Safeguard-Me Blog

Reflecting on Your Year of Safeguarding: Pause for Claus

2025-11-25 10:41
As a Safeguarding Lead, you’ve probably spent most of this year buried in policies, procedures, incident logs, audits, training records and meetings. Necessary? Absolutely. Inspiring? Not always.
But here’s the thing: you’ve almost certainly done far more than you realise.
Before the academic year runs away with you (again), the end of the calendar year is a brilliant moment to look back and actually celebrate what you’ve achieved in safeguarding – not just that you’ve survived.
This isn’t about your formal annual report or the governor meeting you’re already worrying about. This is about you, your team, your kids and the real-world impact you’ve had.

Step 1: Make a List (and Check It Twice)

Start by getting everything out of your head and onto paper (or screen). Don’t overthink it. Just write.
List out:
  • Incidents managed – not just the serious ones, but the early interventions that stopped things escalating.
  • Referrals made – and followed up.
  • Policies updated or created – even if it felt like a small tweak at the time.
  • Training delivered or attended – whole-school, DSL updates, briefings, 1:1 coaching with staff.
  • Conversations that mattered – that quiet chat with a worried TA, the parent you supported, the pupil who finally opened up.
  • Systems you’ve improved – better recording, clearer processes, new forms, checklists or guidance.
  • Partnerships you’ve strengthened – with social care, police, health, local charities, online safety providers.
  • Culture shifts you’ve noticed – staff reporting earlier, pupils speaking up more, leaders giving safeguarding more space on the agenda.
Then go back and check it twice.
On the second pass, ask yourself:
  • What did this really achieve for children?
  • What would have happened if I hadn’t done this?
  • Who is safer, more supported or more confident because of this?
Suddenly, that “just doing my job” list starts to look a lot like a year of impact.

Step 2: Step Away from the Academic Year (’Tis the Season for a Break)

Your safeguarding reports probably follow the academic year. That’s fine for governors and inspectors, but your life doesn’t run from September to July.
A calendar-year 'elf'-reflection lets you:
  • Capture the full arc of what you’ve done, not just what fits neatly into a reporting cycle.
  • Notice how far you’ve come since last January – before this cohort, this staff team, this set of challenges.
  • Celebrate how strongly you’ve started the current academic year, instead of only seeing the never-ending to-do list.
It’s also a chance to notice patterns:
  • Were there particular months where demand spiked?
  • Did certain interventions or changes clearly make a difference over time?
  • Are there pupils whose journeys you can now see more clearly from start to finish?

Step 3: Shift the Focus from Paperwork to Merrier-work

Formal safeguarding work is often framed around inputs:
  • How many policies?
  • How many incidents?
  • How many referrals?
  • How many hours of training?
Your year-in-review can flip that. 'Let it go' and look instead at outcomes and stories:
  • A pupil who is now attending regularly after months of absence.
  • A family who feels listened to and supported, not judged.
  • A member of staff who now spots concerns early and acts confidently.
  • A pattern of low-level concerns that never turned into a serious incident because you intervened early.
Ask yourself:
  • Where did safeguarding change the direction of someone’s year?
  • Where did your persistence finally pay off?
  • Where did you quietly prevent harm that will never appear in a headline or a report?
These are the wins that rarely make it into formal documentation, but they are the heart of your role.

Step 4: Acknowledge the North-Pole-Level Volume of What You’ve Done

Safeguarding work is relentless and often invisible. So be honest with your-elf about the scale of what you’ve carried out.
Roughly estimate:
  • How many safeguarding conversations you’ve had this year (with staff, pupils, parents, agencies).
  • How many incidents you’ve logged (we weren't even trying with this pun)
  • How many hours you’ve spent in meetings about safeguarding.
  • How many times you’ve been interrupted, diverted or pulled out of something to deal with a concern.
It’s not about boasting. It’s about recognising that your brain, your time and your emotional energy have been working at full capacity for months.
You are allowed to be proud of that.

Step 5: Notice How You’ve Gone from ‘Nice List’ to ‘Pro List’ This Year

Your year-in-review isn’t just about 'stocking' up what happened around you – it’s about how you’ve grown.
Reflect on:
  • Confidence – What can you handle now that would have terrified you a year ago?
  • Judgement – Where have you become sharper at spotting patterns or risk factors?
  • Leadership – How have you influenced your SLT, governors or wider staff team?
  • Boundaries – Where have you got better at saying no, or at protecting your own wellbeing?
You’re not the same safeguarding leader you were last year. That’s worth noticing.

Step 6: Celebrate – Properly

Once you’ve made your list, checked it twice and reflected on outcomes, ask:
  • What am I genuinely proud of?
  • What do I want to remember about this year in safeguarding?
  • Who do I want to thank or acknowledge?
Then mark it in some way:
  • Share a short, claus-itive reflection with your headteacher or governors.
  • Thank the colleagues who consistently helped you 'sleigh' it.
  • Capture three key lessons you want to carry into next year.
You don’t need permission to celebrate the fact that you’ve spent a whole year quietly keeping children safer.

Step 7: Use This Reflection to Start Next Year Bright and Merry

Your calendar-year reflection can feed directly into your plans for the new term and beyond:
  • What worked so well you want to double down on it?
  • What drained you that needs to be redesigned, delegated or dropped?
  • Where do you want more support, training or capacity?
Instead of starting January with a vague sense of dread and an overflowing inbox, you start with:
  • A clear picture of what you’ve already achieved.
  • Evidence of what makes the biggest difference.
  • A realistic sense of what you can (and cannot) hold on your own.
That’s not just good for you – it’s good for your whole setting.
You’ve done more this year than any formal report will ever show. Taking time now to reflect, recognise and celebrate isn’t self-indulgent – it’s part of being a sustainable, effective DSL.
And because it’s Christmas, your reflection doesn’t have to look like another dry safeguarding document. In the next article, we’ll explore creative, fun and genuinely uplifting ways to present your year-in-review – without losing the seriousness of the work you do every day.