Understanding Safeguarding Trends: Why the Timing of Concerns Matters

Last updated on Mar 30, 2025

By Klaudia Ratajczak

At Patronus Safeguarding, we recently ran a poll asking professionals when they see most safeguarding concerns reported. The responses varied, with some noticing peaks at the start of the week (19%), others mid-week (15%), most late week (37%). As many as 30% of participants admitted to not seeing noticeable patterns. But what does this mean? Are there identifiable patterns, and can understanding these trends help improve safeguarding strategies? In this article, we’ll explore why the timing of safeguarding reports may vary, how different settings might experience different trends, and how organisations can better recognise and respond to these patterns.

Why Might Safeguarding Concerns Peak at Different Times?

The timing of safeguarding reports can depend on a variety of factors, including the type of setting, the challenges faced by staff, and the nature of the concerns themselves. Below are some potential explanations for why concerns may be raised at different points in the week:

Early Week Trends (Monday-Tuesday)

Weekend Reflection: In settings that operate Monday to Friday—such as schools, childcare providers, and family support services—safeguarding concerns may arise over the weekend but often go unreported until staff return on Monday. This delay can lead to a noticeable increase in reporting at the start of the week.
School Return Effect: In educational settings, children who have experienced difficulties at home over the weekend may disclose incidents upon their return to school.
Debriefing Culture: Some workplaces have Monday check-ins or debriefs where concerns from previous days may be formally raised.
Social Services Referral Peaks: Monday can be a peak day for social services referrals, as professionals often report disclosures made after the weekend. This trend is influenced by the fact that many safeguarding concerns arise in home settings over weekends and are only disclosed when individuals return to structured environments such as schools or support organisations.
Post-Bank Holiday Impact: Following bank holiday Mondays, Tuesday may see an increase in safeguarding concerns as issues that arose over the extended weekend come to light and are formally reported. Bank holiday weekends often involve more events and celebrations, which can lead to heightened alcohol intake and an increase in domestic abuse cases, contributing to the rise in safeguarding concerns.

Mid-Week Trends (Wednesday-Thursday)

Building Trust: In some settings, particularly schools, therapy environments, or places attended for one week only, such as residential trips, individuals may take time to build the confidence to disclose concerns, leading to a mid-week reporting peak.
Staff Availability: Some workplaces experience busier operations at the beginning and end of the week, meaning mid-week may provide staff with more time to report concerns. However, this does not mean that delaying reports due to workload is good practice. Additional training should be provided to ensure concerns are reported promptly, regardless of operational pressures.
Recognition of Patterns: As the week progresses, staff may begin to recognise repeated behaviours or incidents that warrant reporting. In certain sectors where people attend temporarily, such as short-term camp settings or week-long programmes, staff may start to understand service users better over time, leading to more opportunities to identify safeguarding concerns.

Late Week Trends (Friday-Sunday)

Pre-Weekend Urgency: Staff in schools, hospitals, and care settings may aim to report concerns before the weekend, ensuring they are addressed before key personnel become unavailable.
High-Risk Moments: Some settings, such as emergency services, see increased safeguarding concerns around the weekend due to heightened social activities, substance misuse, or domestic tensions.
Fear of Upcoming Risk of Abuse: Service users who fear an increased risk of abuse over the weekend may choose to report on Fridays due to concerns about their safety in the coming days. This highlights the importance of proactive safeguarding measures and ensuring accessible reporting mechanisms before weekends or extended breaks.

Spotting Trends: How to Identify Patterns in Safeguarding Data

For those who don’t yet see clear patterns in their safeguarding reports, here are some practical steps to help identify them:

Categorise Your Data: Break concerns down into different categories such as age groups, types of concerns (e.g., neglect, exploitation, peer-on-peer abuse), and locations.
Track Over Time: Look at reports over multiple months or years to see if there are consistent trends at particular times of the week.
Compare Across Settings: Compare your data with similar settings to identify whether different challenges influence the timing of safeguarding reports.
Engage with Staff: Speak to frontline professionals to gain insights into when and why concerns arise.
Use Technology: Digital safeguarding platforms, such as Patronus, can help visualise trends in real-time, making patterns easier to spot. Patronus also utilises AI to identify patterns that may not be immediately obvious to safeguarding professionals, providing deeper insights into emerging concerns.

Why Tracking Safeguarding Trends is Important

Recognising when safeguarding concerns are most commonly reported is not just an academic exercise- it has real-world implications for prevention, strategy, and planning. By identifying trends, organisations can:

Allocate Resources More Effectively by ensuring safeguarding teams and response mechanisms are at full capacity during peak reporting periods.
Improve Training and Awareness to help staff recognise early warning signs so that concerns can be reported sooner. For example, if post-weekend data shows an increase in concerns related to domestic abuse, teenage relationship abuse, or online safety, staff should be especially vigilant. Ensuring that service users feel safe and supported to disclose these concerns is essential, and staff should be trained to proactively engage with them.
Strengthen Prevention Strategies using data to identify root causes and implement proactive interventions. This can inform your initiatives for the protection of individuals and create targeted actions.
Enhance Multi-Agency Collaboration by sharing trends with relevant agencies to improve coordinated safeguarding responses.

Looking Ahead: Exploring Additional Safeguarding Metrics

Tracking when concerns are reported is just one aspect of safeguarding data analysis. In future articles, we will explore other key safeguarding trends, such as:

Gender-related safeguarding trends and risk indicators
Patterns around staff reporting concerns and engagement levels
Trends by type of concern, such as exploitation, neglect, or emotional abuse

Understanding safeguarding data isn’t just about statistics- it’s about creating safer environments through informed decision-making. If you’re interested in learning more, stay tuned for our upcoming discussions on how safeguarding insights can drive meaningful change.

Reflect and Review:

Assess Your Reporting Patterns- examine your organisation's data to identify when safeguarding concerns are most frequently reported. Are there noticeable peaks on certain days?
Evaluate Contributing Factors- consider what might influence these patterns. For instance, are there specific events or routines that prompt disclosures?
Enhance Staff Training- ensure that all team members are equipped to recognise and report concerns promptly, regardless of when they arise.

Partner with Patronus Safeguarding:

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By reflecting on your current practices and leveraging advanced safeguarding technologies, you can create a safer environment for those in your care.

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