Is Your Safeguarding Training Still Up to Date?

Let’s say you delivered a full-staff safeguarding INSET back in September. It probably felt like a solid start to the academic year — everyone trained, paperwork filed, boxes ticked.

But now it’s May.

Can you clearly recall the KCSIE 2024 updates? If not, how likely is it that your staff remember every detail from a one-off session eight months ago?

Because when a pupil is at risk, there’s no checklist handed out. There’s no script to follow. Staff need to notice the signs, trust their instincts and respond in real time — often without warning and sometimes without precedent.

Is Once-a-Year Safeguarding Training Enough for Staff Confidence?

Many schools still rely on a single safeguarding INSET session each September. That session absolutely matters. It ensures consistency, clarity and compliance with KCSIE staff training requirements.

But here's the problem: once-a-year safeguarding training doesn’t build confidence. For most schools, it’s only the beginning.

Once the term gets going, it’s easy for that training to fade into the background. There’s so much else competing for attention — new routines, pupil needs, changing priorities. Even well-planned sessions can be overtaken by the pace of the school year.

Why safeguarding CPD needs repetition

Safeguarding training works best when it’s revisited little and often, not treated as a one-off. Just like with teaching and learning, repetition and regular retrieval help it stick. Just like with curriculum learning, safeguarding knowledge sticks best when it’s:

• Revisited regularly
• Explored in context
• Retrieved and applied over time

That’s why drip feed safeguarding training — small, consistent updates across the year — is one of the most effective ways to support staff.

🟡 Need ideas for embedding this into your CPD calendar? Try our Termly Training Packs, designed to support DSLs with ready-made, time-saving content.

What does KCSIE expect when it comes to staff training?

KCSIE 2024 is clear:

“All staff should receive safeguarding and child protection (including online safety) training at induction. The training should be regularly updated… all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection (including online safety) updates (for example, via email, e-bulletins, and staff meetings), as required, and at least annually...”

That word — updates — is key.

Regular updates don’t need to be formal twilight sessions. They can be:

• A five-minute safeguarding scenario in a weekly briefing
• A Quick Quiz shared by email
• A snapshot prompt on lesser-known safeguarding topics
• A discussion question in a team meeting

This kind of drip feed safeguarding training:

• Reinforces learning over time
• Helps staff feel confident, not overwhelmed
• Signals that safeguarding is an everyday priority — not a box-ticking exercise

Drip feed safeguarding training not only supports retention but also signals that safeguarding is part of everyday school life, not a one-time event.

🧩 Looking for ready-to-use content? Download a Free Safeguarding Scenario to start a staff conversation this week.

What Happens When the Safeguarding Concern Is Something Staff Haven’t Seen Before?

Not every concern is obvious. And not every risk is familiar. Your staff may feel confident around issues they’ve seen first-hand, but hesitate when faced with something they’ve only heard about once in training. That’s understandable.

Less common, but high-risk issues include:

• ‘Honour’-based abuse
• Criminal exploitation and cybercrime
• Online coercion or blackmail
• Fabricated or induced illness (FII)
• Radicalisation and extremism
• Serious youth violence

These issues don’t always come with obvious signs so they rely on staff recognising subtleties, noticing patterns and asking the right questions. That’s hard to do without regular, open conversation.

Scenario-based safeguarding CPD helps. It creates space to think aloud, ask questions and build confidence. It also makes it easier to talk about the things that feel hardest — including child sexual abuse — in a safe, professional way.

This kind of safeguarding training isn’t about testing knowledge. It’s about helping staff feel ready to act when it counts.

🟡 Looking for more structure? Our termly safeguarding training packs and build-your-own scenario bundles are designed to help schools embed effective, manageable CPD across the year

It’s Not About Ofsted. It’s about helping staff feel ready.

Yes, Ofsted will want to see your safeguarding training records. But it’s not inspectors who children turn to when something’s wrong. It's your staff. Your staff are the ones pupils open up to, and they’re the ones who notice when something doesn’t feel right.

Your teachers, TAs, admin team and midday supervisors are the ones who:

• Hear the casual disclosure
• Notice the subtle change in behaviour
• Piece together the small signs that no one else has seen

The real question isn’t whether your training would hold up in an inspection. It’s whether it would hold up in the moments that matter — when a pupil makes a comment, a friend shares a worry or a small clue needs to be pieced together. Find out more about effective safeguarding monitoring in our blog.

Safeguarding confidence is built through small, steady steps. A short scenario here. A quick refresher there. Space for discussion and support.

Ready to Refresh Your Approach?

If it’s been a while since your staff revisited lesser-known safeguarding risks, or had time to talk through what they’d do, now is the perfect time to start. 

Scenario-based and drip feed safeguarding training supports that confidence. It turns knowledge into habits. It opens space for practice. And it helps staff feel ready — not just responsible.

Invest in those moments.

Not for the sake of paperwork.
But for the pupils who might need your staff’s attention, instincts, and action — on an ordinary day, at an unexpected time.

You can find further support in our packs: