Designated Safeguarding Lead: Welcare Finalist in Five Award Categories

Designated Safeguarding Lead Recognition at the BDSC Awards 2026

Welcare is proud to be a finalist in five categories at the Black & Diverse Safeguarding Professionals Awards 2026.

This is an important moment for Welcare, our colleagues, our partners and the wider communities we support. It recognises work that is rooted in care, accountability, inclusion and a clear commitment to safeguarding.

For a Designated Safeguarding Lead, safeguarding is never only about policies or procedures. It is about people. It is about making sure children, young people, families and communities are listened to, respected and supported when they need help.

It is also about building environments where concerns can be shared without fear. Children and young people should know that adults will take them seriously. Staff should feel confident to raise a worry. Families should feel that services are approachable, fair and focused on what matters most.

Welcare’s five finalist nominations reflect these values.

The categories are:

• Innovation in Public Service Award
• Equity & Inclusion Professional/Organisation
• Safeguarding Practitioner of the Year
• Still Standing
• Community Impact

Each category highlights a different part of safeguarding work. Together, they show how wide-reaching positive practice can be.

Innovation can help services respond better to changing needs. Equity and inclusion can help people feel seen and valued. Strong safeguarding practice can help children and families receive the right support at the right time. Resilience matters because safeguarding professionals often work in demanding circumstances. Community impact matters because children thrive when the people around them work together.

Welcare is also proud to support the Black & Diverse Safeguarding Professionals Awards as an Awards Sponsor.

Supporting the awards is about more than attending an event. It is about standing alongside professionals and organisations who work hard to strengthen safeguarding across the UK. It is about recognising work that may happen quietly but can make a real difference in people’s lives.

The awards were created to celebrate safeguarding professionals whose work supports vulnerable children, adults, families and communities. This is work that can involve difficult conversations, careful decisions and a great deal of emotional strength.

Good safeguarding often begins with small but meaningful actions.

It can begin when an adult notices that a child seems quieter than usual. It can begin when a young person feels able to share a worry. It can begin when a colleague asks for guidance rather than dealing with a concern alone.

These moments matter.

A strong safeguarding culture helps people act early, listen carefully and work together. It also helps create a sense of trust. Children and young people need to know that the adults around them will be consistent, calm and kind.

In a children’s home, this is especially important.

A home should feel like a home. It should be a place where children can rest, learn, enjoy everyday routines and build positive relationships. They should feel safe enough to express their views, ask questions and be themselves.

Safeguarding plays a vital role in making this possible.

It is not only about responding to risk. It is also about helping children feel secure, valued and supported as they grow. It means creating clear boundaries while still offering warmth, patience and understanding.

For a Designated Safeguarding Lead, this kind of work involves helping others understand their responsibilities. It means encouraging staff to speak up, supporting good decision-making and making sure children’s voices remain central.

In children’s residential care, safeguarding responsibilities are shared across leaders, managers and staff teams. Everyone has a part to play. Every person working in a home can help a child feel safer, more understood and more confident.

This shared responsibility is one reason why recognition matters.

The BDSC Awards create a moment to celebrate the people and organisations who keep showing up for others. They shine a light on safeguarding professionals who work with care, courage and a deep sense of purpose.

Welcare is honoured to be named among the finalists.

The awards will take place in Birmingham on Saturday 19 September 2026. It will be an opportunity to celebrate positive safeguarding practice, connect with others across the sector and recognise the importance of inclusive leadership.

Our finalist recognition is a proud achievement. However, the real purpose behind this work remains the same.

• It is about helping children and young people feel safe.
• It is about helping families feel supported.
• It is about helping communities grow stronger.

And it is about making sure safeguarding continues to be shaped by dignity, fairness, compassion and hope.

How a Designated Safeguarding Lead Helps Create Safer Children’s Homes

Finalist recognition is a chance to celebrate, but it also reflects the daily work behind good safeguarding.

In schools and colleges, the Designated Safeguarding Lead is a defined role that supports staff and leads safeguarding arrangements. In children’s homes, safeguarding leadership can be structured differently. Responsibilities may sit across registered managers, senior leaders and residential care teams. The guiding principle remains the same: children’s safety, wellbeing and lived experience must come first.

Strong safeguarding does not begin with a form, a meeting or a policy document. It begins with relationships.

Children and young people are more likely to share worries when they feel known, respected and safe. This takes time. It means adults being reliable, keeping appropriate promises and showing care in ordinary moments as well as difficult ones.

A child may not always explain that something is wrong. They may become quieter than usual. They may appear frustrated, withdrawn or unsettled. They may communicate through behaviour, art, routines or small changes in how they relate to others.

This is why every member of a children’s home team has a safeguarding role.

Residential care staff often spend the most time with children and young people. They see the everyday moments that others may not see. They know what helps a young person feel calm. They may notice when a usual routine changes or when a child seems worried.

Good safeguarding leadership helps staff recognise that these observations matter.

Safeguarding Leadership Starts With Listening

Listening is one of the most important parts of safeguarding.

It means giving children and young people time to speak in their own way. It means avoiding assumptions. It means asking gentle, clear questions and giving them space to answer.

Sometimes, a child may want to talk while walking, cooking, playing a game or sitting in a quiet room. Some young people may prefer to write something down. Others may need help to communicate through pictures, technology or support from a trusted adult.

A Designated Safeguarding Lead approach should make room for these differences.

Children should not have to use one particular way of speaking to be heard. Their feelings, wishes and worries should be taken seriously, whatever form they take.

Listening also means being honest. Adults should not promise things they cannot deliver. They should explain what may happen next in clear language. They should help children understand that sharing a concern is a positive step.

When a child feels heard, they are more likely to seek help again.

This builds trust over time.

It also helps adults respond earlier. Small concerns can be explored before they become larger problems. Staff can seek advice, share information appropriately and work with other professionals when further support is needed.

Creating a Culture Where Concerns Are Heard

A safeguarding culture is shaped by what happens when someone raises a concern.

Staff need to feel confident that they can speak openly. They should know who to approach, what information to record and when to ask for help. They should never feel that a concern is too small to share.

This does not mean every change in behaviour is a safeguarding issue. It means staff understand that uncertainty should be discussed, rather than ignored.

Good leaders create a culture where staff can reflect without fear of blame. They make time for supervision, learning and clear communication. They encourage colleagues to speak honestly when they need advice.

This protects children and supports staff.

Safeguarding can involve complex decisions. Staff may need to work with social workers, health professionals, schools, families and other services. Clear leadership helps everyone stay focused on the child’s needs.

It also helps prevent important details from being missed.

Ofsted’s framework for children’s homes focuses on the impact of care and support on children’s experiences and progress. It also considers how well children are helped and protected, alongside the effectiveness of leaders and managers.

This matters because good safeguarding should be felt in daily life.

It should be visible in how adults speak to children. It should be clear in the consistency of routines. It should be present when children share their views, make a complaint or need help after a difficult day.

Equity and Inclusion in Everyday Safeguarding Practice

Safeguarding should work for every child.

Children and young people bring their own experiences, culture, identity, faith, communication needs and personal strengths into a home. Adults need to recognise that these experiences can shape how a young person sees the world, asks for help and responds to support.

Inclusive safeguarding means taking time to understand the individual.

It means avoiding assumptions about what a child needs. It means being curious, respectful and willing to learn. It means making sure support feels accessible and fair.

A young person may feel more comfortable speaking to a particular trusted adult. Another may need more time before they are ready to share a concern. Someone else may need information explained in a clearer or different format.

These are not barriers to safeguarding. They are reminders that safeguarding should be responsive.

Children should feel that they belong. They should not feel that they need to hide who they are to be accepted or supported.

This is where equity and inclusion become practical, everyday values. They guide how adults listen, communicate, plan support and build trust.

Supporting Staff to Support Children

Good safeguarding requires confident, supported staff.

Residential childcare can be rewarding, but it can also be emotionally demanding. Staff need training, reflective supervision and guidance from people who understand the responsibilities they carry.

A strong safeguarding culture does not expect anyone to manage difficult concerns alone.

It encourages learning. It makes space for questions. It recognises that asking for support is a sign of professional care.

For children, this creates a more stable environment. When staff feel supported, they are better able to stay calm, consistent and attentive.

That consistency can make a real difference.

It helps children know what to expect. It helps them build trust. It gives them a stronger foundation from which to learn, develop and feel hopeful about the future.

These values sit at the heart of meaningful safeguarding. They also help explain why Welcare’s finalist recognition across five BDSC Award categories matters.

Five BDSC Award Categories, One Commitment to Inclusive Safeguarding

Welcare’s finalist recognition across five categories is something to celebrate. It is also a helpful way to understand what strong safeguarding looks like in practice.

Each category reflects a different part of the work. Together, they show that safeguarding is not one single action. It is a combination of leadership, reflection, resilience, inclusion and community connection.

For anyone working in a Designated Safeguarding Lead role, or in wider safeguarding leadership, this matters. Good safeguarding is never narrow. It does not sit in one office or belong to one department. It influences how people listen, how services respond and how children, young people and families experience support.

These five finalist categories show that safeguarding is at its best when it is both thoughtful and practical.

• Innovation matters because services need to keep improving.
• Inclusion matters because people need to feel seen and respected.
• Professional practice matters because children depend on adults making sound decisions.
• Resilience matters because safeguarding work can be demanding.
• Community impact matters because lasting change rarely happens in isolation.

Taken together, these categories say something important. The best safeguarding work is not only reactive. It is also proactive, reflective and deeply human.

Innovation in Public Service Award

Innovation in safeguarding is not about change for the sake of it. It is about improving the way support is offered so that children, young people and families receive help that is timely, practical and meaningful.

In public service, innovation can be simple. It might mean communicating more clearly. It might mean improving how concerns are shared. It might mean making services easier to access or making sure support better reflects the needs of the people using it.

This matters in children’s social care because no two children are the same. Needs can change. Pressures can change. The best services continue to learn and adapt.

Strong safeguarding leadership supports this kind of progress. It asks what is working, what needs to improve and what children’s experiences are telling us.

Equity and Inclusion Professional/Organisation

Equity and inclusion are not separate from safeguarding. They are part of what makes safeguarding effective.

A child or young person is more likely to trust support when they feel recognised and respected. Families are more likely to engage when services feel fair and approachable. Staff are more likely to make better decisions when they understand how identity, culture, lived experience and communication needs can shape someone’s experience.

Inclusive practice means looking carefully at whether everyone is able to access the same level of support. It means asking whether some voices are being missed. It means making sure dignity and belonging are present in everyday decisions.

This category speaks to a vital truth. If people do not feel seen, they may not feel safe enough to speak.

Safeguarding Practitioner of the Year

This category recognises the skill, judgement and care that safeguarding practitioners bring to their work.

Safeguarding can involve difficult conversations and careful choices. It often requires calm thinking under pressure. Practitioners may need to listen closely, assess risk, share concerns appropriately and work with several professionals at the same time.

Much of this work is unseen. It happens in conversations, records, meetings and day-to-day support. Yet the impact can be huge.

For children and young people, a good practitioner may be the person who notices a problem early, makes time to listen or helps them feel understood during a stressful time.

Recognition in this category honours the steady professionalism that helps keep safeguarding strong.

Still Standing

Safeguarding work asks a great deal from the people who do it.

Professionals may carry emotional pressure, manage complex situations and continue showing up for others even on difficult days. That is why resilience matters. Not as a slogan, but as something that needs support, reflection and care.

Still Standing is a powerful category because it recognises endurance with purpose. It acknowledges the people who continue to offer commitment, compassion and stability, even when the work is challenging.

This kind of resilience should never mean coping alone. Healthy safeguarding cultures support staff through supervision, teamwork, learning and open conversations. When staff feel supported, children benefit too.

Community Impact

Safeguarding does not only happen within formal services. It is strengthened by community.

Children and young people do better when the people around them work together. That can include carers, families, teachers, health professionals, social workers, voluntary groups, faith groups and local organisations. Each can play a role in creating safer, more supportive environments.

Community impact is about more than visibility. It is about real influence. It is about whether positive work reaches beyond one setting and helps strengthen trust, understanding and support across the wider community.

This category reflects the importance of connection. No organisation can do everything alone. Lasting safeguarding improvement grows through shared effort.

These five categories may look different on the surface, but they all point in the same direction.

They show that good safeguarding is not limited to responding to risk. It also involves building trust, improving services, supporting professionals and strengthening communities.

That is why this finalist recognition matters.

It reflects values that deserve to be celebrated, not only at an awards event, but in the everyday work of helping children and young people feel safe, heard and supported.

Why Designated Safeguarding Lead Values Matter Beyond the Awards

Awards matter because they create a moment to pause and recognise work that can easily go unseen.

In safeguarding, much of the most important work happens in ordinary daily life. It happens when a child is greeted warmly after a hard day. It happens when a young person is given time to talk. It happens when staff remain calm, consistent and kind. It happens when leaders make sure that safety, dignity and trust remain at the heart of every decision.

That is why this recognition means so much.

Welcare’s finalist place in five categories is a proud moment, but the real value lies in what those categories represent. They point to the kind of safeguarding culture that helps children and young people feel safer, more supported and more able to grow with confidence.

For a Designated Safeguarding Lead, or for anyone carrying safeguarding leadership responsibilities, this is the standard to keep aiming for. Good safeguarding is not about visibility alone. It is about impact. It is about whether children feel heard. It is about whether support is fair. It is about whether a home, a service or a team helps people feel safe enough to trust.

Recognition Is Meaningful When Children Benefit

The clearest sign of strong safeguarding is not an award shortlisting. It is the experience of the child.

A child should feel that adults notice when something is wrong. They should feel that their worries are taken seriously. They should know that support is available, and that they do not need to face difficult things on their own.

This is why safeguarding must always be connected to everyday care.

Children’s homes should feel safe, stable and welcoming. They should offer more than protection from harm. They should also offer belonging, encouragement and ordinary routines that help children settle and grow.

When safeguarding is done well, children are more likely to build trust in adults. They are more likely to ask for help. They are more likely to feel that their future can be different from their past.

That is the real purpose behind strong leadership, thoughtful practice and inclusive support.

Supporting Safer, More Therapeutic Homes

A safe home is not only one where risks are managed properly. It is also one where children feel understood.

This matters because many children in residential care have lived through uncertainty, loss or trauma. They may need time to trust. They may test boundaries. They may struggle to explain how they feel. Adults need to respond with patience, consistency and clear care.

Therapeutic thinking helps here.

It encourages adults to look beneath behaviour and consider what a child may be trying to communicate. It supports routines that feel predictable. It values relationships that are calm, respectful and steady. It also helps staff respond in ways that reduce fear rather than increase it.

When safeguarding and therapeutic care work side by side, children are better supported. They are not seen only through risk. They are seen as individuals with needs, strengths, hopes and potential.

This is the kind of environment that helps children begin to feel more secure in themselves and in the adults around them.