At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead safeguarding efforts to protect children and support nursery teams across the UK.
- Company: Join Bright Horizons, a leader in early years education and child welfare.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, discounted childcare, and a range of wellbeing resources.
- Other info: Be part of a supportive team committed to continuous improvement and professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in children's lives while developing your career in safeguarding.
- Qualifications: Experience as a Designated Safeguarding Lead and strong knowledge of safeguarding legislation required.
The predicted salary is between 43000 - 43000 £ per year.
The Safeguarding Divisional Lead provides safeguarding and child protection oversight across a designated division, ensuring that the safety, welfare and best interests of children remain at the centre of safeguarding decision-making. Acting as a source of professional challenge, guidance and escalation, the role supports Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) and operational teams to identify risk, respond effectively to safeguarding concerns and take timely action to protect children from harm.
Through coaching, training, case consultation and quality assurance, the Safeguarding Lead strengthens safeguarding practice, promotes professional curiosity and supports settings to recognise both immediate and emerging risk and to act to mitigate immediate risk. The role works to ensure safeguarding standards, statutory responsibilities and organisational expectations are consistently understood and applied, with a clear focus on listening to the voice of the child and achieving the best outcomes for children.
Working closely with operational leaders, Early Childhood Services and the wider safeguarding team, the Safeguarding Divisional Lead supports effective response to child concerns, allegations and incidents, and drives continuous improvement through learning and organisational insight. The role promotes a culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and where children's lived experiences remain at the heart of professional practice.
What We Can Offer You:
- Flexible working and holiday entitlements
- Discounted childcare
- Quarterly Employee Appreciation Weeks
- Annual gala award evening
- Fantastic range of discounts on high street retailers, grocery stores, cinema tickets, holidays and more
- Wide range of wellbeing resources, supporting our teams for the ups and downs of daily life
Key Accountabilities:
- Safeguarding Leadership & Oversight: Act as the escalation point for Designated Safeguarding Leads, Nursery Managers and operational teams for safeguarding advice and support. Provide day-to-day safeguarding oversight across a designated region of nurseries during visits and participation in Ready to Respond Calls and attending Team Around the Setting (TAS) meetings. Coach and develop DSL capability, confidence and professional curiosity, enabling DSLs to confidently assess concerns, apply safeguarding thresholds and fulfil their statutory safeguarding responsibilities. Provide specialist support in complex, high-risk or sensitive safeguarding cases. Use insight from audits, safeguarding activity, complaints, reviews and regulatory feedback to drive improvements in practice. Promote the consistent application of safeguarding policies, procedures and statutory guidance across all settings. Attend and actively contribute to Ready to Respond (R2R) calls and Safeguarding helpline/Advice Line providing safeguarding expertise, identifying risks, driving procedural compliance and supporting effective action planning. Respond to enquiries received through the Safeguarding Helpline/Advice Line, providing timely safeguarding advice, guidance and professional challenge to DSLs, Nursery Managers and operational leaders, and ensuring appropriate safeguarding actions are identified and progressed. Work alongside the Senior Safeguarding Consultants and wider safeguarding team to manage escalated safeguarding concerns. Support in the delivery of the three-hour Safeguarding induction.
- Practice Improvement & Support: Support settings where safeguarding concerns or improvement actions have been identified through audits, inspections, investigations or safeguarding reviews. Work with Designated Safeguarding Leads and operational teams to implement safeguarding improvement plans. Provide targeted safeguarding support, challenge and guidance to settings requiring additional intervention. Monitor progress against safeguarding actions and escalate concerns to Senior Safeguarding Consultants where improvements are not being achieved. Support settings to embed learning from safeguarding incidents, investigations, inspections and organisational insight. Share safeguarding best practice, learning and emerging themes across the region to improve consistency.
- Coaching, Development & Training: Deliver safeguarding training, workshops and development sessions to Designated Safeguarding Leads and nursery teams. Coach leaders to strengthen safeguarding knowledge, confidence and decision-making. Reinforce safeguarding expectations, professional curiosity and effective safeguarding practice. Support colleagues to understand and apply statutory safeguarding responsibilities, escalation routes and reporting requirements. Identify gaps in safeguarding knowledge and capability and support targeted improvement activity.
- Partnership Working: Build effective relationships with Nursery Managers, Regional Directors, operational leaders and Early Childhood Specialist colleagues. Work collaboratively with HR, Operations, and Early Childhood teams to deliver a joined-up approach to safeguarding. Develop and maintain effective relationships with external safeguarding agencies and partners, including Children's Services and LADO teams where appropriate. Support the DSLs in preparation and attendance of Allegation Against Staff and Volunteer Meetings and Child Strategy Meeting. Monitor the DSLs engagement with the Local Authority Safeguarding offer and provide targeted improvement activity to ensure participation. Support the implementation of safeguarding initiatives and organisational priorities across the region.
- Insight & Continuous Improvement: Use learning from Internal Review audits, investigations, safeguarding concerns and organisational insight to identify opportunities for improvement. Identify recurring issues, themes and risks and support action to address them. Contribute to the development of safeguarding resources, guidance and improvement initiatives. Maintain accurate safeguarding records, reporting and documentation relating to regional safeguarding activity. Support the sharing of organisational learning and effective safeguarding practice across settings.
Essential Experience:
- Significant experience as a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) within a regulated children's setting.
- Significant safeguarding experience within early years, education, social care or another regulated environment.
- Strong knowledge of safeguarding legislation, statutory guidance and child protection processes.
- Experience supporting leaders to manage safeguarding concerns and risk.
- Experience managing complex or sensitive safeguarding matters.
- Experience delivering training, coaching or professional development activity.
- Experience working with external safeguarding agencies and partners.
- Strong understanding of safeguarding thresholds, escalation processes and statutory reporting requirements.
- Training, coaching or facilitation experience.
Qualifications:
- Relevant qualification in Early Years, Education, Social Care or related discipline – Essential.
Personal attributes:
- Demonstrates consistent behaviours aligned with our HEART principles, acting with Honesty, Excellence, Accountability and Respect in all interactions, decisions and ways of working.
- Credible safeguarding professional with sound judgement and strong decision-making skills.
- Excellent coaching, influencing and relationship-building capability.
- Confident communicator, able to support and challenge constructively.
- Passionate about improving outcomes for children.
- Organised and able to manage competing priorities across a regional remit.
- Resilient and calm when managing complex and sensitive situations.
- Collaborative, proactive and solutions focused.
Bright Horizons is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. This post is subject to safer recruitment practice and pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check, which will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. We are an inclusive employer and welcome people from all ages and backgrounds to apply. We will consider reasonable adjustments required by applicants.
Safeguarding Divisional Lead in Northampton employer: MP Training and Recruitment
Bright Horizons Putney Day Nursery and Preschool is an exceptional employer, offering a supportive and inclusive work culture where you can thrive as a Room Leader. With a strong focus on professional development, generous benefits including a welcome bonus and childcare discounts, and a commitment to child welfare, this nursery provides a rewarding environment for those passionate about early years education in the vibrant community of Putney, London.
Contact Details:
MP Training and Recruitment Recruitment Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Safeguarding Divisional Lead in Northampton
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We think you need these skills to ace Safeguarding Divisional Lead in Northampton
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for Social Work:In your cover letter, let us see your passion for social work shine through! Talk about the experiences that made you want to pursue this career—whether it’s volunteering, personal experiences, or academic projects. We want to know why this field matters to you.
Emphasise Relevant Qualifications:Make sure your CV highlights any relevant qualifications, like degrees in social work or certifications like a DBS check. If you've done any workshops or training, don’t forget to include those as well. We're keen to see your commitment to your professional development!
Detail Your Experience with Clients:Since this is a hands-on field, detailing any direct experience you have with clients is crucial. Whether it's internships, volunteer roles, or previous jobs, highlight those experiences in your CV to show us you've got the practical skills necessary for the job!
Tailor Your Application to MP Training and Recruitment:Before hitting send, make sure to tailor your application specifically to MP Training and Recruitment! Research our mission and values, and refer to them in your cover letter. This shows us that you understand our work and are genuinely interested in being a part of our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at MP Training and Recruitment
✨Understanding the Role of Empathy
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✨Demonstrating Knowledge of Frameworks
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✨Showcasing Your Multi-Disciplinary Skills
In a full-time social work role, you'll often collaborate with healthcare professionals, educators, and law enforcement. Be prepared to describe your teamwork experiences and how you've effectively communicated with other disciplines to achieve the best outcomes for clients.
✨Preparing for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect questions that put you in hypothetical social work situations, such as dealing with a crisis or managing a complex case. Think through your thought process for these scenarios beforehand, considering how you'd assess the situation and what steps you'd take, as this demonstrates your critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
