Safety

Safeguarding Concern Log

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DATE, TIME, AND LOCATION OF CONCERN: Record the exact date, time, and location (room, outdoor area, vehicle) for every entry on the same day the concern arises. Delay beyond the same day must be explained in the entry itself. Prompt recording is required by the Care and Support Statutory Guidance (Chapter 14) and is standard practice under Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023.
FULL DESCRIPTION IN OBSERVED LANGUAGE: Write precisely what was seen, heard, or disclosed, using the person's own words wherever possible. Label your observations clearly ("child said", "I observed") and keep inference separate from fact. Never paraphrase in a way that alters meaning. This protects the entry's evidential value if a Section 42 enquiry (Care Act 2014, s.42) or a child protection assessment is later opened.
IDENTITY OF THE PERSON RAISING THE CONCERN: Record the full name and job role of the staff member, volunteer, or other person who raised or received the concern. Where the concern is raised verbally by another party (parent, visitor), record their name and relationship to the person at risk. The recording person and the person who witnessed the concern may not be the same individual; note both.
IDENTITY AND DETAILS OF THE PERSON AT RISK: Record full name, date of birth, and, for adults, whether they have care and support needs as defined by Care Act 2014, s.42(1). For children, record the key stage or age group. These details determine which statutory framework applies and which authority must be notified.
IMMEDIATE ACTION TAKEN AND RATIONALE: Record every step taken at the time: first aid, removal from risk, separation of alleged perpetrator, contact with the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL, required under EYFS Statutory Framework 2025, para. 3.4), and any decision NOT to act immediately along with the reason. A blank action field fails CQC Regulation 13 and EYFS welfare requirement checks.
DSL OR RESPONSIBLE PERSON NOTIFIED: Record the name and role of the DSL or safeguarding lead informed, the date and time they were told, and the method (in person, telephone, email). Under EYFS 2025 para. 3.4, the DSL bears responsibility for liaison with statutory agencies; this field creates the audit trail that the DSL was in the loop before any referral decision was made.

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Safety

Safeguarding Concern Log

A confidential, chronological record of every safeguarding concern raised in the setting: what was seen or disclosed, the immediate action taken, who was told, and any referral made. Without it, a CQC or Ofsted inspector has no audit trail, the setting cannot demonstrate compliance with Regulation 13 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 or the EYFS Statutory Framework 2025, and any failure to report a Section 42 concern under the Care Act 2014 becomes impossible to defend.

12 checksPDF + printReviewed August 2026

Built on published UK guidance Show sources

Care Act 2014, s.42 (duty to enquire, adults); Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Regulation 13 (safeguarding from abuse) and Regulation 17 (good governance); EYFS Statutory Framework 2025, paras. 3.4 and 3.6 (DSL, recording, and information sharing); Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 (statutory guidance, multi-agency recording and referral duties); Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2023, Chapter 14, paras. 14.13 to 14.15 (Making Safeguarding Personal, recording principles); UK GDPR Art. 9(2)(g) and Data Protection Act 2018, s.10 (lawful basis for sharing special-category data for safeguarding); IICSA Final Report 2022 (75-year retention recommendation for child sexual abuse records); NSPCC Child Protection Records Retention and Storage Guidance (child-to-age-25 default retention)

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12 things to check.

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1DATE, TIME, AND LOCATION OF CONCERN: Record the exact date, time, and location (room, outdoor area, vehicle) for every entry on the same day the concern arises. Delay beyond the same day must be explained in the entry itself. Prompt recording is required by the Care and Support Statutory Guidance (Chapter 14) and is standard practice under Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023.
2FULL DESCRIPTION IN OBSERVED LANGUAGE: Write precisely what was seen, heard, or disclosed, using the person's own words wherever possible. Label your observations clearly ("child said", "I observed") and keep inference separate from fact. Never paraphrase in a way that alters meaning. This protects the entry's evidential value if a Section 42 enquiry (Care Act 2014, s.42) or a child protection assessment is later opened.
3IDENTITY OF THE PERSON RAISING THE CONCERN: Record the full name and job role of the staff member, volunteer, or other person who raised or received the concern. Where the concern is raised verbally by another party (parent, visitor), record their name and relationship to the person at risk. The recording person and the person who witnessed the concern may not be the same individual; note both.
4IDENTITY AND DETAILS OF THE PERSON AT RISK: Record full name, date of birth, and, for adults, whether they have care and support needs as defined by Care Act 2014, s.42(1). For children, record the key stage or age group. These details determine which statutory framework applies and which authority must be notified.
5IMMEDIATE ACTION TAKEN AND RATIONALE: Record every step taken at the time: first aid, removal from risk, separation of alleged perpetrator, contact with the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL, required under EYFS Statutory Framework 2025, para. 3.4), and any decision NOT to act immediately along with the reason. A blank action field fails CQC Regulation 13 and EYFS welfare requirement checks.
6DSL OR RESPONSIBLE PERSON NOTIFIED: Record the name and role of the DSL or safeguarding lead informed, the date and time they were told, and the method (in person, telephone, email). Under EYFS 2025 para. 3.4, the DSL bears responsibility for liaison with statutory agencies; this field creates the audit trail that the DSL was in the loop before any referral decision was made.
7REFERRAL DECISION AND OUTCOME: Record whether the concern was referred to the local authority children's or adults' safeguarding team, the police, or the CQC. Where a referral is made, record the date and time (target: within 24 hours of identifying the concern, consistent with local Safeguarding Adults Board and Safeguarding Children Partnership procedures), the name of the person spoken to, and any reference number given. Where no referral is made, record the DSL's written rationale.
8INFORMATION SHARED WITH OTHER AGENCIES: Record every agency informed beyond the initial referral: school, GP, health visitor, housing authority, police. Note what information was shared, under which legal basis (e.g. UK GDPR Article 9(2)(g), Data Protection Act 2018 s.10, or a safeguarding public task), and the date. This prevents gaps in multi-agency records and demonstrates compliance with Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 information-sharing duties.
9CONSENT STATUS AND CAPACITY NOTES: Record whether the person at risk was informed, whether they consented to information being shared, and, if consent was withheld or could not be obtained, the basis for overriding it (serious harm threshold). For adults, note whether a Mental Capacity Act 2005 consideration was applied. Making Safeguarding Personal (Care and Support Statutory Guidance, Chapter 14, para. 14.15) requires the person's wishes to be central to the record.
10FOLLOW-UP ACTIONS AND REVIEW DATE: Each entry must include the next agreed action, who is responsible for it, and a review date. Close the loop: update the entry when the follow-up action is completed or when the outcome of any Section 42 enquiry or child protection conference is known. Open entries with no review date are a common inspection finding against CQC Regulation 17 (good governance).
11SIGNATURE AND COUNTERSIGNATURE: The staff member who made the entry signs and dates it. The DSL or line manager countersigns within 24 hours. Where electronic records are used, an equivalent audit trail of who created and who approved the entry must be preserved. This dual-sign requirement is standard in local Safeguarding Adults Board and Safeguarding Children Partnership procedures and is looked for by CQC and Ofsted inspectors as evidence of management oversight.
12SECURE STORAGE AND RETENTION PERIOD: Store completed logs in a locked filing system or password-protected system accessible only to authorised staff. For children's settings, retain until the child's 25th birthday (NSPCC Records Retention Guidance; EYFS Statutory Framework 2025 welfare requirements). Where the concern involves alleged sexual abuse, the IICSA Report (2022) recommends retention to the individual's 75th birthday. For adults, follow your local Safeguarding Adults Board retention schedule; no single fixed statutory period applies to adult records, so document which local schedule you follow.

Good to know

Under Section 42 of the Care Act 2014, a local authority has a legal duty to make (or cause to be made) whatever enquiries it considers necessary when it suspects an adult with care and support needs is at risk of abuse or neglect. Your log is the evidence that you identified the concern and passed it on: without a dated, timed, signed entry, you cannot demonstrate you met your duty to report, and the local authority cannot demonstrate it was notified in time to fulfil its own statutory duty.

Source: Care Act 2014, s.42 (duty to enquire, adults); Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Regulation 13 (safeguarding from abuse) and Regulation 17 (good governance); EYFS Statutory Framework 2025, paras. 3.4 and 3.6 (DSL, recording, and information sharing); Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 (statutory guidance, multi-agency recording and referral duties); Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2023, Chapter 14, paras. 14.13 to 14.15 (Making Safeguarding Personal, recording principles); UK GDPR Art. 9(2)(g) and Data Protection Act 2018, s.10 (lawful basis for sharing special-category data for safeguarding); IICSA Final Report 2022 (75-year retention recommendation for child sexual abuse records); NSPCC Child Protection Records Retention and Storage Guidance (child-to-age-25 default retention)

Good to know

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The PDF downloads the moment you check out, prints sharp in black and white, and opens on any phone. It is reviewed for August 2026 and you get any future update free when the official guidance changes.

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