New DfE Child Friendly Guide to Safeguarding
The Department for Education has published a new guide that aims to make safeguarding easier for children and young people to understand. This is a more accessible version of Working Together to Safeguard Children, written with young readers in mind.
A Guide to Safeguarding for Children and Young People
The resource, titled A Guide to Safeguarding for Children and Young People, includes a booklet and a short animation. It explains, in straightforward terms, how adults like teachers, police officers, doctors, and social workers work together when there are concerns about a child’s safety or wellbeing.
This is a welcome development. For years, children have said they want to be better informed when professionals are involved in their lives. They have also said they want to feel heard, not just helped. The guide responds to that by encouraging children to speak up if something’s wrong and informing them who they can turn to for help and support.
The language used throughout the guide is simple without being patronising, and the information is presented in a way that is accessible and makes sense to young people. It answers common questions children might have about safeguarding - what it means, why adults sometimes need to get involved, and how decisions are made.
- SSS Learning Training Course – Safeguarding & Child Protection for Staff in Regulated Activity
- SSS Learning's Complete Safeguarding Training Suite
A useful tool for Schools and Academies
Schools, DSLs, and other professionals working with children may find this a useful tool. It could be used as part of a PSHE lesson, in pastoral sessions, or simply shared with a child who is involved in a safeguarding process. Both the guide and video are free to access.
Whatever the setting, it offers a chance to open up honest, age-appropriate conversations about safety and support. Listening to children and making space for their voices isn’t just good practice, it is essential. Resources like this help make that possible.
We encourage all safeguarding leads and professionals to take a look, share it with their teams, and most importantly, with the young people they support.
SSS Learning
23 July 2025
