This briefing is intended for The Girls’ Brigade England & Wales people working across volunteering and safeguarding roles. It highlights how changes in routine during the summer period can impact safeguarding visibility and increase risks for children, young people, and adults at risk.
August often brings significant changes to normal routines, including school holidays, annual leave, reduced staffing levels, family travel, and changes to community services. While summer can be a positive and enjoyable time, it is important to recognise that vulnerability does not take a holiday.
Changes in routine can reduce opportunities for safeguarding concerns to be identified and addressed. For some individuals, regular contact with trusted professionals, services, and support networks may be reduced, making signs of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or deteriorating wellbeing more difficult to recognise.
Why Summer Safeguarding Matters
Safeguarding awareness during periods of disruption aims to:
- Recognise that reduced contact does not always mean reduced risk
- Maintain visibility of children, young people, and adults at risk
- Encourage professional curiosity when routines, behaviour, or engagement change
- Support early identification and escalation of safeguarding concerns
- Reinforce that safeguarding responsibility continues throughout the year
Safeguarding remains a continuous priority, regardless of changes in routine, staffing, or service availability.
Key Safeguarding Risks
Children and Young People: During school holidays, children and young people may have less contact with teachers and professionals who would usually identify and respond to concerns. Potential risks may include:
- Neglect becoming less visible due to reduced professional contact
- Increased exposure to online harm and exploitation
- Child criminal exploitation (CCE) and county lines activity
- Child sexual exploitation (CSE)
- Increased time spent in unsupervised environments
- The impact of domestic abuse within the home
Adults at Risk: Adults with care and support needs may experience increased vulnerability during periods where usual routines and support networks change. Potential risks may include:
- Social isolation and loneliness
- Increased reliance on family members or carers
- Carer stress and burnout
- Financial abuse, including increased risk during holiday periods
- Reduced contact with health, care, and community services
Organisational Safeguarding Considerations
Summer activities, events, and volunteer programmes may involve changes requiring additional safeguarding awareness, including:
- New or temporary staff and volunteers
- Busy environments with increased public contact
- Changes to supervision arrangements
- Safeguarding leads and managers being unavailable due to annual leave
These factors can create gaps in safeguarding oversight if appropriate planning, communication, and escalation arrangements are not in place.
Professional Curiosity
Periods of reduced contact can make it easy to assume that a lack of reported concerns means everything is well.
Professional curiosity remains essential. The Girls’ Brigade England & Wales people should consider:
- Is reduced engagement genuinely due to holidays, or could it indicate increased vulnerability?
- Have previous safeguarding concerns been fully addressed?
- Do we understand who is providing support during periods of reduced contact?
- Are there additional risks linked to family circumstances, online activity, or community influences?
Maintaining a respectful and curious approach helps ensure vulnerable individuals remain visible, heard, and supported.
Good Practice Actions
The Girls’ Brigade England & Wales people should:
- Remain alert to signs of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and self-neglect
- Report safeguarding concerns promptly using established safeguarding procedures
- Maintain professional curiosity when contact with individuals reduces
- Be confident in escalating concerns when risks are not being adequately addressed
- Promote online safety messages to children, young people, parents, carers, and adults at risk where appropriate
Reflective Question
Who might become less visible to us during August, and what can we do to ensure they remain seen, heard, and safeguarded?
Changes in routine can increase vulnerability and reduce opportunities to identify safeguarding concerns. Effective safeguarding during the summer period relies on vigilance, professional curiosity, early identification, and appropriate escalation.
Children, young people, and adults at risk must remain visible, heard, and supported, even when usual services and routines are disrupted.
Safeguarding Reminder
If you are ever worried about a safeguarding concern, you can consider taking, including:
- reporting directly to police if suspected wrongdoing involves a crime or potential criminal activity
- contacting your local safeguarding team
- completing a cause for concern report form
- emailing complaints to [email protected]
- making a ‘Freedom to Speak Up’ disclosure, sometimes referred to as a ‘whistleblowing’ disclosure. See Life to the Full for more information this.
Completing a cause for concern report form
If you genuinely believe an allegation or are worried by something you have seen, heard or been told about, include your name and contact details and as much detail as possible about what is worrying you before forwarding to [email protected]. This can then be assessed as to who is best placed to manage the concern. It may be given to the police or the local authority safeguarding colleagues to follow up.
Freedom to Speak Up
If you do not feel it is safe for you to raise a grievance through the normal line management procedure, there is an option to use the Freedom to Speak Up process. The Freedom to Speak Up Guardian’s role is to provide leadership, expertise, advice and to challenge The Girls’ Brigade England & Wales to ensure no one suffers negative repercussions from speaking up. If you have something you want to speak up about and feel that other routes are not suitable, or if you just want some advice and support on what options you have, please email [email protected].
This is a confidential service and the Guardian will protect your anonymity if this is important.
What if I’m wrong about my concerns?
People are sometimes reticent to raise concerns openly in case they are wrong. Whilst that is an understandable worry, you cannot afford to take the risk of not reporting genuine concerns. Not reporting could mean a lost opportunity to help the people at risk of harm and could result in The Girls’ Brigade England & Wales being judged to have failed in our duty to keep people safe. People who report in good faith will not be penalised even if their concerns turn out not to be quite as you thought. Remember that if you genuinely believe there is wrongdoing, you should remain steadfast and provide contact details so that you can discuss your concerns, give a fuller explanation and be supported.
Do not wait if you are unsure seek advice early.
Please share with colleagues, safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility!
Adapted from © St John Ambulance 2026, with permission.
