A new month, a new question! Take a moment to explore this week’s safeguarding focus and keep the conversation going in your setting.

Week 1 - A parent you know well seems “not herself” when you ask a routine question about their child’s attendance.

You want to record your concern, but it feels more like instinct than evidence. You cannot simply write, “Mum wasn’t herself."
How do you turn that instinct into clear, specific detail that would stand up in a safeguarding record?

Week 2 - You notice that Samira, usually confident and chatty, has been quieter over the past couple of weeks. During the session, she asks to go to the toilet and takes longer than usual to return, later saying she had a stomach ache.

At the end of the day, while lining up for home time, she quietly asks you:

“Miss, if someone doesn’t want to go somewhere but their mum says they have to, do they still have to go?”

When you gently ask what she means, Samira shrugs and says, “It’s just… we’re going away soon,” before quickly changing the subject.

As the class leave, you notice Samira hesitating when her older cousin arrives to collect her, saying, “Come on, you’ve got to hurry up or we’ll miss the bus.”

What would a child-centred safeguarding response look like at this point?

Week 3 -  Under the EYFS Statutory Framework, how should early years providers respond to persistent non‑attendance?

A.   It is not a safeguarding issue because attendance at early years settings is not compulsory.

B.   Providers must consider patterns and trends in a child’s absences, their personal circumstances, and use professional judgement to determine if the absences indicate safeguarding concerns, following up in line with the setting’s attendance and safeguarding procedures.

C.   Providers only need to record the absence and wait for the child to return.

Week 4 - Coming soon!