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For many children, the end of term is something to celebrate. It brings holidays, family time and a well-earned break from routines. For those of us working in safeguarding, however, the school holidays often bring a different feeling: a quiet awareness that many of the children we worry about most are suddenly much less visible.
Schools are uniquely placed within the safeguarding system. We see children every day. We notice changes in appearance, mood and behaviour. We recognise when a child who normally greets us with a smile becomes withdrawn, when attendance begins to slip, or when something simply doesn’t feel right. Effective safeguarding relies not on dramatic disclosures, but on consistent relationships and accumulated professional curiosity.
When school closes, most of that visibility disappears.
This presents a challenge that is both practical and moral. We know that safeguarding does not stop because the term has ended. Children’s experiences do not pause for six weeks over the summer or for two weeks at Christmas. Family pressures, domestic abuse, neglect, exploitation and mental health difficulties do not take holidays. Yet schools cannot operate at full capacity throughout every holiday period, nor should they be expected to.
The question, therefore, is not whether schools can replicate term-time safeguarding over the holidays, as they cannot. Instead, it is how can they prepare children, families and professionals so that safeguarding remains everyone’s responsibility, even when the daily protective presence of school is absent.
Preparation begins before the final bell
Effective safeguarding during periods of reduced visibility starts long before the holidays begin.
The final weeks of term should be used deliberately to identify children whose vulnerability may increase during extended periods away from school. This is rarely about creating new processes; it is about applying professional judgement and asking a simple question:
Who are we most worried about when they are no longer walking through our gates every morning?
For some children, that answer will be obvious. Those subject to Child Protection Plans or Child in Need Plans will already have multi-agency oversight. But vulnerability extends far beyond statutory thresholds.
Children experiencing inconsistent parenting, young carers, those struggling with anxiety, children affected by domestic abuse, children at risk of exploitation or those whose emotional wellbeing is closely tied to school routines may all find holidays particularly difficult.
Identifying these children allows schools to think proactively rather than reactively.
Welfare isn't always about safeguarding concerns
One of the simplest yet most powerful strategies available to schools is maintaining connection.
A brief welfare phone call, a check-in email or an agreed point of contact can reassure both families and young people that support has not disappeared simply because school has closed.
These conversations are not investigations. They are opportunities to maintain trusted relationships.
Sometimes the message is simply:
“We wanted to check how you’re getting on and remind you where you can access support if you need it.”
For some families, that phone call may be entirely routine. For others, it may provide the reassurance needed to ask for help before a situation escalates.
Importantly, schools should ensure that these contacts are proportionate, planned and appropriately recorded. They should never rely solely on the goodwill of individual staff members working informally throughout their holidays.
Helping families know where support continues
One of the greatest gifts schools can offer before the holidays is clarity.
Families often assume that because school is closed, support has disappeared altogether.
In reality, many services continue throughout school holidays.
Before the end of term, schools can ensure families know:
- how to contact Children’s Social Care if they are already involved
- local authority emergency duty arrangements
- NHS urgent mental health support
- community organisations and family hubs
- youth services and holiday activity programmes
- domestic abuse support services
- Childline and other helplines for young people
- emergency services where immediate risk exists.
A simple holiday safeguarding information leaflet or digital communication can become an invaluable resource when families need support but are unsure where to turn.
For older pupils particularly, ensuring they know how to seek help independently can be empowering. Safeguarding is not only about protecting children, it is also about helping them understand how to access support safely when trusted adults at school are temporarily unavailable.
Working with those who still have visibility
During school holidays, other professionals often become the people who see children most regularly.
Youth workers, sports coaches, holiday clubs, faith organisations, family support workers, early help practitioners and social workers may all have greater visibility than education staff during these periods.
Strong safeguarding relies upon recognising this shift.
Where appropriate, schools should ensure that key information has already been shared through relevant safeguarding channels before the holidays begin. Good relationships between agencies should never depend upon a crisis.
Likewise, schools benefit enormously from understanding what holiday provision exists locally. Holiday activity programmes are often viewed primarily as enrichment opportunities, but they also provide an important protective factor for many vulnerable children by maintaining trusted adult relationships and reducing social isolation.
Safeguarding is always strongest when professionals view themselves as one safeguarding network rather than isolated organisations.
Maintaining DSL cover without expecting constant availability
Keeping Children Safe In Education rightly expects schools to have appropriate safeguarding arrangements during periods when the school is closed.
Most schools achieve this through identified Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) cover, ensuring that safeguarding enquiries, requests from Children’s Social Care and any urgent concerns can be managed appropriately.
Technology has made this considerably easier than it once was.
Secure digital safeguarding systems such as CPOMS StudentSafe enable authorised safeguarding staff to access chronologies, records and key information remotely where appropriate. This means that if Children’s Social Care requests an agency check during the summer, or safeguarding information needs to be accessed to support a multi-agency response, schools are often able to respond without needing physical access to site or paper records.
This flexibility has strengthened safeguarding considerably.
However, there is an important distinction between ensuring safeguarding cover exists and expecting individual DSLs to remain permanently available.
Safeguarding is built before the holiday starts
Ultimately, safeguarding during periods of reduced visibility is less about what happens during the holidays and more about what happens before they begin.
Being prepared for safeguarding during the holidays means:
- Knowing your vulnerable children well.
- Preparing families with clear information.
- Maintaining relationships where appropriate.
- Trusting partner agencies while remaining available when needed.
And it is about creating sustainable safeguarding systems that do not rely upon individual heroics.
Schools cannot eliminate risk during holiday periods, but what they can do is reduce it through thoughtful planning, effective partnership working and clear communication.
Perhaps that is the most important message of all.
Safeguarding has never been about buildings.
It has always been about relationships, preparation and the collective responsibility to ensure that children continue to feel seen, supported and protected, even when school isn’t there.
Victoria Raynor is the Director of Raynor Safeguarding Ltd and an experienced safeguarding consultant, trainer and speaker. A former Head of Safeguarding and Designated Safeguarding Lead, she works with schools and trusts across the UK and internationally to strengthen safeguarding leadership, culture and practice.
Victoria is also the Global Safeguarding Partner for Leading Your International School (LYIS) and regularly delivers training, safeguarding reviews and keynote presentations.
Vic created and is part of SafeHive. A network of highly experienced safeguarding professionals providing expert consultancy, reviews, training, supervision and interim leadership. They work alongside schools, trusts and organisations to strengthen safeguarding culture, improve practice and build sustainable systems that keep children safe through collaboration, expertise and professional challenge.
