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Independent Safeguarding Service Case Studies

Hear from our members about the safeguarding support we provide for them and how it has been built around their organisations and the way they work. 

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ISS supports schools, outdoor education providers, therapeutic settings, independent schools and organisations across many other sectors. The organisations below have agreed to share their experience as honest accounts of what safeguarding support looks like when it fits the context you actually work in.

Girls' Day School Trust

Education Trust

"The audit goes beyond compliance. It's not just checking schools are compliant with the regulations. It looks at culture in our schools. It looks at best practice in various areas, so it's extremely thorough."

Mary Sansom - Compliance and Pastoral Manager 
The Girls' Day School Trust is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, comprising 25 schools across England and Wales, from Newcastle to Portsmouth, educating 20,000 girls aged three to 18.

Scale

25 schools across England and Wales, educating 20,000 girls aged 3 to 18

Sector

Education

ISS support

DSL Level 3 training across all 25 schools, safeguarding audits, access to wider training programme

PGL Beyond

Outdoor Education

"We are very passionate about being outstanding with our safeguarding and being market leading. Independent Safeguarding Service ensures that we are."

Gemma Robertson — Head of Safeguarding & SEND 
PGL Beyond operates 16 residential outdoor activity centres across the UK, employing approximately 3,000 people at peak season. Training built specifically for their world, not the world of mainstream education.

Scale

16 UK centres, ~3,000 staff

Sector

Outdoor education

ISS support

DSL training, audits, governance, ongoing advice

Jamie's Farm

Therapeutic Settings

"The ability to have training made really bespoke to the context in which we're working — that has felt like such a gift."

Katie Meanwell — Head of Safeguarding
Jamie's Farm runs six residential farm settings across England and Wales, working with teenagers experiencing significant challenges. Training shaped around their specific context, not a school framework.

Scale

6 farms, ~80 staff

Sector

Therapeutic education

ISS support

DSL training, trustee training, policy development

Northwood College

Education

"A really deep dive into all aspects of safeguarding practice in our school. It's a really comprehensive review of attitudes to safeguarding as well as the systems and processes the school has in place."

Rebecca Brown - Headteacher
Northwood College for Girls is an all-through independent school for girls aged three to 18, part of the Girls' Day School Trust — one of the largest groups of independent schools in the UK.

Scale

140 staff, 800+ pupils, ages 3–18

Sector

Education

ISS support

Annual safeguarding audits, Level 3 DSL training, safer recruitment training, ongoing expert guidance

Lloyd Park Children's Charity

Charity

“The Independent Safeguarding Service (ISS) provided a comprehensive model safeguarding policy, which we have adopted to reflect the specific structure, services, and evolving needs of our organisation, while ensuring it remains appropriate to our local authority context.”

Keri Cooper - Head of Safeguarding
Lloyd Park Children's Charity has been part of Waltham Forest for over 40 years. Its mission is to build brighter futures for children and families, with equity at the heart of everything it does.

Scale

Approximately 119 Staff

Sector

Childrens Charity

People Reached

CLose to 10,000 per year

Wallace Chess

Activities

"The fact that it is all on one platform that we can use is just really incredible. Before, John Paul and I were hosting all the training ourselves. I was creating a quiz and then sending it to all the coaches. Now it is all in one place and it is a lifesaver."

Elizabeth Stringer - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Wallace Chess has been bringing chess to children across London for 20 years. With around 50 coaches delivering sessions in school settings, at their own clubs in Swiss Cottage and Kensington, and through a camp programme.

Scale

large team of coaches, working with schools and own venues in Swiss Cottage and Kensington

Sector

Non-school organisation working with children across multiple settings

ISS support

E-learning for all coaches, DSL training, ongoing expert advice and access to the full training platform

West Ham United

Activities

“With other services, it starts at this time, finishes at that time, and then that’s the end of the relationship. Independent Safeguarding Service allows that follow-up work to be done. If you’re not sure about something, they’re really human. You can call up and have a conversation.”

Jackie Ferdinand - Director of Safeguarding and Inclusion, West Ham United Football Club
West Ham United Football Club can welcome 62,000 visitors to the London Stadium on a matchday, including approximately 25,000 children. Beyond the stadium, its safeguarding service works across men’s and women’s football, the boys’ and girls’ Academies and other Club activities.

Scope

Men’s and women’s football, boys’ and girls’ Academies, Foundation and community activity, matchdays and other Club events

Workforce

Approximately 500 core staff, alongside sessional workers, interns, placements and contractors

ISS support

Safeguarding policies, scheduled membership training, commissioned bespoke training, ongoing independent advice, challenge and assurance

Waltham Forest Music Service

Activities

“They’ve’ taken the time to get to know us, and every year they thought about the challenges.”

Mary Mycroft - Head of Service, Waltham Forest Music Service
Waltham Forest Music Service gives children and young people opportunities to learn, make and enjoy music, from their earliest years through to adulthood. Around 50 instrumental and vocal teachers work across approximately 50 schools in the borough, delivering whole-class teaching, small-group lessons and one-to-one tuition.

Scale

Approximately 50 teachers working across 50+ schools, alongside the service’s own music school

Age Range

0–18, extending to 25 for young people with special educational needs

ISS support

Annual bespoke safeguarding training, including face-to-face delivery, and support with the service’s safeguarding policy

More case studies coming soon....
ISS works with organisations across education, early years, health, sport, faith settings and more.

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