DSL stands for designated safeguarding lead. In a school or college, the DSL is the senior member of staff who takes lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection. Every concern a member of staff raises about a child ends up with them, and they decide what happens next.
Every school and college in England has to have one. It’s set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), the statutory guidance schools follow on safeguarding, and the role has to be written into the person’s job description. Most staff know who their DSL is. Fewer know what the DSL does with the things they pass on. It’s worth knowing, because it shows why the small things you notice matter.
What does DSL mean in education?
In education, DSL always means designated safeguarding lead. (The same initials stand for other things elsewhere, which is why people search for it.)
“Safeguarding” is keeping children safe from harm in the widest sense. “Child protection” is the narrower part: acting when a child is suffering, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm. The DSL leads on both.
KCSIE says the DSL should be a member of the school or college leadership team. That matters. Safeguarding decisions sometimes cut across budgets, staffing and policy, and the person making them needs the standing to see them through. KCSIE also says the DSL should be given the time, funding, training, resources and support to do the job properly.
What is the role of a DSL?
The short answer: they’re the point of contact for every safeguarding and child protection concern in the school. KCSIE has an annex that lists the DSL’s responsibilities in full, and it’s long. In practice, most of the work falls into a few areas.
They listen to concerns and decide what to do. That might mean keeping an eye on a child, arranging early help, working with the family, or referring to children’s social care or the police.
They work with other agencies. Social workers, the police and health professionals (the school nurse, a child’s GP) go to the DSL when they need information from the school. The DSL goes to strategy meetings and child protection conferences, or sends information if they can’t be there.
They keep the records. Every concern raised is written down in detail, and when a child moves school the DSL makes sure the file goes with them. All of it has to follow data protection law.
They look after the school’s safeguarding policy and training. The policy is reviewed every year, and the DSL makes sure all staff understand it and are trained to spot when a child might be at risk.
They advise and support staff, and keep the headteacher or principal informed about child protection work.
They also need a working knowledge of a wide spread of issues. Online safety, the Prevent duty and radicalisation, the main types of abuse and neglect, and specific issues such as female genital mutilation, child criminal exploitation, domestic abuse and forced marriage all sit with them. On top of that, they’re expected to promote the educational outcomes of vulnerable children, including those who have or have had a social worker.
One thing the DSL doesn’t do is investigate. They find out enough to make a decision, then refer on where a child is suffering or at risk of harm. Investigation is for social care and the police.
How does a DSL decide what to do with a concern?
Every local area has a safeguarding partnership made up of the local authority, health and the police, and schools must follow its procedures. The partnership publishes a thresholds document (in some areas it has a title like “right help, right time”) that sets out what level of need calls for what kind of response.
The DSL uses it to weigh up each concern. Some can be handled in school, with the child monitored and supported. Some need early help from health, local services or a charity. Some need a referral to children’s social care. If the DSL refers, they may be asked for more information, and may be invited to a strategy meeting.
Your school’s safeguarding and child protection policy will probably mention your local thresholds document. If it doesn’t, you’ll find it on your local safeguarding partnership’s website.
What about deputy DSLs?
Most schools have one or more deputy designated safeguarding leads, and larger schools often have several. Deputies are trained to the same level as the DSL and can take on some of the work, but the lead responsibility stays with the DSL and can’t be delegated.
Someone has to be around, too. During term time, the DSL or a deputy should always be available in school hours for staff to talk to about a concern, and the school needs proper arrangements for anything that runs in the holidays.
The DSL often works closely with colleagues who hold related roles: the SENCO, the designated teacher for looked-after and previously looked-after children, and the mental health lead. In smaller schools, the DSL may hold some of those roles too.
What training does a DSL need?
The DSL needs specific training for the role, refreshed at least every two years. That’s the formal part. In between, they’re expected to keep up with changes to guidance and new safeguarding issues by reading updates, signing up to newsletters and going to training on particular topics. KCSIE itself changes most Septembers, so this never really stops. Our KCSIE course covers the current version for all staff. If you’re new to the role, or thinking about it, Understanding the Role of the DSL sets out what the job involves.
It’s a heavy role, and some of what a DSL deals with is distressing. That’s one reason the guidance is clear that they need time and support as well as the title.
What’s your part, if you’re not the DSL?
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. The DSL takes overall responsibility, but they can only act on what they know, and most of what they know comes from you. Whatever your role, your part comes down to three things.
Understand your role. Take your annual safeguarding training seriously, read your school’s safeguarding and child protection policy, and know exactly how to raise a concern. If you’re not sure who your DSL is, find out today.
Know your children well. You see things the DSL doesn’t: a change in behaviour, a child who’s hungry, a mark that wasn’t there last week. Keep safeguarding in the back of your mind all the time.
Share what you notice, straight away, using your school’s system, whether that’s an online log, a paper form or going to find the DSL. Don’t keep a worry to yourself or take it home to sleep on. If it waits until tomorrow, the DSL can’t act on it tonight.
If your worry is about the conduct of another member of staff, speak to the headteacher or follow the procedure in your school’s policy. And if a child is in immediate danger, call the police.
Where to find out more
The best sources are KCSIE (particularly the annex on the DSL), Working Together to Safeguard Children, your school’s own policy and, of course, your DSL. There’s more on our safeguarding topic page.
Understanding the Role of the DSL is a short course, presented by Elizabeth Rose, for any member of school or college staff. It explains the role as KCSIE sets it out, the law behind it, how the DSL works with social care, health and the police, and what your own part is. It suits induction and support staff, and anyone who’s ever passed on a concern and wondered what happened next.