WHEN THE TEACHER BECOMES THE RISK ; The safeguarding conversation we need to have.

What does safeguarding really look like in a school?

We know the language. Protect the child. Report concerns. Keep children safe.

But what happens when safeguarding gets uncomfortable?

What if the person crossing the boundary is a teacher?

What if the behaviour doesn't look abusive—but something about it doesn't feel right?

What if a teacher's intention is good, but the impact on a child isn't?

What if you notice something concerning about a colleague?

And what if the person who needs support and protection is the teacher?

In this episode of The Teacher Podcast, I sit down with Maureen Semakula Kizito Namugayi, an educator and safeguarding professional with 24 years of experience across teaching, school leadership, curriculum and child protection.

Together, we go beyond the usual safeguarding conversation.

We talk about the things that happen in schools that we have become so used to that we no longer question them. We explore discipline, boundaries, teacher blind spots, power, professional responsibility and what happens when a teacher becomes the risk.

But we also turn the lens around.

Because a safe school cannot be built by protecting children while ignoring the wellbeing, vulnerability and safety of the adults who work there.

This is an honest conversation about what we do, what we overlook, what we excuse—and what we may need to change.

And perhaps the question at the centre of it all is:

If everyone in a school deserves to be safe, who protects the teacher?

🎧 This is The Teacher Podcast.