Head of Safeguarding

Integrity Education Solutions are supporting an independent SEN provider with the appointment of an exceptional opportunity has arisen for an experienced and highly credible safeguarding professional to join a growing specialist education organisation as Head of Safeguarding and Company Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) from January 2027. Based in South London with travel across other London sites.

This is a senior strategic role with organisation-wide responsibility for safeguarding and child protection, providing expert guidance, professional challenge and leadership across a number of specialist education settings supporting vulnerable and neurodiverse children and young people.

The successful candidate will work closely with senior leaders, School DSLs, Social Workers, Assistant Heads and multidisciplinary teams, ensuring safeguarding arrangements are consistently robust, compliant, effectively implemented and responsive to the complex needs of the pupils being supported.

The role also carries significant responsibility for pupil attendance, family engagement, complaints oversight and the development of safeguarding practice across the organisation, making this a broad and influential leadership opportunity for an experienced social work and safeguarding professional.

The Role

The Head of Safeguarding will provide expert leadership across complex safeguarding matters, including cases involving vulnerable young people at risk of exploitation, high-risk behaviour, complex mental health needs, offending, substance misuse and significant physical, psychological or healthcare needs.

The role will include supporting leaders with low-level concerns and allegations against staff, overseeing referrals to children's services, police and LADO teams, attending relevant multi-agency meetings and ensuring safeguarding records and reports are maintained to exemplary standards. The postholder will also use learning from national and local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews, research and best practice to strengthen safeguarding strategy and practice across the organisation.

Reporting to the Director of Clinical Services, the Head of Safeguarding will provide expert strategic and operational leadership across all aspects of safeguarding and child protection. As Company DSL, the postholder will ensure that the organisation fulfils its responsibilities under national and local safeguarding requirements, while providing supervision, advice and challenge to those responsible for safeguarding within individual schools and services.

The successful candidate will also lead the organisation's approach to attendance and family engagement, including the implementation of the Families and Schools Working Together (FAST) programme, while overseeing the company's complaints process and ensuring that learning from safeguarding matters, complaints and incidents is identified and embedded across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the Company Designated Safeguarding Lead, providing expert safeguarding leadership, professional advice, supervision and challenge across the organisation.

• Lead the auditing, quality assurance and continuous improvement of safeguarding and child protection practice, ensuring policies, procedures and standards remain compliant with statutory guidance.

• Provide professional supervision to Social Workers, School DSLs and relevant senior leaders, supporting high-quality practice and professional standards.

• Maintain strong relationships with Local Authorities, children's services, police, LADO teams and other safeguarding partners, acting as a central point of contact for complex and high-risk cases.

• Provide strategic oversight of pupil attendance and engagement, using data, auditing and intervention strategies to improve attendance and ensure robust systems are in place across all services.

• Lead the implementation and quality assurance of the FAST programme, strengthening family partnership, pupil voice and engagement across schools and services.

• Oversee the organisation's complaints process, ensuring investigations are timely and robust and that learning and themes are identified and translated into organisational improvement.

About the Candidate

• An appropriate degree-level professional qualification, or equivalent, in Social Work.

• Current registration with Social Work England.

• Qualified Practice Educator status.

• Significant post-qualification experience within complex safeguarding and social work environments.

• Experience supervising staff, including Qualified Social Workers in relation to Social Work England requirements.

• Experience working within or leading multidisciplinary teams across education, health and social care.

• Experience supporting neurodiverse children and young people, including those with ASC and/or SEMH.

• Strong knowledge of child protection legislation, national policies and procedures.

• Experience of reporting, auditing and quality assuring social work processes and outcomes.

• Experience managing complex and emotionally challenging situations involving young people and families.

• Excellent communication, listening, empathy, negotiation and problem-solving skills.

• The ability to provide professional challenge while developing and supporting colleagues.

• A strong commitment to safeguarding, equality, diversity and the welfare of children and young people.

Why Apply?

• This is an opportunity to take on a genuinely influential safeguarding leadership position within a specialist education organisation supporting some of the most vulnerable children and young people.

• The successful candidate will have the opportunity to shape safeguarding strategy at organisational level, develop the practice of safeguarding and social work professionals, strengthen multi-agency partnerships and directly influence the quality of support provided to pupils and their families.

• The role offers significant scope to lead meaningful organisational improvement across safeguarding, attendance, family engagement, complaints and social work practice.

Salary: £67,000 - £72,000 (Dependent on experience)

If this role is of interest, please contact Kenny Fraser at Integrity Education Solutions.

Integrity Education Solutions and the school are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The successful candidate will be subject to enhanced DBS and full pre-employment checks. Applications are welcomed from all sections of the community