Helping families agree clear, proportionate steps to keep children safe, this family safety plan PDF supports parents, carers and professionals to talk through concerns, record boundaries and review arrangements together. It is particularly relevant where there are worries about child sexual abuse, supervised contact, home routines, or safety across more than one household.
In everyday safeguarding practice, a written family safety plan can turn difficult conversations into agreed routines that everyone understands. The template is designed for parents, carers, children, young people and professionals to complete collaboratively, with space for the whole family’s views to be listened to and considered.
The plan begins with personal information, including the names and ages of the child or children, the family members and professionals involved, the completion date, review date and signatures. It recommends review every three months, or sooner if circumstances change, such as moving house or a relationship breakdown.
Several prompts help families clarify the areas of concern. It asks what people are worried about, who the concern relates to, what might happen without a plan, and what the family is trying to achieve. It also encourages recording existing protective actions, such as open conversations about sex and relationships, using correct names for private body parts, or using NSPCC PANTS.
A strengths-based section invites families to identify what already works well, including communication, shared meals, hobbies, supportive relationships and respectful discussion. It also asks how those strengths could be developed further, making the plan less about restriction and more about practical, sustainable safety in daily family life.
The safety steps section covers adults of concern, supervised or no-contact arrangements, what children have been told, the physical environment, privacy, bathroom use, sleeping arrangements, play spaces, visitors, supervision levels, bedtime routines, playdates and sleepovers. Produced by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, it may be especially useful for safeguarding practitioners, social workers and families creating a child protection safety plan.
