, overwhelming.
Solution? Subscribe to regular updates and newsletters from authorities and reputable safeguarding organisations. Build networks with your local safeguarding partners and maintain regular communication. Attend regular training and masterclasses to help you stay informed.
2) Managing increasingly complex cases
The nature of the cases that are being dealt with is ever-changing and disclosures are rarely easy to navigate. As a safeguarding lead, you will be expected to make judgements daily about the appropriate course of action to support and protect the most vulnerable through increasingly traumatic incidents.
Solution? Prioritise early intervention and foster strong partnerships through multi-agency collaboration. Ensure a clear rationale for decision-making and effective management and review processes for cases.
3) Balancing policy with empathy
Safeguarding and child protection policies are essential for compliance, providing a structure to support decision-making. However, safeguarding also requires empathy, compassion, and a person-centered approach, therefore, policies must be relevant, accessible and effective.
Solution? Ensure that policies are well written and well implemented. Provide regular training for staff looking at real-life situations and scenarios to bridge the compliance-compassion gap.
4) Ensuring effective partnership working
Multi- agency partnerships are essential to ensure the most effective response for our most vulnerable young people. However, this is the aspect of safeguarding leadership that often proves the most frustrating and difficult.
Solution? Maintain strong relationships with partners through regular meetings. Develop clear
protocols and frameworks for communication and information sharing.
5) Managing workloads and burnout
Safeguarding leaders often have multiple responsibilities and spend their days managing crises. The emotional nature of the work and the pressures involved can lead to emotional, mental, and physical strain, creating a serious risk of burnout.
Solution? Prioritise self-care for you and your staff. Promote a culture in the workplace
that helps protect staff from vicarious trauma through realistic goal setting and effective management of workloads. Seek supervision and train staff as Mental Health First Aiders.
Written by Kristy Pascoe.