Using case studies to help you demonstrate effective safeguarding

5 tips for creating safeguarding case studies to showcase best practice

Robust safeguarding policies are vital in any education setting but nothing truly demonstrates how effective they are than seeing them in action. Case studies can, therefore, be an excellent medium to directly evidence impact.

Not sure how to go about it? Here are 5 tips for creating effective safeguarding case studies:

1. Keep it brief
   We recommend a summary sheet of one side of A4. You can include supporting documents behind this sheet if required.

2. Anonymise as standard
   Include brief, non-confidential personal details e.g. initials, age, gender etc.

3. Create a template
   Creating a consistent format for all case studies makes them both easier to complete and more effective for third parties to digest your key points.

4. Include the following areas:

   1. Short summary statement outlining initial concern

   2. Brief, bullet point chronology of key facts only

   3. Brief outline of all multi-agency involvement

   4. Key actions taken

   5. What worked well

   6. Short statement outlining final outcome

   7. Thoughts on anything that could have been improved on
      

5. Choose examples wisely
   Case studies are best used to show best practice in action. Consider examples that highlight aspects such as:

   • Tenacity and perseverance

   • Excellent working relationships with other professionals

   • Actions you can link to good progress by the student (eg reduced number of FTE or improved attendance)
     
     Remember that the kind of complicated issues involved can mean it’s difficult to show short term impact so you can use case studies to monitor progress over a longer period.

The benefits of creating safeguarding case studies

In a busy DSL role when you are managing multiple priorities, it can seem hard to justify taking time out to work on projects like this. However, there are many benefits to doing so. Case studies can help you understand what works well in practice and enable you improve your practices. The bank of evidence that you develop can be used for training or reflection during group supervision with your team.

It also puts you in a strong position should you be asked to review your provision, with Ofsted for example, giving you clear, well presented evidence that you can talk through.