Job summary
Are you a safeguarding leader looking to make a real impact across children's services? Are you motivated to challenge norms and innovate for better outcomes? We are seeking a skilled Named Nurse Safeguarding Children to provide visible leadership, expert guidance, and drive service transformation. This face-to-face leadership role demands expertise in safeguarding children and young people, alongside strategic oversight and operational excellence. You will champion compassionate leadership and work with the senior leadership team to deliver impactful services for children and young people at risk.
Our community universal services are going through a period of service redesign. This creates a unique opportunity to re-shape safeguarding delivery and transform care for diverse communities.
In this influential leadership role, you will create and embed strategies that prioritise children's safety, elevate professional standards, and drive continuous quality and service improvement. You will steer the development of a high-performing, motivated nursing safeguarding children workforce along with ensuring effective oversight of clinical audit, governance, and risk management processes. The post holder will take a facilitative and empowering approach, nurturing creativity and leading others to be open to doing things differently if the desired outcomes improves the child and family experience.
Closing date: Midnight 26th October 2025
Interview date: 13th November 2025
Main duties of the job
- Provide professional leadership, consultancy, advice, risk assessment and expert child protection practice, to support practitioners on actions to be taken in order to safeguard the child.
- Make critical decisions and judgements and deliver advanced clinical skills to the case management of children and young people with complex safeguarding needs.
- Contribute to the planning and development of child protection systems and arrangements within the Trust.
- Influence and contribute to the development of Policies and Procedures in line with national guidance and the LSCP.
- Contribute to sub groups of the LSCPs.
- Analyse and respond to serious and untoward incidents, including Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews.
- Oversee provision of safeguarding supervision to health visitors and school nurses.
- Operationally line manage the Safeguarding Nurse Specialists.
- Identify safeguarding training needs, prepare and deliver, a training programme to address these.
- Ensure the Safeguarding Children Service is embedded in the Evelina London Children's Healthcare Community Services clinical governance structure.
Closing date: 26 October 2025
Interview date: 13 November 2025
About us
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK's best known hospitals - Guy's, St Thomas', Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield - as well as community sites in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.
We are among the UK's busiest, most successful trusts. We provide specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services as well as local hospital and community services for people in Lambeth and Southwark.
We have a tradition of clinical and scientific achievement and - as part of King's Health Partners - are one of England's eight academic health sciences centres, bringing together world-class clinical services, teaching and research. We have one of the National Institute for Health Research's biomedical research centres, established with King's College London in 2007, and dedicated clinical research facilities.
We have around 22,700 staff, as one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country and one of the biggest employers locally. We aim to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and continue to develop new and existing partnerships with locals , patients, neighbouring NHS organisations, local authorities and charitable bodies and GPs.
We strive to recruit the dedicated and skilled staff as our employees lie at the heart of our organisation and ensure our services are of high quality, safe and focused on our patients.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide professional leadership, consultancy, advice, risk assessment and expert child protection practice, to support practitioners on actions to be taken in order to safeguard the child.
- To ensure that staff support and advice is available and that a coordinated and consistent cover for child protection is provided.
- Exercise a high degree of autonomy to make critical decisions and judgements and deliver advanced clinical skills to the case management of children and young people with complex safeguarding needs.
- Contribute to the planning and development of child protection systems and arrangements within the Trust.
- Influence and contribute to the development of Policies and Procedures in line with national guidance and the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP). This will include writing local guidance.
- To develop strategies for ensuring accurate and informative clinical records are maintained, in line with legislative policies, standards and procedures.
- Establish and improve professional standards of care in the identification and management of safeguarding vulnerable children across all clinical and non-clinical specialities.
- To identify vulnerable children, young people and families early and provide effective programmes of support and care that protects and promotes their health and wellbeing.
- Contribute to child protection case conferences and strategy meetings in order to plan effectively to ensure optimum outcomes for vulnerable children.
- Promote good practice and effective communication within and between Community colleagues, Statutory and Voluntary organisations, on all matters relating to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
- Participate and contribute to the health sub groups of the LSCPs.
- Deputise for the Head of Nursing Safeguarding Children / Lead Nurse Safeguarding Children where necessary.
- Analyse and respond to serious and untoward incidents, including Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews of child death and serious injuries cases.
- Operationally line manage the Safeguarding Nurse specialists. Advice on the specific needs of the safeguarding team and contribute to workforce plans.
- To identify the training needs of staff working with children within the Trust and prepare, a training programme to address these. Actively participate in the provision of the in-house child protection training programmes.
- Disseminate recent national legislation and guidance on safeguarding matters to community staff.
- Ensure all health visitors and school nurses receive child protection / safeguarding orientation as part of their induction programme.
- In conjunction with wider team members, maintain the quality of the Safeguarding Children service for the Trust, via the different elements of Clinical Governance. Identify areas of risk in practice and recommend changes to minimise risk.
- Following the death or serious harm to a child to review all circumstances surrounding the incident and make recommendations where changes in policy and practice are indicated to optimise safe practice.
- Ensure systems are in place for the collection and collation of child protection information and statistics to be presented as a quarterly report to the Trust Vulnerable Person Assurance Board. To be responsible for the collation of information in relation to child protection in the community.
- Identify areas and undertake research as appropriate in partnership with Trust colleagues. Disseminate to the Trust any research undertaken and its outcome.
- Monitor and audit the effectiveness of supervision, procedures and child protection practices.
- To oversee provision of and contribute to safeguarding supervision to health visitors and school nurses in accordance with Trust policy.
Please see attached job description for full details
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide professional leadership, consultancy, advice, risk assessment and expert child protection practice, to support practitioners on actions to be taken in order to safeguard the child.
- To ensure that staff support and advice is available and that a coordinated and consistent cover for child protection is provided.
- Exercise a high degree of autonomy to make critical decisions and judgements and deliver advanced clinical skills to the case management of children and young people with complex safeguarding needs.
- Contribute to the planning and development of child protection systems and arrangements within the Trust.
- Influence and contribute to the development of Policies and Procedures in line with national guidance and the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP). This will include writing local guidance.
- To develop strategies for ensuring accurate and informative clinical records are maintained, in line with legislative policies, standards and procedures.
- Establish and improve professional standards of care in the identification and management of safeguarding vulnerable children across all clinical and non-clinical specialities.
- To identify vulnerable children, young people and families early and provide effective programmes of support and care that protects and promotes their health and wellbeing.
- Contribute to child protection case conferences and strategy meetings in order to plan effectively to ensure optimum outcomes for vulnerable children.
- Promote good practice and effective communication within and between Community colleagues, Statutory and Voluntary organisations, on all matters relating to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
- Participate and contribute to the health sub groups of the LSCPs.
- Deputise for the Head of Nursing Safeguarding Children / Lead Nurse Safeguarding Children where necessary.
- Analyse and respond to serious and untoward incidents, including Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews of child death and serious injuries cases.
- Operationally line manage the Safeguarding Nurse specialists. Advice on the specific needs of the safeguarding team and contribute to workforce plans.
- To identify the training needs of staff working with children within the Trust and prepare, a training programme to address these. Actively participate in the provision of the in-house child protection training programmes.
- Disseminate recent national legislation and guidance on safeguarding matters to community staff.
- Ensure all health visitors and school nurses receive child protection / safeguarding orientation as part of their induction programme.
- In conjunction with wider team members, maintain the quality of the Safeguarding Children service for the Trust, via the different elements of Clinical Governance. Identify areas of risk in practice and recommend changes to minimise risk.
- Following the death or serious harm to a child to review all circumstances surrounding the incident and make recommendations where changes in policy and practice are indicated to optimise safe practice.
- Ensure systems are in place for the collection and collation of child protection information and statistics to be presented as a quarterly report to the Trust Vulnerable Person Assurance Board. To be responsible for the collation of information in relation to child protection in the community.
- Identify areas and undertake research as appropriate in partnership with Trust colleagues. Disseminate to the Trust any research undertaken and its outcome.
- Monitor and audit the effectiveness of supervision, procedures and child protection practices.
- To oversee provision of and contribute to safeguarding supervision to health visitors and school nurses in accordance with Trust policy.
Please see attached job description for full details
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered General Nurse
- Degree Level
- Evidence of professional updating
- Have completed specific postregistration training in safeguarding children and young people/child protection prior to commencement in the post (including law, policy, and practice at Level 2 or Post Graduate Diploma (PGDip)
Desirable
- ENB / MSC in Child Protection
Experience
Essential
- Substantial community experience working with children and families
- Experience of providing clinical supervision within a model of reflective practice
- Relevant experience working in child protection field
- Management responsibilities
Desirable
- Previous work on inter-agency committees
Skills/Knowlegde
Essential
- Excellent organisational skills
- Knowledge of the current Government guidelines relating to Child Protection work
- Knowledge of risk management
- Training planning and delivery
- Awareness of recent research and developments relating to Child Protection work and its implications for practice
- Up-to-date knowledge of community nursing professional practice
- Knowledge of clinical governance
- in professional decision making
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered General Nurse
- Degree Level
- Evidence of professional updating
- Have completed specific postregistration training in safeguarding children and young people/child protection prior to commencement in the post (including law, policy, and practice at Level 2 or Post Graduate Diploma (PGDip)
Desirable
- ENB / MSC in Child Protection
Experience
Essential
- Substantial community experience working with children and families
- Experience of providing clinical supervision within a model of reflective practice
- Relevant experience working in child protection field
- Management responsibilities
Desirable
- Previous work on inter-agency committees
Skills/Knowlegde
Essential
- Excellent organisational skills
- Knowledge of the current Government guidelines relating to Child Protection work
- Knowledge of risk management
- Training planning and delivery
- Awareness of recent research and developments relating to Child Protection work and its implications for practice
- Up-to-date knowledge of community nursing professional practice
- Knowledge of clinical governance
- in professional decision making
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
