Experiences of Support for Designated Safeguarding Leads in Education survey
You are invited to take part in this online survey looking at Experiences of Support for Safeguarding in Education.
Before you decide whether to take part it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information sheet to help you decide whether to participate. This survey is for those who hold Designated Safeguarding Lead roles (DSL) in settings in education for children and young people up to 18 years of age.
Your participation is voluntary. If you choose to take part in this research, you will be presented with an online survey consisting of several questions about your DSL role including training undertaken, support you have or would like and challenges of this role and examples of good practice. The survey should take about 20 mins to complete. You can choose to leave any questions blank that you do not wish to answer, and you can choose to leave the survey at any time by closing the browser. If you close the browser before completing the survey, please take a screenshot of this information sheet, for your records. Any incomplete surveys may still be used in the analysis. At the end of the survey, you will be asked if you are happy to submit your responses. If you select "yes" then withdrawal will no longer be possible because your data is provided anonymously.
We are grateful for your responses as they will enable us to understand the support available to DSLs and inform the development of training, supervision, support and practice for the future. There is no payment or compensation for taking part in this survey. Due to the nature of the topic being explored, it is possible that some participants may experience distress when completing the survey. If you feel that this survey is likely to cause distress, then please do not take part. There are some sources of support listed at the end of this information sheet.
If you have a safeguarding concern related to an individual case, please do not use this survey to report this. It is important to follow your organisational safeguarding process. If you do disclose information that could identify a child or adult at risk of possible abuse, we will be obliged to share this with relevant statutory agencies.
No personal data will be collected in this project, and all anonymously collected data will be collated into one confidential dataset, only accessible to the main research team. In line with the BPS guidance on data storage, the dataset will be retained for 5 years, at which point it will be securely destroyed. The findings and anonymised quotes from the study will be shared in a PDF, publications and presentations.
Further information and contact details
This study has been approved by the ethics committee at the University of Chester, Division of Psychology. The research team is Prof. Lisa Oakley, Dr Hayley Cooper, Anne Peake, Liz Malcolm & Megan Taylor. It is supported by the British Psychological Society Safeguarding Advisory Group.
Any questions or concerns can be directed to Prof. Lisa Oakley (l.oakley@chester.ac.uk) or Hayley Cooper (hayley.cooper@chester.ac.uk).
Sources of support
Samaritans - (Tel: 116 123, Email: jo@samaritans.org)
NSPCC - helpline for those worried about a child (Tel: 0808 800 5000, Email: help@nspcc.org.uk)
LADO - your Local Authority Designated Officer
Your Local Authority Educational Psychology Service
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