An Interactive Knowledge & Reflection Workbook for Early Years

Make safeguarding refreshers more engaging, practical and thought-provoking with The Safeguarding Practitioner Challenge – a 40-page interactive workbook designed specifically for early years practitioners in England.

Created with the EYFS safeguarding requirements and September 2026 changes in mind, this resource goes beyond simply reading policies or answering easy true-or-false questions. Practitioners are challenged to think, question, recognise patterns and explain what they would actually do in realistic safeguarding situations.

🌿 Two ways to use it

As a complete practitioner workbook Give the full workbook to practitioners to complete as a safeguarding knowledge check, refresher and reflective learning activity.

As staff meeting activities Pick individual pages to use during staff meetings, supervisions, inductions or safeguarding refreshers throughout the year.

Inside you'll find:

• Safeguarding word searches and puzzles

• Safeguarding Snakes & Ladders

• Types and indicators of abuse and neglect

• Realistic safeguarding scenarios

• Responding to disclosures

• Recording concerns: fact vs opinion

• Professional curiosity challenges

• Domestic abuse & coercive control

• FGM awareness

• Prevent, radicalisation & extremism

• Grooming and exploitation

• Attendance and absence patterns

• Safeguarding children with SEND and non-verbal children

• Concerns and allegations about adults

• LADO and escalation

• Whistleblowing

• Information sharing & confidentiality

• Safer recruitment

• Professional boundaries

• Safer sleep

• Screens, devices, images & online safety

• Mealtime safeguarding

• Safeguarding culture

• Challenging case studies

• A final 30-point safeguarding knowledge check

• Practitioner action planning

• Manager discussion & answer guides

• Annex C coverage map

• Certificate of completion

Not designed to be easy 👀

Some scenarios are deliberately less obvious.

Rather than simply asking practitioners to spot an obvious safeguarding concern, the workbook encourages them to separate fact from assumption, recognise patterns, demonstrate professional curiosity and explain the reasoning behind their decisions.

Manager Challenge prompts are also included throughout, giving leaders additional questions to use to extend staff discussions.

Aligned with EYFS safeguarding expectations

The workbook has been designed around safeguarding expectations for early years practitioners in England, including the safeguarding training criteria within Annex C and key safeguarding changes applying from September 2026.

Please note: This is a knowledge-check, refresher and reflective learning resource. It does not replace statutory safeguarding training, DSL training, your setting's safeguarding policies or local safeguarding procedures.

40 printable A4 pages | Digital PDF download