Safeguarding Redefined

We tell children to speak up when something goes wrong online.

But what if we're the very reason they stay silent?

In this episode of Safeguarding Redefined, Chris is joined by Anna Sarjantson, founder of Screensafe and online safety specialist, who works with schools, families and organisations to help children navigate the digital world more safely and confidently.

Together, they confront some uncomfortable truths about the digital world we've created and the children we're trying to protect.

From AI-generated abuse and online exploitation to social media bans and the pressures of growing up online, they challenge whether our approaches to safeguarding are keeping pace with the reality young people face.

Are we actually listening to children, or are our own assumptions, judgements and reactions making it harder for them to ask for help?

Together, Chris and Anna explore:

• Why children may be more frightened of getting into trouble than asking for help.

• The hidden pressures young people face in an increasingly digital world.

• Whether social media bans and restrictions alone can really keep children safe.

• Why calling ourselves a 'trusted adult' doesn't necessarily make us one.

Because telling children to speak up means little if they don't feel safe enough to tell us the truth.

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East

Useful Links: 

• https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding  - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk 

• Email us at Cornerstone: [email protected]

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs: 

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - 

https://cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/resources/cornerstone-connect-sign-up/

- for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts. 

• Chris East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/

• Leah East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/

To anyone watching, it was an ordinary action. But to his wife, it meant something very different.

She knew she'd broken a rule. She knew there would be consequences.

Yet the professional visiting their home had witnessed this behaviour many times before understanding what it really meant.

It poses a serious question - how often are we looking straight at the signs of abuse without recognising them?

In this episode of Safeguarding Redefined, Chris East is joined by Carrie Bower, Domestic Abuse in Later Life Specialist, to explore the hidden reality of domestic abuse in older age.

• Why do we assume an older person has simply fallen?

• Why are older victims so often overlooked?

• And how can abuse become so normalised that even those witnessing it fail to recognise the signs?

From decades of coercive control and abuse by adult children to financial exploitation and the dangerous assumptions we make about ageing, this conversation challenges us to question what we think we know.

Content warning: This episode discusses domestic abuse, coercive control, familial abuse, physical violence and financial exploitation.

Connect with Carrie Bower:

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East

Useful Links: 

• https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding  - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk 

• Email us at Cornerstone: [email protected]

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs: 

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - 

https://cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/resources/cornerstone-connect-sign-up/

- for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts. 

• Chris East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/

• Leah East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/

Content warning: This episode discusses domestic abuse, physical violence, coercive control and trauma.

"Why didn't she just leave?"

It's a question we've all heard, and maybe we've asked ourselves.

But what happens when she finally does, and the abuse doesn't stop?

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Chris is joined by Charlotte Budd, founder of The Wholeness Project, who shares her experience of domestic abuse and the terrifying reality of life after leaving.

From coercive control and financial abuse to ongoing threats and a traumatic battle through the family courts, Charlotte reveals how escaping an abuser doesn't necessarily mean escaping their control.

Together, they challenge the victim-blaming attitudes that surround domestic abuse, question whether the systems designed to protect survivors and their children are actually keeping them safe, and explore what schools and safeguarding professionals need to understand about the abuse they don't see.

Because leaving an abusive relationship and finally being free from abuse are two very different things.

Find out more from Charlotte Budd:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-budd-20221425a/

https://www.thewholenessproject.co.uk/

----

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East

Useful Links: 

• https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding  - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk 

• Email us at Cornerstone: [email protected]

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs: 

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - 

https://cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/resources/cornerstone-connect-sign-up/

- for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts. 

• Chris East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/

• Leah East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/

Jeremy was eight when the abuse ended.

He was 27 before he spoke about it.

Not because there was one obvious barrier stopping him.

For years, there simply wasn’t a conversation around him that helped him understand that he had something to say.

In our second episode of Hidden Safeguarding: What You Don’t See, Chris is joined by child sexual abuse survivor and campaigner Jeremy Indika for a conversation that challenges some of the safeguarding messages we’ve relied on for years.

What if abuse doesn’t feel scary?

What if a child experiencing it doesn’t look withdrawn or distressed?

What if they’re happy, sociable, successful… and nobody suspects a thing?

Jeremy didn’t fit the picture we’re often taught to look for.

Together, they explore why grooming can feel like warmth, attention or even love. Why there may be no obvious signs. Why telling children to “tell someone” isn’t enough. And why young people need to know what will actually happen if they tell us.

Because perhaps we’ve been asking:

“How will we know if something is wrong?”

When we should be asking:

“Have we created an environment where they would tell us?”

About Jeremy

Jeremy Indika is a male survivor of child sexual abuse who now shares his story in creative and powerful ways to raise awareness and challenge the stigma surrounding abuse.

Through film, animation, illustration and speaking directly with children, young people and professionals, Jeremy is helping to create conversations around a subject that can still feel incredibly difficult to talk about.

Connect with Jeremy:

https://jeremyindika.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-indika-31673573/

---

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East

Useful Links: 

• https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding  - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk 

• Email us at Cornerstone: [email protected]

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs: 

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - 

https://cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/resources/cornerstone-connect-sign-up/

- for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts. 

• Chris East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/

• Leah East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/

One had 40 minutes to make a decision that would change his life.

The other went into hospital expecting routine surgery and woke up with a stoma after doctors discovered a rare form of bowel cancer.

For our two guests, Kev and Ferenc, everything changed in ways most of us will never see or fully understand.

In this first episode of our ‘Hidden Safeguarding’ series, we're not sanitising any of it.

Our guests talk openly about the realities of living with a stoma, the moments that have pushed them to their limits, the humour they've found along the way and what they wish other people understood.

Yet this episode is about more than just stomas.

It's about the assumptions we make when someone looks ‘fine’ on the outside, but also remembering that the person standing in front of you might be managing something you know absolutely nothing about.

Some of the biggest things people are dealing with are the things we can't see.

Welcome to Hidden Safeguarding.

Useful Links: 

• https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding  - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk 

• Email us at Cornerstone: [email protected]

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs: 

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - 

https://cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/resources/cornerstone-connect-sign-up/

- for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts. 

• Chris East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/

• Leah East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East

Are we actually safeguarding better, or have we just become very good at doing more?

More guidance. More training. More interventions. More systems. More responsibility.

All introduced for good reason. 

But when safeguarding, SEND, behaviour and wellbeing are increasingly treated as separate issues, are we creating better support for children, or simply adding more pressure to already stretched schools?

In this episode of Safeguarding Redefined, Chris is joined by Ben Lyon to challenge the idea that improvement always means adding something new.

They explore why even good training can quickly drift, what happens when concerns are identified and passed on to already overloaded support teams, and why understanding the drivers behind behaviour and engagement could help schools respond differently.

The conversation also turns to the children who can be easiest to miss: those who are quiet, compliant and seemingly "fine", but who may be far less engaged than we realise.

Because perhaps the next step in safeguarding isn't another initiative or another thing for staff to do.

Perhaps it's about making what we already do work better.

Connect with Ben Lyons:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-lyon-a9878a140/

Useful Links: 

• https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding  - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk 

• Email us at Cornerstone: [email protected]

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs: 

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - 

https://cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/resources/cornerstone-connect-sign-up/

- for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts. 

• Chris East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/

• Leah East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East

Everyone seems to be asking how to get young people off their phones.

What if we're asking the wrong question?

In this episode, we speak to Anne Morris, Founder and CEO of Yipiyap and Peerscroller, about a different approach to digital safeguarding.

If young people are already consuming short-form content every day, shouldn't safeguarding meet them where they are?

Rather than competing with social media, could we use its strengths to deliver trusted, peer-led content that starts the conversations we all need to have?

Together, we explore:

• Why banning phones alone won't solve the problem

• The safeguarding topics young people are actively engaging with

• How schools can identify emerging risks before disclosures happen

• Whether social media could become part of the safeguarding solution

It's a conversation that challenges one of education's biggest assumptions: maybe the issue isn't the phone... it's what's on it.

Anne Moris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amdmorris/

YipiYap LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yipiyap/

YipiYap website: https://yipiyap.co.uk/

Peerscroller website: https://www.peerscroller.com/

------

Useful Links: 

• https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding  - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk 

• Email us at Cornerstone: [email protected]

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs: 

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - 

https://cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/resources/cornerstone-connect-sign-up/

- for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts. 

• Chris East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/

• Leah East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East

Do your staff know your safeguarding policy... or do they know how to think when safeguarding gets messy?

In this episode of Safeguarding Redefined, you'll discover why the future of safeguarding isn't about more paperwork or longer training sessions.

It's about creating a culture where everyone is thinking, questioning and reflecting every day.

Chris is joined by safeguarding expert John Rees to explore how short, realistic safeguarding scenarios can help you build confidence, identify knowledge gaps and keep safeguarding conversations alive long after September's annual training.

If you want to build a safeguarding culture, not just demonstrate compliance, this episode is one you won't want to miss.

Useful Links: 

• https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding  - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk 

• Email us at Cornerstone: [email protected]

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs: 

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - 

https://cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/resources/cornerstone-connect-sign-up/

- for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts. 

• Chris East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/

• Leah East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East

After the devastating loss of his wife Laura, Steve Farmer found himself searching for a way to navigate grief while supporting his young son. What began with solitary bike rides through the Surrey countryside became something much bigger.

In this episode of Safeguarding Redefined, Steve shares the deeply personal story behind The Bike Project and how cycling became a source of healing, connection and purpose during the most difficult period of his life.

Chris and Steve explore grief, mental health, neurodiversity, resilience and the importance of community, discussing how meaningful relationships, positive activities and a sense of belonging can become powerful protective factors for both children and adults.

But this conversation also asks an uncomfortable question:

are we spending too much time focusing on risk and not enough time building the protective factors that help people thrive?

This is a conversation about loss, hope and the unexpected ways people rebuild their lives.

A powerful reminder that safeguarding is not only about responding to harm. It is about creating the conditions in which people can flourish.

With our community at the heart of everything we do, The Bike Project is driven by a simple mission: to ensure that everyone can access the physical and mental benefits of cycling.

As a not for profit organisation, we reinvest all proceeds into initiatives that promote inclusion, mental health and overall wellbeing.

From the joy and freedom of riding to the hands on repair and maintenance of bikes, our work is dedicated to improving the lives of local people, strengthening connections and creating a healthier, more connected community.

As part of this initiative, our team collects donated bikes, fully services them, and sells them back into the community at affordable prices. 

We also visit local schools providing free bike servicing for kids and, in October, held our first free bike maintenance/learn to ride your bike event at Farncombe Community Gardens.

In this episode, we’d like to highlight everything cycling offers our community, from its physical and mental health benefits to the way it brings people together and even helps protect our environment...and The Bike Project is here to help make that happen!

BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy59k4g0zdqo

Useful Links: 

• https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding  - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk 

• Email us at Cornerstone: [email protected]

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs: 

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - 

https://cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/resources/cornerstone-connect-sign-up/

- for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts. 

• Chris East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/

• Leah East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East

One parent tells you not to speak to the other.

An estranged parent suddenly turns up for collection.

Who do you listen to?

What does the law actually say?

And how do you stay child-focused without getting drawn into a family dispute?

In this episode of Safeguarding Redefined, family law specialist Brian Fraser from Elite Law Solicitors answers some of the most common questions DSLs face around parental responsibility, court orders, separated parents and school decision-making.

From school trips and counselling referrals to collection disputes and information sharing, we explore where safeguarding responsibilities end and family law begins.

If you've ever found yourself caught between two warring parents, this episode is essential listening.

Connect with Brian Fraser:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-fraser-351a97a7/

Find out more about Elite Law Solicitors:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elite-law-solicitors/

Website: https://www.elitelawsolicitors.co.uk/

----

Useful Links: 

• https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding  - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk 

• Email us at Cornerstone: [email protected]

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs: 

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - 

https://cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/resources/cornerstone-connect-sign-up/

- for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts. 

• Chris East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/

• Leah East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East