Staff safeguarding survey: find the policy vs practice gap

Your safeguarding policy says what should happen. Your staff know what does happen. A short anonymous survey is the quickest way to see the distance between the two.

A training record shows that people finished a course. It does not show whether a driver knows who to tell, or whether a teacher would report a worry about a senior colleague. Only staff can answer that, and they answer honestly only when no one can trace the reply.

The spot check in safeguarding culture or compliance reaches a handful of people. A survey reaches everyone.

Official guidance points the same way. Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) is UK statutory guidance for schools in England. It expects staff to know their designated safeguarding lead (DSL), follow the child protection policy and raise worries about how safeguarding is run.

Staff trust a survey only when they believe it is anonymous. Settle these points before you write a single question.

• Use a tool that records no names, emails or device details, and say so in the invitation.
• Have someone outside the DSL's line, such as a safeguarding governor, strip names and details from comments first.
• Hide results for any group of fewer than five people, a common rule in staff surveys.
• Ask for role group only if every group is big enough, and drop that question in a small school.
• Invite every adult on site, including drivers, security, cleaners, catering, boarding and coaching staff.
• Offer the survey in the languages your staff think in, and give them time in the working day.
• Keep it to about 15 minutes so people finish it.

Start with questions that have a right answer in your own policy. These show whether the written route reaches the corridor.

Use short multiple-choice questions and score them against your own policy. Add an "I don't know" option and count it as a gap.

Write each question in plain words, one idea at a time. Avoid leading questions such as "Do you agree our policy is clear?"

• Who is our DSL, and who is the deputy?
• A student tells you something worrying on the way home. What do you do first?
• How soon must you pass a concern to the DSL?
• Where does a concern about an adult go, and who hears it if it is about the DSL?
• Where do you find the child protection policy, and when did you last read it?
• Which local number would you call if a child were in immediate danger?

Knowing the route is half the picture. The other half is whether staff would use it. Ask people to rate each statement from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree".

The last two items find the real gap. Staff rarely admit they stayed silent unless they feel safe, so read every "yes" with care.

Finish with one open question: "What one thing would make it easier to speak up here?" Short answers tell you what to fix first.

• I know what to do if I am worried about a child.
• I believe the DSL takes small worries seriously.
• I could report a concern about a senior colleague without fear of a bad result.
• Staff here are thanked when they raise a small worry.
• In the last year I noticed something and did not report it. (Yes, no, prefer not to say)
• If yes, what stopped you? (Unsure it mattered, did not know who to tell, worried about the person, worried about the reaction, thought nothing would happen)

Look for gaps, because an average hides them. If most staff pick the right first step, ask who the others are and what roles they hold.

Sort what you find into four kinds of gap.

Read comments as themes and count how many share a cause. Never hunt for the author of one comment.

Compare the survey with your records. If many staff say they stayed silent and your concerns log is nearly empty, the two tell the same story.

• Knowledge gap: staff answer differently from your policy, or say "I don't know".
• Confidence gap: staff know the route but doubt it works.
• Group gap: one role, site or shift scores lower than the rest.
• Silence gap: staff noticed something, did not report it, and tell you why.

Staff read the invitation closely. Say plainly what you will and will not do, using wording like this.

After the survey, share results within a few weeks. Send a short "you said, we did" message with the main findings, the three actions you chose, an owner for each and a date for the next check.

For example: "Many of you were unsure who to tell about a colleague. We are adding a second route through the safeguarding governor, and we will ask again next spring."

• "This survey is anonymous. We cannot see who answered."
• "It is not a way to report a concern. If you are worried about a child or an adult now, tell the DSL today."
• "We want honest answers, including the uncomfortable ones. No one will be asked to explain a reply."
• "We will share the results and our actions by [date]."

Pick the top three findings and match each to a fix. Three fixes with owners beat a long list nobody runs.

Give every action an owner and a date. Put the survey and your actions in your next termly report to governors, then repeat the core questions in 6 to 12 months to see whether the gap has narrowed.

If staff fear a leader's reaction, read why staff hesitate to report when hierarchy discourages them.

• Staff give wrong answers: fix the unclear part of the policy, then teach it with short scenarios from your own campus.
• Staff doubt the route: the Head and DSL thank people for small reports and say what happened next, without names.
• One group scores low: run a short session for that group, in its language, at a time it can attend.
• Staff stay silent about adults: add a second route, such as the deputy or a safeguarding governor, and explain it in your low-level concerns policy.
• Staff cannot name the DSL: put names and photos where each group works, and repeat them at induction.

The biggest one is asking and then going quiet. If staff see no change, they stop giving honest answers next time.

Decide before launch who reads the comments, and what happens if a comment reports a concern. If a comment describes a child at risk or an adult's conduct, follow your child protection procedure and tell the DSL the same day. If a child is in immediate danger, call local emergency services.

A good score is no proof that every child is safe. A survey shows what staff report, and it can miss the people who stayed away.

Use it alongside other checks, such as your annual safeguarding self-assessment. The International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) both publish self-review tools.