End of Year, What Impact Did You Make And Planning For 2027

2025-12-30 12:06

Annual Safeguarding Review: Measuring Impact and Planning Ahead

Congrats you've made it to the end of the year!

Time for a reset: not just “did we comply?”, but “did we make children safer — and can we prove it?”.

What's in an annual safeguarding report?
You need a practical annual safeguarding review with data and trend analysis, policy effectiveness, training outcomes, incident themes, staff feedback, audit readiness and how to set clear safeguarding priorities for the year ahead.

As usual, we've got you covered

If Ofsted / commissioners asked tomorrow: can you evidence impact, not just activity?

Most organisations can list what they did this year:

Training delivered
Policies updated
Incidents recorded

The stronger question is:

What changed because of it?
Where did risk reduce?
Where did risk increase?
What will we do differently next year?

A good annual safeguarding review turns your year into a clear story: risk, response, learning, improvement.

1) Start with your safeguarding data: what do the numbers and themes say?

You don’t need a complex dashboard to do this well.

Number of concerns logged (by month)
Categories/themes (e.g., neglect, peer-on-peer, online safety, missing episodes)
Where incidents happen (locations, sessions, times)
Repeat concerns (same child, same setting, same trigger)
Response times (how quickly concerns were reviewed and actioned)

If you use safeguarding software or digital safeguarding records, this is where it shines: patterns become visible without guesswork.

2) Incident trend review: move from “events” to “causes”

A year-end review isn’t just counting incidents. It’s asking:

What were the common triggers?
What were the common weak points (handover, supervision, transitions, online contact, visitor management)?
Did we see clusters around certain times (summer peak, winter fatigue, end-of-term)?

Then translate that into action:

What control gets tightened?
What training gets refreshed?
What process gets simplified?

3) Policy effectiveness: are policies used, or just stored?

A policy is only effective if it changes behaviour.

Check:

Do staff know where to find key procedures?
Are thresholds clear (what gets escalated and when)?
Are staff recording consistently (factual, timely, complete)?
Are there “workarounds” (WhatsApp, personal notes, informal handovers)?

If staff are working around policy, the policy needs redesign — not more reminders.

4) Training outcomes: measure confidence and competence, not attendance

Training “delivered” is not the same as training “embedded”.

Review:

Staff confidence (quick pulse survey)
Common knowledge gaps (disclosures, recording, information sharing)
Quality of recording before/after training
Supervision notes: what staff still struggle with

A simple measure that works: ask staff to answer 3 scenario questions and compare results year-on-year.

Example scenarios

Scenario 1: A “small” disclosure at the end of a session

A child hangs back at pick-up and quietly says:

“Please don’t tell anyone… but I hate going home when my mum’s boyfriend is there.”

Question: What do you do in the moment and what do you do next?

What you’re looking for in a strong answer (scoring points):

Stays calm, listens, doesn’t promise confidentiality
Uses open prompts only (no leading questions), reassures appropriately
Records promptly and factually (incl. verbatim where relevant)
Escalates to the safeguarding lead immediately and follows procedure
Considers immediate risk (is the child safe to go home today?) and acts accordingly

Scenario 2: Recording quality under pressure (busy day, multiple incidents)

During a holiday club day, you have: a minor first-aid incident, a behaviour incident, and a staff member says they’ve “got a bad feeling” about a child who seems unusually hungry and withdrawn. It’s hectic and you’re short-staffed.

Question: What gets recorded, how should it be written, and what gets escalated today vs monitored?

What you’re looking for:

Clear separation of incident types (first aid vs behaviour vs safeguarding concern)
Factual, time-stamped notes (what was seen/heard, not labels like “neglected”)
Verbatim quotes where relevant
Immediate escalation of safeguarding concerns (even without disclosure)
A plan for monitoring patterns + who owns follow-up
Safe storage/secure systems (no personal notes/WhatsApp)

Scenario 3: Information sharing decision (holiday provider / partner agency)

A child with known vulnerabilities is attending a Christmas HAF programme. The school has concerns logged, but the parent hasn’t explicitly consented to information being shared. The HAF provider asks:

“Is there anything we should know to keep them safe?”

Question: What information (if any) do you share, with whom, how, and what do you record about the decision?

What you’re looking for:

Understands “necessary and proportionate” information sharing for safeguarding
Shares via approved secure channels to the provider’s safeguarding lead (not general staff)
Shares practical risk-reducing info (triggers, safety plan basics, collection risks) rather than full history
Records rationale: what was shared, why, when, with whom
Knows when to seek DSL guidance / follow local process if unsure

If you want, turn these into a simple scoring sheet (0–3 per scenario) so you can track results year-on-year without it becoming subjective.

5) Staff feedback: the fastest route to real improvement

Staff see risk before leaders do — especially frontline teams.

Ask:

Where do you feel safeguarding is strongest?
Where do you feel it’s most fragile?
What creates “drift” (fatigue, staffing, unclear roles, busy transitions)?
What would make it easier to do the right thing?

Then act on at least one thing quickly. It builds trust and improves reporting culture.

6) Audit readiness: can you evidence decisions and learning?

Commissioners and regulators look for:

Consistent recording
Clear escalation routes
Evidence of learning and improvement
Defensible information sharing

A simple audit check:

Pick 5–10 cases at random
Can you see the timeline clearly?
Can you see the rationale for decisions?
Can you see outcomes and follow-up?

If not, your priority for 2027 is likely recording quality and supervision.

7) Looking ahead to 2027: set priorities that reduce risk (not just add tasks)

Good safeguarding priorities are:

Specific
Measurable
Owned by named people
Realistic

Examples of strong priorities:

Improve response time to logged concerns
Tighten visitor/photography controls for events
Reduce informal communication channels for safeguarding
Refresh volunteer induction and boundary training
Improve consistency of digital safeguarding records

Quick quiz: annual safeguarding review

What’s the best outcome of an annual safeguarding review?

A) A longer policy document
B) A spreadsheet no one reads
C) Clear evidence of impact + priorities that reduce risk next year

What’s a strong way to measure training impact?

A) Counting attendance and making sure it's 100%
B) Checking confidence, scenario responses, and recording quality over time
C) Printing certificates and recording everyone's accreditations

What’s a practical audit method?

A) Sample a small number of cases and check decision trail and outcomes
B) Review every single record in thorough detail to identify improvements
C) Ask staff if they think it’s fine and what they would change

Answer key: 1) C 2) B 3) A

Q&A: annual safeguarding review and planning

Q1: What should be included in an annual safeguarding report?

Key themes and trends, what actions were taken, what changed as a result, and priorities for the next year.

Q2: How do we avoid the review becoming a box-ticking exercise?

Focus on learning and improvement: what reduced risk, what increased risk, and what you’ll change.

Q3: What data should we analyse if we don’t have a big system?

Keep it simple and consistent.

Number of concerns per month
Top 5 themes/categories
Repeat concerns (same child or same trigger)
Response time (logged → reviewed → actioned)
Where incidents happen (location/session/time)

Even a basic tracker becomes powerful when you compare it year-on-year.

Q4: How do we turn findings into priorities?

Choose 3–5 actions that reduce risk most, assign owners, set deadlines, and review progress monthly.

Q5: What does “good evidence” look like in safeguarding records?

Good evidence is clear, factual, and shows decision-making.

Time-stamped entries
What was seen/heard (verbatim where relevant)
Actions taken and by whom
Rationale for decisions (why this threshold, why this referral)
Outcomes and follow-up

This is what protects children — and protects your organisation when challenged.

Quick checklist: Week 52 year-end review

Trends and themes pulled from safeguarding records
Policy and process usability reviewed (not just updated)
Training impact checked (confidence + competence)
Staff feedback gathered and acted on
Sample audit completed for decision trail quality
3–5 safeguarding priorities set for 2026 with owners and dates