Signs of Safety Approach: A Guide for UK Social Workers

What is Signs of Safety?

Signs of Safety (SoS) is a strengths-based, safety-focused approach to child protection developed by Andrew Turnell and Steve Edwards. It provides a framework for assessing and working with families where there are child protection concerns, combining a rigorous focus on harm and danger with an equal emphasis on strengths and safety.

Many local authorities in the UK have adopted Signs of Safety as their practice framework. It offers tools and language for engaging families as partners in creating safety for children.

Core Principles

1. Constructive Working Relationships

Signs of Safety emphasises building genuine working relationships with families, even in difficult circumstances. This doesn't mean avoiding hard conversations—it means having them respectfully.

2. Thinking Critically and Fostering a Questioning Approach

Practitioners should question their own assumptions and avoid premature conclusions. Multiple perspectives should be sought and considered.

3. Landing the Worry

Being clear and specific about what you're worried about helps families understand the concerns and work to address them.

4. Finding and Building on Strengths

Identifying what's working and what strengths exist provides the foundation for building safety.

5. The Child's Voice

Children's views, wishes, and experiences must be central to the work.

The Three Columns

The core assessment and planning tool in Signs of Safety organises information into three columns:

Column 1: What Are We Worried About?

• Harm: What harm has occurred to the child?
• Danger: What future harm might occur if nothing changes?
• Complicating factors: What makes things harder?

Column 2: What's Working Well?

• Existing safety: What protects the child now?
• Existing strengths: What resources and capacities exist?

Column 3: What Needs to Happen?

• Safety goals: What does good enough safety look like?
• Next steps: What are the immediate actions needed?

Danger Statements

A danger statement clearly articulates what professionals are worried might happen if nothing changes. It should be:

• Specific about the danger
• Linked to what has happened or is happening
• Understandable to the family
• Focused on the child

Example Danger Statement

"Social services and police are worried that when Mum drinks a lot of alcohol, she forgets to look after Jake properly—like when he was left alone last week—and we're worried that if this keeps happening, Jake could get hurt or something bad could happen to him."

Safety Goals

Safety goals describe what good enough safety looks like—the end point you're working towards. They should be:

• Observable and measurable
• Written in everyday language
• Achievable by the family
• Linked to the danger statement

Example Safety Goal

"Jake will always have a safe adult looking after him, even when Mum is struggling. Everyone in the family will know who is responsible for Jake at all times, and there will always be a plan for who will care for him."

The Safety Scale

Signs of Safety uses a scaling question to assess progress:

"On a scale of 0-10, where 10 means everyone is confident enough that this child is safe that children's services can close the case, and 0 means the child is in immediate danger and must be removed, where are we now?"

Different people—professionals, family members, children—may give different ratings. The discussion about why ratings differ is often more valuable than the numbers themselves.

Tools and Techniques

Three Houses

A direct work tool for children:

• House of Worries: Things the child is scared or worried about
• House of Good Things: Things the child likes about their life
• House of Dreams: What the child wishes for

Words and Pictures

A way of explaining to children what has happened and why professionals are involved, using age-appropriate language and visual aids.

Safety Mapping

Mapping out the people and resources around a child who contribute to their safety.

Family Network Meetings

Bringing together the family's own network to create and support a safety plan.

Safety Planning

A Signs of Safety safety plan includes:

• The danger statement (what we're worried about)
• The safety goal (what we need to see)
• Rules for the family
• People in the safety network and their roles
• What happens if things go wrong (contingency plan)

Scaling Progress

Progress is measured against the safety scale throughout the work:

• Regular scaling at every meeting
• Discussion of what would move the scale up
• Exploration of what's keeping it where it is
• Tracking movement over time

Benefits of Signs of Safety

• Clear, shared language across professionals and families
• Balance between risk and strengths
• Family involvement and ownership
• Child-focused approach
• Clear framework for complex assessments
• Focus on sustainable safety, not just compliance

Challenges

• Requires training and ongoing support to implement well
• Can be superficially applied without genuine engagement
• Strengths focus must not minimise real dangers
• Implementation varies between local authorities

Conclusion

Signs of Safety offers a coherent framework for child protection work that balances rigorous attention to danger with strengths-based, family-engaged practice. When implemented well, it helps families understand what needs to change and supports them to create safety for their children. The tools and language it provides make complex assessments more transparent and help maintain focus on what matters most: the child's safety and wellbeing.