Key points
- Safeguarding is more complex due to rising child and staff mental health needs, plus cost-of-living pressures.
- Budget constraints make compliance challenging, but the right systems help staff identify, monitor and respond to concerns.
- This blog outlines six reasons safeguarding software should be included in annual budgeting.
With mental health and wellbeing issues dramatically rising for both children and educational staff in recent years, safeguarding in schools, MATs and many other settings has become more challenging and complex than ever before.
Balancing budgets with the need to uphold safeguarding responsibilities as mandated by Keeping Children Safe in Education Guidelines may seem like an almost impossible task. However, with the right tools and systems in place, teachers, safeguarding leads and support staff can effectively identify, monitor and address safeguarding concerns from mental wellbeing to abuse or neglect.
In this blog we outline six key reasons why safeguarding software needs to be factored into your annual budget.
1. The number of children requiring serious mental health support has increased
As more than half a million young people are currently on a waiting list for support for mental health issues, schools must prioritise wellbeing in their safeguarding policies. This report from Mind also highlighted several other key concerns, including:
- Less than a third of children get NHS mental health help in time.
- More than 4 in 10 young people feel stigmatised by discussion about the so-called ‘overdiagnosis’ of mental health problems.
- Over half of young people don’t have faith in the government to tackle the nation’s mental health crisis.
While it can feel challenging to lookout for signs of poor mental health and wellbeing, it’s vital to trust when something isn’t quite right and to ensure that every concern – no matter how small – is recorded. Recording these concerns can help to build a bigger picture of an individual’s mental health and wellbeing over a longer period, allowing key interventions to be made.
2. Early intervention in schools is key
Early action is needed across the UK to identify and support children under five with mental health problems that could blight their adult lives, says a report from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
The NSPCC defines early help and early intervention, stating that providing timely support is vital and that identifying and addressing a child’s needs early on can increase protective factors that positively influence a child’s wellbeing.
3. Rise in post-pandemic safeguarding concerns
In a recent survey conducted by the National Governance Association (NGA), a substantial rise in safeguarding and welfare concerns was reported as over 48% of respondents reported an increase in safeguarding concerns over previous years. Key wellbeing issues included domestic abuse, cyberbullying and neglect as the top three concerns.
The concerns for the wellbeing of children and young people in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak highlight the need for dedicated tools to help support with safeguarding and welfare issues more than ever.
4. Hundreds of thousands of children are in need
According to the latest DfE data, there were over 632,800 referrals in 2025 and 402,000 children were classed as in need, with the number of re-referrals up 1.8% from a year earlier.
This ensures better outcomes for children through effective joint decision making and coordinated action across settings, representing an excellent investment for your child protection processes.
5. The cost-of-living crisis is impacting both pupils and teachers
The Action for Children charity recently found that as many as 26% of children were living poverty in some regions. The charity also highlighted that parents and carers are concerned about the impact of the cost of living rises over the coming year and the impact on children’s wellbeing.
The impact of the cost-of-living crisis upon pupils represents another front which teachers, safeguarding leads and all staff who work with children must monitor, particularly as it could manifest in serious welfare issues like malnutrition.
6. The necessity to prepare for inspections
All schools, whether independent or state-funded, are regularly required to undergo inspections, and as part of these inspections regulatory bodies including Ofsted, Estyn, Education Scotland and ISI will often assess how well a school carries out its safeguarding practices to ensure they are effective and meet the required standards.
As part of their inspections, regulatory bodies may also ask to look at records, procedures and policies, often providing schools with as little as a day’s notice to share this information.
These stark findings highlight the ever-important role of effective child protection in schools and why safeguarding must always be a priority in budgeting decisions.
Safeguarding software like CPOMS StudentSafe helps to quickly identify early signs of safeguarding concerns and spot trends or patterns about a child’s wellbeing over time, preventing cases from escalating and ensuring the right interventions can be made.
Effective safeguarding software enables schools to better collaborate with local authority departments and other agencies to ensure the right interventions are made at the right time.
In addition, the effect of the crisis on education staff cannot be understated and specialised tools like CPOMS StaffSafe are essential to monitor and provide wellbeing support for staff, so that they in turn can perform effectively in their role to keep children safe.
To find out more about how CPOMS solutions can support your setting, schedule a free demo today.
