Designated safeguarding leads (DSLs) are at risk of becoming “desensitised, overwhelmed and burning out” due to a lack of protected time for supervision, leaders have warned.

Speaking ahead of Safeguarding Awareness Week 2026, which started yesterday, a panel of safeguarding experts explained to a Tes audience that “vicarious trauma” experienced by DSLs required extensive support.

According to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) ethical framework, supervision provides practitioners with “regular and ongoing opportunities” to reflect on “all aspects” of their practice. The BACP defines supervision as a “specialised form of mentoring provided for practitioners responsible for undertaking challenging work with people”.

Yet there is no mention in the government’s Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance of mandatory supervision - only that schools “should” provide support for DSLs. And while research suggests that supervision may have become more common in education settings, it also suggests that this type of support remains relatively rare.

Supervision ‘crucial’ for DSLs

“I just think it’s so crucial for DSLs to have that [supervision] and I still think there’s quite a lot of work to be done there,” said panellist Rachael Friend, head of safeguarding for schools at schools group Dukes Education.

She explained that she had spoken to other DSLs who thought they were having supervision, when “actually it’s a line-management conversation”.

DSLs are at risk of becoming “desensitised, overwhelmed and burning out” without supervision, and schools should have a “clear model” in place outlining what supervision and reflective conversations look like, she said.

Ms Friend also called for DSLs to have “protected time” to access this supervision so that other tasks do not get in the way.

Jo Mackenzie, strategic lead for safeguarding at Surrey-based The Howard Partnership Trust, added that it is important to remember that DSLs are not “just carrying children’s worries, but also other staff’s worries”.

She added: “So when they come to us and talk about whatever’s going on for them, that does generally sit on a DSL’s shoulders - that vicarious trauma - so what are they doing so that they can park it and enjoy the weekend with their own families?”

Making space for reflective supervision

The importance of supervision beyond the DSL role alone was also raised in the panel session, which can be viewed here.

Laura Phillips, trust lead for safeguarding, attendance and inclusion at King’s Group Academies, said: “Often schools will say they have supervision for the DSL, but actually deputy designated safeguarding leads are often the people on the ground, picking up the really challenging cases, being the first point of contact, dealing with the family, speaking to social workers, speaking to health professionals - kind of gathering all of that.”

She said that the challenges of the deputy role “cannot be overestimated”.

Yvette Stanley, national director for social care at Ofsted, told the Tes audience that she agreed with the need for supervision to be taken much more seriously in schools.

“I think one of the things that education can learn from social care - as someone who has come across both - is the space for reflective supervision and discussion around children’s individual experience, without breaching confidentiality, obviously,” she said.

When Tes asked whether it explicitly inspected supervision of DSLs, Ofsted indicated that it was unlikely to look in detail at this type of specific compliance with KCSIE; it would instead evaluate the effectiveness of a school’s overall safeguarding culture.

DSL role ‘hugely important and complex’

A 2023 research report from Foundations - What Works Centre for Children and Families found that DSLs believed that supervision was “useful”, noting that it provided the opportunity for reflection and to discuss their wellbeing.

The report also said that there were “mixed findings” on perceived impacts of supervision, with some DSLs reporting that it had no effect on their practices, and others reporting that it improved their confidence and wellbeing.

Margaret Mulholland, SEND and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, told Tes that the role of a DSL is “hugely important and complex” and that supervision should “definitely” be made available to them.

Ms Mulholland said it may be “challenging” for schools to implement it in the current funding climate, but it would “welcome moves towards a more formal expectation around supervision” if it is resourced in a way that makes it practical for schools.

Similarly, a spokesperson for the NAHT school leaders’ union told Tes that it had “consistently” highlighted the issue for years.

In its submission for KCSIE this year, the NAHT said the government “should implement nationwide, fully funded professional supervision because it would have a very positive impact on the support for DSLs/deputy DSLs”.

The calls for supervision echo those made on behalf of Sendcos at the Schools and Academies Show in London last week.

Claire Dorer, CEO of the National Association of Special Schools, said she would “love to see every Sendco having an entitlement to clinical supervision” as they have to deal with “difficulties coming from all directions”.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “DSLs offer essential support and advice for all staff, as well as acting as the point of contact for local safeguarding partners, to ensure children are kept safe.

“Our guidance is clear that DSLs should be given additional time, funding, training, resources and support they need to carry out the role effectively.”