Aimed at designated lead professionals and managers who have a responsibility as decision makers.

• Role and responsibilities of designated safeguarding lead (DSL)
• Referral actions of DSL
• Appropriate involvement of parent/carer
• Significant harm and different multi-agency responses to referrals
• Post-referral process
• Legal expectations
• Safe recruitment
• Concerns/allegations against members of staff
• Other specific safeguarding issues relevant to DSL/managers

Colin Welsh

Colin completed over 30 years of exemplary service with the Metropolitan Police, a significant proportion devoted to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. He spent a total of eight years managing child abuse investigation teams and a further nine years leading major safeguarding inquiries throughout the London area.

He acquired unrivalled experience of intra-familial child homicide investigation and personally led many complex and emotive cases, receiving a number of commendations for his work. He regularly provided safeguarding and investigative training at the Metropolitan Police crime academy and lectured externally to multi-disciplinary audiences both nationally and internationally. He was at the forefront of national safeguarding policy and was sought for advice on many occasions by colleagues in other Police forces and partner agencies. In 2014 he received an award from the National Police Chief”s Council for making a major contribution to improving the national standards of child death investigation.

Colin has also provided support to the Savile inquiry team (Operation Yewtree) and was appointed as a safeguarding consultant by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the inquiry into safeguarding issues on the overseas territories of St Helena and Ascension Island.