The role of the safeguarding trustee

What the lead trustee for safeguarding needs to know and do

Both Keeping children safe in education 2024 and the Academy trust governance guide stipulate that all boards should appoint a trustee to take on specific strategic oversight of its safeguarding arrangements.

Building on our pioneering paper Safeguarding at Scale and our work around safeguarding peer reviews, this seminar will cover the principles of effective safeguarding across a trust and how the safeguarding lead trustee can develop a effective relationship with the trust designated safeguarding lead (DSL). We will explore how they can work in partnership to provide the trust board with robust assurance that appropriate safeguarding arrangements are in place, are effective, and are applied consistently and reliably across every school in the trust.

Our expert guest speaker will ensure our seminar content keeps pace with the constantly shifting and emerging risks to our children. Seminar leader Jackie Eason MBE will share lessons learned from case studies where governance has failed to keep children safe and explore examples of governance oversight that is robust and effective.

Who is it for?

This course is for people in the following roles in trusts of all sizes:

Trustees who have taken on the safeguarding lead role
Governance professionals
Trust designated safeguarding leads, to enable effective partnership working with the trust board
Trustees who wish to increase their understanding of all aspects of governance

What you will gain

The role of safeguarding lead trustee can be overwhelming and should never be overlooked; this seminar provides the essential support to make the role achievable and rewarding.

This course will give you:

Insight into the relationship you’ll need to build with the trust DSL
Guidance on the information you need that will provide assurance of standards
Ideas for the communication pathways that will allow you to hear the voice of your families and communities
An understanding of the risks and opportunities you’ll need to tackle for effective safeguarding

Meet your seminar leader

Jackie Eason MBE, Governance Consultant