Safeguarding Supervision: What it’s Not

Dear Safeguarding Leader,

When you step into the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead, you quickly realise how much you hold — the responsibility, the emotional weight, the constant decision-making. So when someone mentions safeguarding supervision, it can sound like a lifeline. A space to talk, reflect, and get support.

But here’s the thing: safeguarding supervision isn’t counselling, coaching, or mentoring — even though it can feel a little like all three.

At its core, supervision is about safe practice, not personal therapy or professional development. It’s a structured, professional conversation designed to help you make sound safeguarding decisions, manage risk clearly, and stay grounded in your statutory responsibilities.

Understanding what it’s not is key to understanding what makes it so powerful.

Safeguarding supervision provides a safe, professional space to think through complex safeguarding concerns. It’s not about emotional offloading (though emotions have their place) — it’s about ensuring the children and families you support are being protected through clear, defensible decisions.

Because it involves reflection and support, people often confuse it with other professional models. But the purpose of safeguarding supervision is distinct.

It’s not counselling. Counselling helps you process emotions and personal experiences. Supervision recognises those emotions but focuses on how they may influence your professional judgement. For example, if a particular case feels overwhelming, supervision explores how that might be affecting your risk assessment — not the feelings themselves.

It’s not coaching. Coaching helps you unlock potential, improve performance, or reach personal goals. Safeguarding supervision, by contrast, centres on accountability and good practice — ensuring your decisions align with statutory guidance, policies, and ethical principles.

And it’s not mentoring. A mentor offers advice based on experience: “Here’s what I’d do.” A supervisor instead invites reflection: “What do you think the evidence tells us, and how confident are you in your next step?”

Good supervision strengthens clarity and containment — not comfort or career growth. It creates space to pause, to test your reasoning, and to ensure that no one — including you — is carrying safeguarding responsibility in isolation.

Here’s an easy way to remember the difference — the “Three Cs” of what safeguarding supervision is not:

• Counselling? → Explores emotions for personal healing.
  Supervision? → Acknowledges emotions to maintain professional clarity.

• Coaching? → Focuses on performance and personal goals.
  Supervision? → Focuses on ethical, defensible decision-making.

• Career Mentoring? → Offers advice and direction.
  Supervision? → Encourages reflective analysis and shared accountability.

As a DSL, you’re often the one holding others — staff, pupils, families. Safeguarding supervision is about creating a space where you are held safely, too — professionally, not personally.

Reflect for a moment:

• What would effective safeguarding supervision look like for you?

• Where could it add clarity, confidence, or balance in your role?

Share your thoughts or discuss them in your next team meeting — because safer supervision means safer outcomes for children.

With empowerment and support,

Kamelia