Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Meeting

Now that you have familiarised yourself with your school’s Safeguarding policy and know more about its place in education and within all teachers’ professional responsibilities, you need to deepen your understanding of how it works in practice by speaking to your school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (or DSL). Please arrange to speak either to your DSL or another member of your Safeguarding Team as soon as possible, while your knowledge is fresh, to understand what the safeguarding picture looks like at your school. You must go to this meeting well prepared. Use our guidance below to help you with this.

(1) Prior to the meeting:
– Prepare a list of thoughtful questions that will support your understanding of both the day-to-day safeguarding practices within the school that involve all children and the processes which are triggered by developments or evidence that relate to particular pupils or groups of pupils. – Consider including questions about the types of safeguarding concerns/issues that occur most frequently at your school and within your local area.

During the meeting:
– Discuss the school’s approach to safeguarding and how policies are applied in practice.
– Identify common or recurring safeguarding issues the DSL has encountered and how these are managed.
– Seek specific advice on the school’s approach to GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and Data Protection, with a focus on best practice for handling pupil information sensitively and securely.

After the meeting:
– Reflect on how this knowledge will inform your own professional responsibilities and practice.
– Write up your notes clearly, summarising the key points of discussion and any actions or reflections arising from the conversation.

You need to complete this task on the word document called ‘DSL Meeting Form’ which you can use to prepare for the meeting and to take notes during your chat with the safeguarding leads at your school.

Please use the upload box below to upload your ‘DSL Meeting Form‘. Your document needs to be uploaded as a PDF and labelled with your initials followed by ‘DSL Meeting Form’ e.g. AE DSL Meeting Form