Safeguarding: Understanding Your Responsibilities

Learning how to safeguard the conditions of children’s development is now seen as a non-negotiable aspect of early childhood professional development in higher education (DfE, 2012, p 20, para 2.11). This is especially so in the most acute cases of children’s vulnerability to harm and the need to understand and act upon statutory duties to protect these children from maltreatment. Students need to understand how to safeguard the relationship with the host setting and the university to ensure adequate support is provided to enable students to take critical action to safeguard children’s wellbeing. The chapter helps students to understand how to take advantage of opportunities to learn through reflective practice so that they can make a critical contribution to inter-agency children’s safeguarding and child protection professional practices. This chapter presents safeguarding responsibilities as multi-dimensional relationships – with children and families, with settings and colleagues, with the university and peers, and with one’s own academic and professional development.