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Free template · pupilprotect.co.uk/tools
Safeguarding concern form
School: ______________________________
Confidential: child protection record. Give this to the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) or a deputy straight away, then keep it in the child’s child protection file.
If a child is in immediate danger, call 999 first. Fill this in as soon as you can, on the same day. Use black ink and don’t use correction fluid. Write what you saw and heard, not what you think it means.
1. The child
Child’s full name
Date of birth
Class or year group
2. When and where
Date it happened or was said
Time
Where it happened
When you wrote this (date, time)
3. What you saw, heard or were told
Write the child’s own words in quotation marks, as close to exactly as you can. Say what was happening just before. Record facts; if you add an opinion, say that it’s your opinion. Ask only open questions (what, where, when) and don’t promise to keep a secret.
What happened, and what the child said
4. Who else was present
Names and roles of anyone else present or involved, including witnesses
5. Any injuries
Mark each visible injury on the body map and number it. Describe each one by number: where it is, its size, shape and colour, and whether the skin is broken. Write down anything the child said about it. Don’t ask the child to remove clothing, and never photograph an injury.
FrontThe child’s right is on your leftBackThe child’s left is on your left
Injuries, by number (where, size, shape, colour)
First aid or medical help given, by whom
6. What you did
Action you took
Passed to (name and role)
Date and time passed on
7. Your details
Your name
Your role
Signature
Date
For the DSL or deputy
Record every decision and the reason for it, including a decision to take no further action.
Received by (name and role)
Date and time received
Decision and reasons
Next step (tick all that apply)Support in school (pastoral)Family Help assessmentReferral to children’s social careReferral to the policeOther agency (say which below)No further action (give reasons above)
Referral made to, date, time and reference
Other actions, by whom and when
Outcome
Parents or carers informed?YesNo
By whom and when
If not, why not (for example, telling them could put the child at greater risk)
Added to the child’s child protection fileYes
Review date (if any)
DSL signature
Date
Based on Keeping children safe in education 2026 (DfE), NSPCC Learning’s child protection records guidelines (2026) and Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership’s body map guidance, checked 20 October 2026. Free template from Pupil Protect: pupilprotect.co.uk/tools. Adapt it to your own child protection policy and local procedures. Guidance, not legal advice.
What a record should hold, and why
Every box on the form comes from the statutory guidance or from published safeguarding guidance. Here is what each source says.
This is guidance, not legal advice. Your own child protection policy and your local safeguarding partnership’s procedures come first.
Write down every concern, discussion and decision, with reasons
Records should hold a clear and comprehensive summary of the concern, how it was followed up and resolved, and a note of any action taken, decisions reached and the outcome. Keep concerns and referrals in a separate child protection file for each child.
KCSIE 2026, Part one, paragraph 74; Annex B
Use the child’s words, without interpretation
Record only what the child says, without interpretation or personal opinion. Ideally, give the child your full attention and write a detailed summary at the end of the conversation. These notes may be used in statutory assessments or criminal investigations.
KCSIE 2026, Part five, paragraph 558
Keep facts, opinion and history apart
Safeguarding records should be clear and factual, and distinguish between observed concerns, professional opinion and historic information. If you include an interpretation, say that it is one.
KCSIE 2026, Annex B; NSPCC Learning
Who, when, where and what was done
Record the date and time of the incident or disclosure and of the report, who reported it and to whom, everyone involved including witnesses, the child’s details, what was said or done and by whom, any action and any referral, and the reasons if you decide not to refer. The person making the record signs and dates it.
NSPCC Learning, Child protection records retention and storage guidelines (2026)
Act straight away and tell the DSL
If staff have any concern about a child’s welfare, they should act on it immediately and speak to the designated safeguarding lead or a deputy. If the DSL isn’t available, that must not delay action: speak to a senior leader or take advice from children’s social care, and tell the DSL as soon as possible.
KCSIE 2026, Part one, paragraphs 58 to 61
Decide on the next step, and on telling parents
The DSL’s options include support in school, a Family Help assessment or a referral to statutory services. Where a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, harm, refer to children’s social care (and the police if appropriate) immediately. The DSL considers whether to inform parents or carers where doing so won’t put the child at additional risk.
KCSIE 2026, Part one, paragraphs 60 and 65
Injuries: a body map, never a photo
Mark visible injuries on a body map in black ink. Note each mark’s location, size, shape and colour, and whether the skin is broken. Don’t remove clothing to look, and never photograph an injury. Record the date and time, and your name and role.
Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership, body map guidance. Check your own partnership’s guidance too.
Pupil Protect replaces this paper form
In Safeguard, any member of staff logs a concern on a phone or laptop, marks injuries on a body map, and the DSL is alerted. Every concern and action lands on the child’s chronology, so nothing sits in a pigeonhole waiting to be read.
The child’s name, date of birth and class; the date, time and place; what was seen, heard or said, in the child’s own words; who else was there; any injuries, on a body map; what action was taken and who it was passed to; and the name, role and signature of the person recording it. The DSL then records their decision, the reasons, any referral, the outcome and whether parents were told. This follows Keeping children safe in education 2026 and the NSPCC’s record-keeping guidance.
Should staff write down the child’s exact words?
Yes, as closely as possible, in quotation marks. Keeping children safe in education 2026 says to record only what the child says, without interpretation or personal opinion, and ideally to write a detailed summary at the end of the conversation so you can give the child your full attention.
Can school staff photograph a child’s injury?
No. Local safeguarding partnership guidance, such as Nottinghamshire’s, says staff must never photograph a child’s injuries and shouldn’t remove clothing to examine them. Mark what you can see on a body map instead, and follow your own partnership’s procedures.
Who does a concern form go to, and how quickly?
To the designated safeguarding lead or a deputy, straight away. If they aren’t available, don’t wait: speak to a senior leader or children’s social care, and tell the DSL as soon as you can. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.
Do we have to tell parents about a safeguarding concern?
Not always. The DSL decides whether to inform parents or carers, considering whether doing so could put the child at additional risk. Record the decision and the reason either way. The form has space for this in the DSL section.
Free template · pupilprotect.co.uk/tools