10/09/2026
🧩 SAFEGUARDING CHALLENGE #1
PRIMARY / EARLY YEARS
THE CHILD WHO KEEPS SAYING SHE’S TIRED
Amelia is 5 and has recently started arriving at school looking tired and unkempt.
Over the last three weeks, her teacher has noticed that Amelia has sometimes fallen asleep during the morning session. She has also become quieter than usual and has stopped joining in with activities she normally enjoys.
On three occasions she has arrived without breakfast.
When asked if she has eaten, she simply says:
“Mummy was asleep.”
Yesterday, Amelia’s teacher noticed a small bruise on her upper arm.
When asked what happened, Amelia replied:
“Mummy grabbed me because I wouldn’t get up.”
The teacher gently asked Amelia whether she was hurt.
Amelia replied:
“No. Mummy’s just tired.”
At collection time, Amelia’s mother appears perfectly pleasant and tells the teacher:
“Things have been really difficult recently. I’m exhausted, but we’re getting through it.”
She says Amelia is “always dramatic” and that the bruise probably happened while playing.
There are no previous child protection referrals recorded for Amelia.
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🤔 WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Consider:
1. What concerns you about this situation?
2. What would you do immediately?
3. What would you want to know?
4. Would you speak to Amelia again? If so, how?
5. Would you speak to Mum? What would you need to consider first?
6. What would you record?
7. Would you consider the incidents individually — or look at the emerging pattern?
8. What other information might you need before deciding what action to take?
9. What might you be in danger of assuming?
10. At what point might you consider Early Help or a referral to Children’s Social Care?
POSSIBLE RESPONSE FOR A TUTOR:
The tutor should not try to investigate the situation or decide whether Amelia is being abused. Their responsibility is to recognise that the information creates a concern and respond appropriately.
1. Listen to Amelia
The tutor should take Amelia seriously and remain calm.
They could say something simple such as:
“Thank you for telling me. I’m glad you told me.”
They should avoid leading questions such as “Did Mummy hurt you?” or repeatedly asking her to explain what happened.
If Amelia volunteers further information, listen carefully and allow her to speak in her own words.
2. Don’t dismiss the comments
The tutor should not assume:
* Amelia is being dramatic
* the bruise is accidental
* Mum is simply tired
* the lack of breakfast is just a parenting issue
Equally, they shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that Amelia is being abused.
There is a concern that needs to be passed on and considered.
3. Record what they have seen and heard
The tutor should make a factual record as soon as reasonably possible.
For example:
Amelia said, “Mummy grabbed me because I wouldn’t get up.” When asked whether she was hurt, Amelia replied, “No. Mummy’s just tired.”
They should also record their observations — tiredness, presentation, missed breakfast, changes in behaviour and the observed bruise.
Record the child’s words and observations rather than interpretations.
4. Report the concern to the DSL
This is probably the most important action.
The tutor should follow the school’s safeguarding procedure and report the concern promptly to the DSL, rather than trying to resolve it themselves.
They should share the whole picture, not just the bruise.
5. Continue to observe
The tutor is likely to be in a position to notice whether the pattern continues.
They should remain professionally curious:
Is Amelia continuing to arrive tired?
Is she regularly hungry?
Is her behaviour changing further?
Does she make any further comments?
Any new concerns should be recorded and passed to the DSL.
6. Don’t promise confidentiality
If Amelia asks the tutor not to tell anyone, the tutor should gently explain that they may need to share information with people whose job it is to help keep her safe.
7. Don’t approach Mum independently about the safeguarding concern
This is an important distinction.
The tutor shouldn’t decide independently to confront Mum or ask her to explain the bruise.
The DSL should decide how and when parents/carers are approached, taking account of the circumstances and potential risk.
The key message for the tutor
The tutor doesn’t need to solve this.
They need to:
RECOGNISE → LISTEN → RECORD → REPORT → OBSERVE
The DSL then takes responsibility for analysis, information gathering, threshold consideration and deciding what further action is required.
POSSIBLE DSL RESPONSE…
1. Take the concern seriously
The DSL should recognise that this is not simply about a bruise.
There is an emerging pattern involving:
* persistent tiredness
* arriving without breakfast
* a change in behaviour
* poor presentation
* Amelia’s comment that Mum was asleep
* Amelia saying Mum grabbed her
* Mum describing significant difficulties at home
The DSL should avoid both minimising the concerns and jumping to conclusions.
2. Review what is already known
Before deciding what happens next, the DSL should check the school’s existing information.
For example:
* attendance and punctuality
* previous safeguarding concerns
* changes in presentation or behaviour
* information from other staff
* previous conversations with Mum
* any known family circumstances
* patterns that may not have been connected previously
The important question is:
Is this genuinely new or have we simply not connected the information before?
3. Speak with the child appropriately
The DSL may need to speak with Amelia, but this should not become an investigation.
The DSL should use open, age-appropriate prompts and allow Amelia to speak in her own words.
For example:
“Tell me what happens when Mummy is tired.”
rather than:
“Does Mummy hurt you when she is tired?”
The DSL should be alert to the possibility that Amelia may be normalising behaviour that concerns adults.
4. Consider the bruise carefully
The DSL should establish what is known about the injury, including its location, appearance and circumstances.
But the DSL should not attempt to determine from the bruise alone whether it is abusive.
The question is:
How does the injury fit into the wider picture?
5. Exercise professional curiosity about Mum’s circumstances
Mum’s statement that things are “really difficult” is potentially significant.
The DSL should consider what might be behind this:
* extreme stress or exhaustion
* domestic abuse
* financial or housing difficulties
* physical or mental health difficulties
* substance misuse
* lack of support
* other pressures affecting her ability to care for Amelia
But importantly:
Understanding the parent’s circumstances does not remove the need to consider Amelia’s safety.
6. Consider whether to involve Mum
The DSL should decide whether and when to discuss the concerns with Mum.
That decision should be based on the circumstances and any potential risk to Amelia.
The DSL should not simply confront Mum with the allegation because doing so could potentially affect what happens next.
7. Consider the threshold
The DSL should ask:
What level of need or risk is now evident?
Depending on the information gathered, this might lead to:
School-based support → Early Help → consultation with Children’s Social Care → referral, depending on the level and nature of concern.
The absence of previous referrals does not mean that the current concern is low risk.
Equally, the DSL does not need to prove abuse before seeking advice or taking appropriate safeguarding action.
8. Record the professional analysis
The DSL should record:
What we know
What Amelia has said
What has been observed
What we don’t know
What action has been taken
Why that action was considered proportionate
That last part is important.
A strong safeguarding record demonstrates professional reasoning, not simply a chronology of events.
THE DSL’S PROFESSIONAL CURIOSITY QUESTIONS
Before closing the concern, the DSL should ask:
What am I not seeing?
What is Amelia’s lived experience?
Are we looking at several low-level concerns that together represent something more significant?
Are we accepting Mum’s explanation because it fits the evidence or because it is reassuring?
What would we need to know before we could confidently say Amelia is safe?
And perhaps the most important:
If nothing changes over the next four weeks, would we be comfortable with the decision we make today?
Finally please remember these are possible solutions…. There may well be others! It is about you using your PROFESSIONAL JUDGEMENT and following through… can you JUSTIFY your decisions?
