Module manager: Nathan Loynes
Email: N.Loynes@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is approved as a discovery module
Safeguarding children is everyone's responsibility, and understanding how to do it well is essential for anyone working with children and families. In this module you will explore the law, policy and professional practice that underpin safeguarding in England and Wales. You will learn how to identify signs of abuse, understand the child protection process from initial concern through to referral and planning, and develop your ability to assess and prioritise children's needs in complex, real-world situations. A significant part of this module involves grappling with genuinely difficult questions: How do professionals intervene in private family life while respecting the rights of children, parents and communities? How do we define abuse when its meaning differs across cultures, contexts and time? How do we make sound professional judgements when the evidence is ambiguous? These are questions that safeguarding professionals face every day, and this module will help you begin to develop the knowledge and critical thinking to navigate them. The module uses a flipped learning approach. You will work through guided online tasks before attending class, where the focus is on applying what you have learned to case studies and professional scenarios. Please note that class sessions run in either an early afternoon or early evening slot check which group you are allocated to before enrolling.
1. Develop a solid grounding in the legal and policy requirements of safeguarding children in England and Wales.
2. Understand the child protection process from identifying the possibility that child abuse has occurred through to making a referral and tracking that referral through child protection processes.
3. Identify the signs and symptoms of child abuse, and appreciate the complexities of defining abuse across different perspectives, including those of victims, families, cultures and across time.
4. Examine the implications and challenges of accurately assessing child abuse using professional assessment tools, including the impact of the environment, the child's stage of development, and parents' willingness to change potentially abusive behaviour
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1. LO1: Apply relevant law and policy to safeguarding and family support scenarios.
2. LO2: Apply the concept of risk to decision-making processes when working with children and families.
3. LO3: Reflect on how diversity and human rights considerations shape professional decision-making in safeguarding contexts.
4. LO4: Assess and prioritise the needs of children based upon varying risks and needs.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1. SLO1 (Work Ready — Decision-making): You’ll develop the ability to consider and evaluate options in safeguarding scenarios, apply professional judgement, and make appropriate choices within time-sensitive contexts where children’s welfare is at stake.
2. SLO2 (Sustainability — Ethical): You’ll develop the ability to identify ethical questions in safeguarding practice, considering what is morally right or fair when intervening in private family life, and understanding how professional decisions affect children, families, and communities.
This will be a ‘flipped’ class in line with the Child and Family Studies Programme suite of modules. Students are expected to learn from interactive online materials prior to attending each seminar wherein this prior learning will be applied and formatively assessed. The content will cover: the key provisions of the Children Act 1989 and the Children Act 2004; the main statutory guidance (Working Together to Safeguard Children); different types and contexts of child abuse; how children and families understand abuse including denial and coercion; the child protection process from identifying concerns through referral and professional planning meetings; the detailed assessment of children’s needs using professional assessment tools; the appreciation of allowing children and families to take risks alongside professional needs to monitor and manage risk; and child protection practice as evidence-informed, drawing on research and serious case reviews.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Tutorial | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Independent online learning hours | 83 | ||
| Private study hours | 100 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 17 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
• Multi-agency simulation preparation: A formative practice simulations will be conducted during seminar sessions, using a different case scenarios. Students will practise contributing from assigned professional roles in small groups, with peer and tutor feedback on the quality of their professional reasoning, application of law and policy, and engagement with other perspectives. This develops assessment literacy for the summative simulation format.
• Portfolio preparation: Students will have the opportunity to submit a draft section of their proforma and an extract of their analytical commentary for individual written feedback from the tutor. Feedforward guidance will be provided to support completion of the final portfolio.
• Ongoing formative support: Peer feedback opportunities in class-based group work; one-to-one and small group tutorials available by appointment; online interactive activities providing instantaneous feedback on legal and policy knowledge; asynchronous feedback via online discussion forums.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Role-play | Students participate in a simulated multi-agency safeguarding meeting. Each student is assigned a specific professional role | 60 |
| Multimodal Assessment | Students produce a professional assessment portfolio for a case study family (different from the family used in Assessment 1), comprising two integrated components | 40 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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