Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
South West London
Salary: Inner London SO4 (Points 41–44) £51,223 – £54,359
Contract: Term Time 2 Weeks 36 Hours per Week

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)

A specialist SEMH provision in South West London is seeking an experienced and dedicated Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) to lead safeguarding and child protection across two specialist education settings.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced safeguarding professional to join a committed multidisciplinary team supporting children and young people with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in ensuring the highest standards of safeguarding while helping to create a safe, nurturing and ambitious learning environment where every pupil can thrive.

The Role

As Designated Safeguarding Lead, you will provide strategic leadership for safeguarding and child protection across both sites, ensuring compliance with statutory guidance, including Keeping Children Safe in Education. You will lead on complex safeguarding matters, manage safeguarding systems and processes, and work closely with senior leaders, families and external agencies to secure the best outcomes for vulnerable learners.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead safeguarding and child protection across both education settings.

• Manage complex safeguarding and child protection cases, including Child Protection, Child in Need, Early Help, Prevent and LADO referrals.

• Line manage and support Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads and safeguarding staff.

• Build effective partnerships with families, local authorities and external professionals.

• Monitor safeguarding, attendance, behaviour and wellbeing data to drive continuous improvement.

• Promote a strong safeguarding culture where the welfare of every child is paramount.

About You

The successful candidate will have:

• Significant experience as a Designated Safeguarding Lead or Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead within an educational setting.

• Excellent knowledge of safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance.

• Experience managing complex child protection cases and working effectively with multi-agency partners.

• Strong leadership, organisational and communication skills.

• The resilience, professionalism and compassion needed to support vulnerable children and young people.

• A genuine commitment to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND and SEMH.

What's on Offer

This is a rewarding opportunity to make a genuine difference in the lives of children and young people within a specialist setting. You will join a highly supportive team that values collaboration, professional development and high-quality safeguarding practice.

If you are passionate about safeguarding and are looking for a leadership role where your expertise will have a lasting impact, we would love to hear from you.

We have a policy to respond to all applications within three working days. However, because of the volume of applications, we are sometimes unable to reply to individual enquiries. If we have not contacted you within this specified time your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. Philosophy Education is a Recruitment Business and is advertising this vacancy on behalf of one of its clients.