Designated Safeguarding Practitioner

onlyFE; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 34,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS pension

30 days annual leave

Hybrid & flexible working

Health & wellbeing support

Free parking

CPD opportunities

Job summary

The Sheffield College is seeking a dedicated safeguarding professional to support the wellbeing of students, including vulnerable learners, across the college. This term-time role requires liaising with external agencies, safeguarding staff, curriculum and support teams to monitor student progress and respond to safeguarding referrals.

You will lead safeguarding training, coordinate early intervention strategies, and ensure records are maintained in line with GDPR.

Qualifications

• Sound knowledge of safeguarding principles.
• Experience supporting students, including vulnerable learners.
• Ability to engage with learners to identify challenges and barriers to progression.

Responsibilities

• Act as the first point of contact for external safeguarding agencies.
• Attend external events such as Child Protection conferences and social care meetings.
• Make timely referrals to Children/Adult Social Care and other agencies to safeguard students.
• Work with schools to gather safeguarding details for new students.
• Deliver safeguarding training to staff and students.
• Lead welfare support for students with safeguarding disclosures and monitor progress.

Job description

About Us

The Sheffield College is a further and higher education institution dedicated to providing academic, vocational, and professional qualifications to approximately 13,000 young people and adults annually. Our mission is to transform lives through learning, advocating for inclusivity and diversity at every stage.

About Us

The Sheffield College is a further and higher education institution dedicated to providing academic, vocational, and professional qualifications to approximately 13,000 young people and adults annually. Our mission is to transform lives through learning, advocating for inclusivity and diversity at every stage.

About The Role

This is a term-time role working 37 hours across 40 weeks. The salary listed will be pro-rata'd to reflect the weeks worked.

DSPs proactively support the well-being of students and have a responsibility to receive safeguarding referrals and take the lead on our response, taking appropriate action to protect young and vulnerable students from significant harm.

You will have regular contact with external bodies to ensure continued support for students. With your sound knowledge of the principals of safeguarding and experience of supporting students you will be involved in awareness raising of staff and students.

A key aspect is the ability to interact with the learner to jointly identify challenges and overcome barriers to succeeding in college. You will work closely with allocated curriculum teams, support teams and external stakeholders to monitor every student’s progress with a safeguarding referral.

• Act as the first point of contact for external agencies for any safeguarding concerns (child and adult) providing timely, relevant support and information
• Attend a range of external events – including Child Protection conferences, Core Groups, Child in Need and other social care meetings
• Make timely referrals to a range of agencies, including Children and Adult Social Care in order to appropriately safeguard and support the student
• Work with your allocated schools to gather pertinent safeguarding details for incoming students
• Keep up to date with current legislation, statutory and other guidance
• Input into the design of safeguarding systems, policies, and procedures
• Ensure students are safeguarded in line with college policy and procedure
• Keep updated with required safeguarding training
• Deliver high quality staff and student safeguarding related training
• Lead on the welfare and support of students with a safeguarding disclosure in allocated curriculum areas, holding meetings, setting and reviews actions and strategies.
• Liaise with allocated curriculum and support teams across the College as to provide effective early intervention and effective early help
• Ensure that all concerns and safeguarding information are logged and stored securely in line with GDPR
• Take a lead on implementing and monitoring Online Safety for students
• Participate in College events to promote and advise on safeguarding
• Share relevant information on student progress
• Participate in the college’s enrolment and induction events
• Cover evening opening in college as required
• This role will involve a certain amount of travelling so being able to drive with own car is an advantage, but not essential.
• You will directly support individuals or groups of students who are experiencing emotional health issues which are impacting on their progress at College. This will require you to work closely with Tutorial Mentors and SEND Support to identify and respond to need.

If you want to find out more about the role please contact Ellena Street, Head of Safeguarding and Student Wellbeing - [e-mail]

What we can offer you

As the successful candidate, you will be offered a salary of between £33,824 - £38,028 per annum (this will be pro-rata'd to reflect the weeks worked) based upon a combination of the skills, knowledge and experience that you can bring to the role.

Alongside your salary, your pension is one of the most valuable benefits of joining the College. The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), administered locally by SYPA, provides financial security in retirement and support for your loved ones.

Our Full Benefits Package

• SYPA – with a generous employer contribution
• Annual leave -30 Days (222 hours)+ 8 Bank Holidays(59.2 hours)-this includesa discretionary Christmas closure period
• Health and wellbeing support , including:
• Employee assistance programme through Bupa
• Occupational Health through PAM
• Free eye tests for VDU users
• Free parking is available at the majority of our campuses
• Hybrid and flexible working opportunities
• Continuous professional development opportunities
• A people ‑ focused working culture where you can grow and thrive

Further informationcan be foundon our Benefits and Career Development pages.

Disability Confident

We are a Disability Confident employer and are committed to removing barriers for applicants with a disability during our recruitment process, upon appointment and as an employee.Please review ourRecruitment Guidelines for Disabled Candidateswhich provides further information on reasonable adjustments and how the Disability Confident scheme works in practice.If you require any reasonable adjustments or any support at any point throughout the process, please contact [e-mail]

Armed Forces Covenant

As part of our commitment through the Armed Forces Covenant , we’re pledged to support the Armed Forces Community. Recognising the value Personnel, Veterans and military families contribute to our community and country.

Safeguarding

We are an employer who is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students. Successful applicants will be required to have an enhanced DBS check and will be subject to safer recruiting procedures. Further details on our safer recruiting procedures, including the employment of ex-offenders can be found here Safeguarding

As a Leader in Diversity employer, we encourage applications from everyone and value diversity in our workforce.

Closing date:

4th September 2026

Please be aware – If we have a high number of applications, we may decide to close the vacancy earlier.

Where there are internal applicants at risk, these will be considered in the first instance.

This table contains essential and desirable skills for the job