Independent Safeguarding Consultant
Claire Ray has spent over 20 years specialising in education safeguarding, managing Kent County Council’s Education Safeguarding Team for the past 8 years. She has also held various statutory child protection roles, including working as a LADO. Claire qualified as a social worker in 1999 before completing an MSc and Advanced Award in Social Work in 2005.
Independent Safeguarding Consultant
Robin is a qualified social worker working in a variety of roles in his 25 year career including front line social work with children as a practitioner and as a senior manager. He has also worked as the Local Authority Designated Officer and for the last 6 years worked for Kent County Council spearheading their own Education Safeguarding team before he left in late 2024 to set up his own venture.
Get tailored advice and support designed to meet the unique needs of your educational institution.
Learn MoreThe purpose of the safeguarding review from ESS is to assist the safeguarding team in all settings (DSL, Headteacher and Safeguarding Governor) to ensure that they support effective safeguarding practice. It has been updated to reflect the needs of settings in 2025.
Learn MoreAccess a library of free resources, including articles, plans, tools and website links. All content is from third party organisations.
Learn MoreOccasionally settings need to source an independent person to carry out an investigation. ESS have extensive experience of doing such pieces of work for early years settings, schools and colleges.
Learn MoreESS offer several different types of training for settings. Including basic safeguarding awareness for settings and Designated Safeguarding lead training. LGBTQ+, Gender Identity & Transition, Harmful Sexual Behaviour, Incel and the Manosphere half days. This can be delivered face to face or via Microsoft Teams.
Learn MoreESS are looking at how we can put a package together that enables settings to be able to call a consultant with non urgent safeguarding queries. It would enable you to have a day a week where you can discuss a case which you could be stuck on and need to know how to proceed especially where you believe it will not meet threshold for statutory involvement.
Learn More