Safeguarding vs mental health support: what is the difference?

Safeguarding

• Purpose: protect a child from harm, abuse, neglect or risk to life.
• Route: always the designated safeguarding lead, following school policy and local law.
• Confidentiality: cannot be promised; information must be shared.

Mental health support

• Purpose: help a young person understand what they are going through and get appropriate help.
• Route: pastoral team, counsellor, school psychologist or external services, depending on need.
• Confidentiality: handled with care, within the limits of school policy.

Where they overlap

Self-harm, suicidal thoughts, eating difficulties or signs that a young person is unsafe at home are both a mental health concern and a safeguarding concern. In these cases the safeguarding route comes first, and mental health support follows alongside it.

What staff need

A simple, shared rule for which route to use, practised in training, and a clear name for each route in your school. When in doubt, staff pass the concern to the safeguarding lead the same day.

More questions from teachers ask

• What to say when a student says "I can't do this anymore"
• When should a teacher refer a student?
• What teachers should and shouldn't do when a student discloses distress
• All guides