Why Reflective Supervision Is Essential for Safeguarding Practice

Reflective supervision strengthens DSL decision-making and wellbeing. Discover how online supervision supports safer safeguarding practice, whether it's on a group or one-to-one basis.

Do I Need Supervision?

Picture this: You're a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) in a school. A complex situation lands on your desk late afternoon. A young person discloses something, emotions run high, time is short, you’re juggling meetings, safeguarding records, staff questions...

Afterwards, you sit at your desk, drained, uncertain whether you made the right decision. You wish you had a space to reflect, to off-load, to gain clarity.

That’s where reflective supervision becomes not just valuable, but also essential. In this blog post, we explore why reflective supervision matters for safeguarding, how DSL supervision and online supervision support it and how you can use my coaching services to ensure safe, confident practice.

What Is Reflective Supervision And Why It Matters In Safeguarding Practice

Reflective supervision is, at its heart, a structured, professional space in which safeguarding practitioners stop, reflect, explore emotions, review decisions and enhance clarity.

It's more than a meeting (and less face it, you'll have enough of those already). It’s an investment in safety, resilience and good practice.

"Supervision ensures work with young people is effective, safe and follows procedures… it helps staff manage the complicated feelings that arise."

That's what they say over at the Safeguarding Network. And they're spot-on.

Here is why that is crucial in safeguarding:

• Safeguarding work is often high-risk, emotionally charged and complex. Mistakes, missed signs or decisions made under pressure can cost children and young people dearly and also affect your professional wellbeing.

  
  

• The recent Keeping Children Safe In Education 2025 (KCSIE 2025) guidance reinforces the role of DSLs, staff support and professional development in maintaining robust safeguarding systems.

• Reflective supervision offers the time and structure to step out of the “doing” and into the “thinking about doing”, giving you more control, insight and confidence.

Without it, you risk acting in “automatic pilot” mode; with it, you create safer outcomes, healthier teams and a stronger safeguarding culture.

How DSL Supervision Supports Safer Decision-making And Staff Wellbeing

Decision-making Under Pressure

As a DSL, you carry serious responsibilities, inclusive of leading strategy, managing referrals, supporting staff and liaising with external agencies.

The pressure can make decision-making feel like walking a tight-rope. DSL supervision gives you a space to test your thinking, review options and reduce the margin of error.

Imagine a scenario whereby you’re unsure whether to escalate a case of suspected exploitation. In a supervision session you reflect on this:What information do I hold? What am I uncertain about? What steps could I take next? What are the consequences of waiting or acting now?

That clarity reduces guess-work and builds confidence. This skill becomes something you are able to take away from the supervision space and embed in your daily working practice.

Protecting Staff Wellbeing

It’s not just about decisions. Your role can leave you exposed. There are high stakes, high stress, long hours, then there's the emotional burden. Without support you may carry that burden alone.

DSL supervision acts as a safeguard for you. Staff wellbeing isn’t an optional extra. It’s essential. The risk of burnout, decision fatigue and emotional overload impacts both you and the children you serve.

By reflecting on your experience, clarifying your role and sharing the load (even virtually), you maintain resilience, insight and professional stamina.

Linking To KCSIE 2025

The KCSIE 2025 guidance emphasises that staff with safeguarding responsibilities should receive regular support and supervision.

Having a process for supervision helps demonstrate that your organisation is meeting those expectations, and helps you, as the DSL, lead a safer, proactive practice.

In other words, DSL supervision is not just a “nice to have”. It’s a strategic tool for high-quality safeguarding.

Why Online Supervision Is A Game-changer For Busy Professionals

Flexibility Without Compromise

You might be thinking: “Another meeting? When will I find the time?”

This is where online supervision becomes a powerful tool. Because it’s virtual, you can join from your office, a home workspace or between commitments, reducing travel time and making it easier to fit in.

The quality remains high. The structured reflective space is still in place - you still prepare, you can still bring cases, you still reflect under guidance.

Bringing The Best Of Both Worlds

Online supervision allows you to combine the best of peer support, professional facilitation and convenience. You’re not sacrificing the depth of supervision for convenience, you’re gaining both.

For example, a safeguarding manager I recently worked with, who was based in a rural area, found that my pilot group supervision sessions online gave him access to a wider peer group and expertise he would not have had locally. The distance became an advantage.

My Online Supervision Offering

In my one-to-one and group safeguarding supervision services, the sessions are delivered online.

Whether you opt for individual supervision or join a small group, you benefit from a structured virtual space, tailored discussion, emotional reflection and clearer role decision-making.

By choosing online, you free up more of your time, avoid travel disruption and maintain continuity of support.

A Real Life Example Of Transformation Through Reflective Supervision

I worked with a DSL in a secondary school some time ago, who was under a lot of pressure.

A large referral period, staff shortages, external agency delays and a triggered child protection plan... to name but a few of the frustrations and complicating factors.

One day she found herself feeling uncertain, doubting herself and the actions she'd taken, asking herself whether she'd acted too quickly? Too slowly? She was worried about staff wellbeing, pupil safety and her own stress levels.

She booked a One-To-One Safeguarding Supervision. In the session, we explored:

• What was influencing her decision-making? (stress, workload, emotional load...)

• What facts were clear and what were unknown?

• What options existed and what were the risks of each?

• How could she set boundaries for her role and protect her own wellbeing?
  

By the end of the session, she left with a clearer plan.

She had a timeline for each of the actions, a personal support check-in for staff and a safeguarding review schedule.

She got in touch with me later down the line, and advised experiencing fewer escalation delays, calmer staff meetings and greater clarity in her role.

This is the power of reflective supervision. It gives you time, perspective and better outcomes. If this resonates with your current context, the same process is available via my online supervision.

Why Reflective Supervision Is Essential For Safeguarding Teams And Culture

Building A Culture Of Continuous Learning

Reflective supervision doesn’t just help the individual, it elevates the whole team. When safeguarding leads and staff have regular supervision, they share lessons, challenge assumptions, refine practice and embed continuous improvement.

This isn’t leftover training, more it’s live practice reflection.

Enhancing Institutional Safeguarding Practice

Your organisation’s safeguarding system isn’t just policy and checkbox-work.

It lives in decisions, interactions and the uncertainties. Reflective supervision ensures the system is responsive, informed and human. It strengthens the gap between policy and practice.

Demonstrating Compliance And Accountability

With KCSIE 2025 emphasising staff support, supervision and training, a robust reflective supervision programme helps you demonstrate compliance, reduce risk and improve professional assurance.

Safeguarding Supervision With Ross Thompson

For teams seeking this culture, my Group Safeguarding Supervision service offers a structured group reflective supervision space. Whether you’re a DSL network, safeguarding team or multi-site lead, you’ll gain the supportive peer space, structured facilitation and rhythm that embeds supervision into your practice.

Online Supervision

If you’re thinking: “This all sounds important, but how do I start?”, that’s where my supervision services come in.

I offer both One-To-One Safeguarding Supervision and Group Safeguarding Supervision online. Here’s how you benefit:

• Targeted Support: In one-to-one sessions you get personalised reflection, decision-making clarity and role safeguarding for you individually.

• Collective Support: In group sessions, you join other safeguarding professionals, reflect together, share insight and build team resilience.

• Convenience And Accessibility: Online supervision means you don’t sacrifice travel time and you can fit sessions around your schedule.

• Outcomes-Focused: You come away not just talking about issues but devising clearer action, feeling more confident and anchored in your safeguarding role. If you’ve ever found yourself running on autopilot, reacting to situations rather than reflecting on them, supervision provides the space you need.

Practical Steps For Embedding Reflective Supervision In Your Safeguarding Role

Whether you choose to undertake supervision with me, or another professional, you'll need to consider...

Step 1: Schedule Regular Sessions

Decide whether you will have monthly one-to-one supervision (for yourself) or join a half-termly group supervision session? Book ahead so it’s protected in your diary. It should be treated as mandatory.

Step 2: Prepare Before Each Session

Bring an anonymised case or challenge, your current emotional state, what you feel unsure about. Be honest. The best reflection comes from being real.

Step 3: Use The Session To Clarify Your Role And Decisions

Ask what it is you are trying to achieve. What obstacles exist? What support do you need? What will you do differently?

Step 4: Follow-up with action

After the session, identify one change: e.g., clearer referral timeline, staff check-in routine, self-care check for you. Reflect again at the next session.

Step 5: Share insights With Your Team (If Appropriate)

If you’ve participated in group supervision, bring key reflections to your team meeting or your leadership team. This builds the supervision culture.

These steps ensure that reflective supervision becomes part of your role and not just a one-off workshop but a live, embedded practice.

Frequently Asked Questions About Reflective Supervision In Safeguarding

Do I Need Supervision?

While supervision may not be specified in every policy, KCSIE 2025 emphasises staff support and professional reflection. Choosing to engage means you’re proactively managing risk - for you, your team and the children.

Can Online Supervision Work As Well As Face-To-Face?

Yes. The structure, facilitation and reflection matter far more than location. Many practitioners are able to attend more consistently with the greater flexibility that being online brings.

How Many Sessions Will I Need?

It depends on your context. Some DSLs benefit from monthly one-to-one sessions, whilst others join group supervision half-termly alongside one-to-one sessions.

What If I Feel I Am Too Busy?

I get it. You are busy. That’s precisely why you need supervision, to step out of your busy schedule and to reflect. Making time now will save time, stress and risk later.

Is Supervision Only For DSLs?

Not at all. While DSLs often carry the most responsibility, supervision benefits anyone involved in safeguarding oversight, referrals, staff support and decision-making.

Supervision Is A Necessity

Reflective supervision is not a luxury!

It is a professional imperative. For you as a DSL, safeguarding lead, or practitioner, it offers clarity, confidence and culture.

It helps you make better decisions, support your staff and protect the children in your care. With the ever-evolving landscape of safeguarding and the responsibilities outlined in KCSIE 2025, choosing a supervision partner is the intelligent step forward.

If you’re ready to ensure your safeguarding practice isn’t just reactive, but reflective and resilient, my online coaching sessions are here for you. Choose from One-to-One Safeguarding Supervision, or join Group Safeguarding Supervision and take your next step.

Transform how you work, support and safeguard. Your role matters. The children matter. You matter too.