Tes Safeguarding Awareness Week

What is Safeguarding Awareness Week?

Safeguarding Awareness Week is an annual event that brings everyone together and gives people a chance to explore what safeguarding is and what it means to feel safe.

This year’s event is the second annual safeguarding awareness week, held by Tes. The aim of the week is to open discussions around the responsibility, we all have when it comes to safeguarding our schools, communities, and workplaces. Whether you work in safeguarding professionally or not, this awareness week is there to help you understand the role everyone can play in keeping people safe.

As safeguarding is such a big topic, each year a specific theme/focus for the week is chosen. 

What is the theme for 2023?

This year’s theme is ‘Speak, Shout, Share’. The reason this theme was chosen was to encourage children and young people to open up about any safeguarding concerns they may have. Even though the focus is on helping children to learn that it is okay to speak to someone when they need to, it is a good reminder for many adults who may also struggle when it comes to speaking out when they need help.

If you feel concerned about something, who do you turn to?

Everyone needs someone to turn to when they are struggling, concerned, or burnt out. Whether on a friendship or professional level, talking to someone who understands or who can help you to understand what you are going through, or even just being there to listen, can make a big difference. Many children find themselves in situations where they are struggling and feel like they have no one they can turn to. If children feel so isolated that they cannot share their thoughts and feelings with someone, things get bottled up to a breaking point. That is a habit they may continue to do as they get older. An important part of safeguarding awareness week this year is highlighting ways that we can help children to learn that it is okay and good to share their thoughts and feelings with someone when they are in need of help. 

How can you get involved?

Over the week, Tes has a number of things you can do to get involved. On their website, there are several valuable resources that schools can use to help students think about who in their lives they could confide in.

You can take the conversation to social media! Share any resources, information, or just your opinion about safeguarding, this year's theme 'Speak, Shout, Share', or the importance of helping others. Help spread awareness of how important safeguarding is and should be in everyone's lives. Get involved and use the #SafeguardingAwarenessWeek

At The Safeguarding Company, we will be getting involved on social media, by sharing a whole host of our resources that can be used to support everyone, everywhere as they take this week to learn more about the importance of safeguarding, and how to encourage children and young people to 'Speak, Shout, Share' their concerns or worries with someone. 

The more we can all share and get involved this week the more people will learn and we can work together to help protect those who need our help.