Safeguard-Me Blog 2026

Safeguarding Specifics For SEND: Are You Accessible To All

2025-12-19 11:50

Safeguarding Children with SEND: Understanding Additional Vulnerabilities

Children with SEND can face additional safeguarding risks — not because of their needs, but because systems often fail to adapt around them. They can be more dependent on adults, more isolated, and more likely to be misunderstood. Risk increases when systems don’t adapt to communication and support needs.

The key priorities for safeguarding children with SEND and other vulnerable groups are
  • Communication barriers,
  • Recognising abuse in non-verbal children,
  • Additional risk factors (including dependency on adults),
  • Reasonable adjustments,
  • Working with specialist support, and
  • Building inclusive safeguarding practices that don’t leave anyone behind.

Are your safeguarding systems accessible to every child — or only the children who can explain what’s wrong?

Safeguarding relies heavily on disclosure, language, and adult interpretation.
For children with SEND, that can create a dangerous gap: harm can be present, but harder to spot.
September is the right time to tighten inclusive practice — before routines harden and before concerns get missed.

1) Understand the core risk: vulnerability increases when communication is harder

Some children can’t describe what’s happening. Others can, but not in a way adults recognise.
Safeguarding implications:
  • Distress may show up as behaviour, shutdown, or regression
  • Disclosures may be partial, delayed, or inconsistent
  • “Compliance” can be misread as “fine”
Your job is to treat behaviour as information — and to stay curious.

2) Recognise abuse in non-verbal children: look for patterns, not one-off signs

For non-verbal (or minimally verbal) children, you’re often looking for change over time.
What to watch for:
  • Sudden changes in sleep, eating, toileting
  • New fear responses (people, places, routines)
  • Increased self-injury or repetitive behaviours
  • Unexplained injuries or frequent “accidents”
  • Regression in skills or independence
Avoid the trap of “that’s just their SEND”. Changes matter.

3) Additional risk factors: dependency, isolation, and being misunderstood

Children with SEND can be more exposed to:
  • Reliance on adults for intimate care or personal support
  • Reduced privacy and increased physical contact (even when appropriate)
  • Fewer peer relationships (less chance of someone noticing)
  • Being labelled as “challenging” (so concerns get dismissed)
  • Online risks (grooming, coercion, exploitation) where social understanding is targeted
Safeguarding is stronger when you reduce isolation and increase trusted relationships.

4) Reasonable adjustments: safeguarding must be inclusive by design

Safeguarding information should be accessible.
Reasonable adjustments might include:
  • Visual “worry cards” or symbol-based reporting options
  • Predictable check-in routines with a trusted adult
  • Sensory-friendly spaces for regulation (so children can communicate)
  • Simplified language and consistent scripts
  • Extra time for processing and responding
If you use digital safeguarding records, make sure staff record adjustments too — what works, what triggers distress, and what helps a child feel safe.

5) Specialist support: don’t wait until it’s a crisis

September is the time to align with:
  • SENCO / inclusion leads
  • Speech and language therapy advice (where available)
  • Educational psychology input (where relevant)
  • Social care, early help, or health partners
The key is shared understanding: what is “baseline”, what is “change”, and what needs escalation.

6) Inclusive safeguarding culture: protect children and protect staff

In SEND contexts, staff can feel anxious about “getting it wrong”. That anxiety can lead to avoidance.
Build confidence by:
  • Giving staff clear language and escalation routes
  • Using scenario-based discussions (short, regular)
  • Reinforcing that uncertainty is a reason to escalate, not a reason to stay quiet

Q&A: safeguarding children with SEND and vulnerable groups

Q1: Why are children with SEND at greater safeguarding risk?

Because they can be more dependent on adults, more isolated, and more likely to be misunderstood. Risk increases when systems don’t adapt to communication and support needs.

Q2: What’s the biggest mistake organisations make when safeguarding children with SEND?

Assuming behaviour is “just SEND” and missing meaningful change. Curiosity and pattern-spotting are essential.

Q3: How do we create a safeguarding approach that works for non-verbal children?

Start by shifting the mindset from “we need a disclosure” to “we need a picture”.
Practical steps:
  1. Know the baseline: what is typical for this child (sleep, regulation, routines, physical marks, independence)?
  2. Track change over time: small changes are often the earliest signal.
  3. Use multiple communication routes: visuals, symbols, objects of reference, trusted adult check-ins.
  4. Record context clearly: what happened before/after, who was present, what helped.
  5. Escalate uncertainty: if you’re not sure, that’s a reason to consult the DSL/SENCO — not a reason to wait.
Digital safeguarding records can help here because they make patterns visible across days and staff — especially when different adults see the child at different times.

Q4: How do we balance safeguarding with dignity and independence?

By planning support carefully: Putting the person first, focusing on empowerment, choice, and control, not just restriction, by understanding their own views, respecting their autonomy (even with risks), using the least restrictive options, providing information for informed choices, and ensuring interventions are proportionate to actual harm, all while maintaining empathy, open communication, and working collaboratively. It's about enabling safe lives, not just controlling risks.

Q5: What should staff record when a child with SEND shows a concerning change?

Record what you saw (not your interpretation), plus the context.
A strong entry includes:
  • The specific change (what’s different from baseline)
  • When it happened and how often it’s occurred
  • Any triggers (noise, transitions, certain people/places)
  • What the child did (behaviour, body language, communication attempts)
  • What you did (support offered, adjustments made)
  • What happened next (settled, escalated, repeated)
This level of clarity helps DSLs and specialist staff make better decisions — and it protects everyone involved.

Quick checklist: inclusive safeguarding for September

  • Baselines include wellbeing and communication, not just attainment
  • Staff know how to escalate uncertainty (not just certainty)
  • Reasonable adjustments are documented and used consistently
  • Patterns are reviewed (not just single incidents)
  • SENCO/DSL alignment happens early, not after a crisis