Features

Safeguarding in 2024: Identifying new priorities

In the first of a four-part series, Rachel Buckler, a trainer and consultant specialising in safeguarding, looks at ways to strengthen safe practices in the early years workforce.
Illustration: Amanda Hutt
Illustration: Amanda Hutt

Reflecting upon safeguarding and child protection contexts this past year has presented a range of emerging themes. While challenges concerning risks to children prevail, inconsistent or poor engagement between early years leaders and social care remains a key feature. We have also seen an increasing amount of identified risks to children from within the workforce and a growing number of incidents which have resulted in child deaths or serious injury.

Safeguarding conversations and discussions taking place currently seem to be dominated by a number of significant and repetitive themes:

It is important to recognise the rarity of these areas standing alone or occurring in isolation. This is not just because they are interlinked, rather because they reflect a poor culture that lacks a child-centred perspective.

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