WHAT YOU SAW
Westbridge Academy. PE kit check. Tuesday, 11 November, 08:46.
You can't unsee what you saw. The question is what you do with it.
Based on Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 (KCSiE) — Part 1 & Annex A
Estimated time: 25–30 minutes
YOUR ROLE
Mark Holloway
PE Teacher · Westbridge Academy
You are Mark Holloway, PE Teacher at Westbridge Academy — a secondary school in the East Midlands. Today is Tuesday, 11 November. First lesson starts at 8:50. Before the lesson, you're doing a kit check at the changing room door — standard procedure since a student came out to PE in school shoes last month.
Westbridge has a safeguarding team. The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Mr Okafor, the Head of Year 10. His deputy is Mrs Patel, Deputy Head. Both are listed on the safeguarding noticeboard in every classroom. You've never had to use either of them.
SCHOOL CONTEXT
- → Westbridge had a satisfactory Ofsted inspection 18 months ago. Safeguarding was noted as 'effective'.
- → The DSL is Mr Okafor (Head of Year 10). The deputy DSL is Mrs Patel (Deputy Head). Both are trained to level 3.
- → All staff receive annual safeguarding training. Last year's session covered KCSiE 2024 updates.
- → School policy: any concern — however small — is logged. Staff are told: you don't investigate, you report.
- → There are 84 staff at Westbridge. Statistically, approximately 2–3 students in every year group are on a child protection plan at any given time.
WHAT HAVE YOU NOTICED?
Six things you've seen around Chloe over the past three weeks. Some are safeguarding observations you'd log. Some aren't. Select every observation you would log as a concern.
No single one proves anything. The skill is spotting a pattern — and logging it before the crunch moment arrives.
Tuesday Morning — Kit Check
The Year 9 class files out for registration. Chloe Barrett is last. You do the usual check — trainers on, proper kit.
As she reaches past you to get a bib, her sleeve rides up. There are bruises on her upper arm. Two of them. Not the kind you get from a stumble — positioned in a way that would need something to grip.
She clocks that you've seen them. Her expression closes immediately.
What Do You Do With That?
KCSiE is clear: your job is not to investigate. Your job is to notice and report. What do you do?
Chloe Shuts Down
WHAT WENT WRONG
Chloe gave you the minimum and shut down. If something is happening at home, she knows who's safe to talk to — and a teacher asking follow-up questions on the pitch isn't that conversation.
More critically: you've now questioned her. If this becomes a formal investigation, your conversation is on record before any trained professional spoke to her. This is what "contaminating a disclosure" means.
KCSiE says: don't investigate. The DSL is trained to handle disclosures correctly. You are trained to notice and refer.
KCSiE 2025 — Annex A
You Wait. The Pattern Continues.
WHAT WENT WRONG
'Wait and see if there's a pattern' is the most common reason safeguarding referrals are delayed — and the most common finding in serious case reviews.
KCSiE is specific: a single concern can be enough to refer. You don't need a pattern. You need a reasonable concern. Two bruises in an unusual location on a student who gave a pre-prepared answer is a reasonable concern.
The DSL doesn't need you to have proven anything. They need you to have told them what you saw.
KCSiE 2025 — Part 1
You Go to the DSL
CORRECT APPROACH
You saw something, you reported it, you didn't investigate. That's the job.
The DSL now holds the concern. They'll decide whether to make a MASH referral, speak to Chloe using trained disclosure techniques, or monitor and review. None of that is your decision.
The note 'no direct questioning by reporting staff' in the log matters. It means whatever Chloe says next will be a clean disclosure — not contaminated by a prior conversation.
KCSiE 2025 — Part 1
Lunchtime — Reception
You're heading to the staffroom when you pass reception.
Chloe Barrett's mum is at the front desk. She's telling the receptionist she's here to take Chloe out early — dentist appointment. The receptionist is calling up to Year 9.
Mr Okafor is teaching. You can see his class through the corridor window.
Lunchtime — Reception
You've just eaten half a sandwich when your phone buzzes. Reception.
Mrs Patel, Deputy DSL. She's in her office — you passed it on the way in.
Mum's Here. DSL Is Teaching.
How do you handle this?
You Speak to the Mum
WHAT WENT WRONG
You've just told the parent — directly or indirectly — that a concern was raised about their child. If the harm is coming from within the family, you've given them a window to prepare, relocate, or coach Chloe on what to say.
KCSiE is explicit: staff should not contact parents when there is a safeguarding concern, without first consulting the DSL. Even a gentle, innocent-sounding conversation can compromise the investigation.
The deputy DSL was available. That's exactly what the deputy role exists for.
KCSiE 2025 — Part 1
Mrs Patel Takes Over
CORRECT APPROACH
The deputy DSL exists precisely for this situation. When the DSL is unavailable, the deputy has full authority to act. There is never a situation where a safeguarding concern should wait because the specific DSL is busy.
Mrs Patel can speak to the parent in a way that delays the departure without disclosing the concern. That's a trained skill — it's why you go to her, not to reception.
KCSiE 2025 — The Designated Safeguarding Lead
Chloe Goes Home
WHAT WENT WRONG
A 45-minute wait turned a possible welfare check into a missed one. Chloe was on the premises, able to be spoken to by a trained professional. That window closed when the parent signed her out.
The deputy DSL was available. That's not a workaround — it's the designed backup. KCSiE requires schools to have at least one deputy DSL for exactly this reason.
Safeguarding concerns do not pause for lesson schedules.
KCSiE 2025 — The Designated Safeguarding LeadTRUE OR FALSE?
Four statements about safeguarding indicators. Mark each TRUE or FALSE — then see the explanations.
"A PE teacher noticing bruises on a student during normal kit-check activity is 'examining' them — which KCSiE says they shouldn't do."
KCSiE says staff should not ask a child to remove clothing or describe their injuries in detail. Noticing visible indicators during normal contact is not just permitted — it's expected. That's what 'all staff' means in 'all staff should be aware of the indicators of abuse.'
"A single unexplained bruise is not enough to make a safeguarding referral — you need to observe a pattern over time."
A single concern can be enough to refer. The DSL decides whether the concern meets the threshold for further action — not the referring teacher. KCSiE specifically warns against 'wait and see' thinking. Serious case reviews repeatedly cite delayed referrals based on 'it might be nothing' reasoning.
"Bruising on shins, knees, and foreheads is generally less concerning than bruising on the upper arms, thighs, torso, or neck."
KCSiE Annex A notes that bruising in areas typically exposed during play (shins, knees, bony prominences) may reflect normal childhood activity. Bruising on soft tissue areas or in locations inconsistent with a stated explanation — especially bilateral bruising suggesting gripping — is a more significant indicator. Concern also depends on the child's developmental stage, the explanation given, and pattern over time.
"Neglect is less common than physical abuse and is mainly relevant for younger children."
Neglect is the most common category of abuse recorded in England — consistently over 50% of all children on child protection plans. It affects all ages, including secondary school students. Secondary school indicators include: persistent hunger, poor hygiene, inadequate clothing for the season, untreated medical conditions, and chronic tiredness. It is cumulative — which makes it harder to detect than event-based abuse.
DECISION 1 — KIT CHECK
DECISION 2 — DSL UNAVAILABLE
TWO WEEKS LATER
WHAT KCSIE REQUIRES
Five rules every member of staff must know
NOTICE VISIBLE INDICATORS — THAT IS THE JOB
All staff are required to be aware of the indicators of abuse and neglect. Noticing bruising, changes in behaviour, or signs of distress during normal contact is not over-stepping. It is the explicit purpose of having all staff trained. You are not a social worker — but your daily contact with students makes you the most likely person to see what needs to be seen.
DO NOT ASK A CHILD TO DESCRIBE THEIR INJURIES
This is the line. You can note what you can see. You cannot ask a child to show you more, describe what happened in detail, or explain the injury further. Questions contaminate disclosures. Trained professionals conduct forensic interviews — staff do not.
DO NOT CONTACT PARENTS WHEN A CONCERN IS ACTIVE
KCSiE is explicit: staff should not contact parents or carers before speaking to the DSL when there is a safeguarding concern. In cases where the harm may be occurring within the family, contact gives the family time to prepare, coach the child, or act to prevent disclosure.
DSL UNAVAILABLE = DEPUTY DSL — NOT 'WAIT'
Every school must have a designated DSL and at least one deputy. When the DSL is teaching, in a meeting, or off-site, the deputy has full authority to act. Safeguarding concerns do not pause. Know who your deputy DSL is before you need them.
THE FOUR CATEGORIES OF ABUSE — KNOW THEM ALL
KCSiE 2025 defines four categories: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual abuse, and Neglect. Neglect is the most common — and the hardest to see, because it is cumulative, not event-based. Secondary school indicators include chronic hunger, poor hygiene, inadequate clothing, untreated health conditions, and extreme tiredness. A student you see every day may be experiencing neglect that no single observation would flag.
Developed in accordance with Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 (KCSiE)
Part 1 — All Staff · Annex A — Indicators of Abuse and Neglect
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