On Monday 3rd November 2025, the Cognus Education Safeguarding welcomed Lina Del Grosso (Safeguarding Training and Review Advisor) to the team.
Lina is passionate about creating safe, supportive school environments where every child can thrive. With a background in school senior leadership and a deep commitment to safeguarding and wellbeing, she works closely with schools to embed whole-school approaches to mental health and RSHE, incorporating sensitive issues and contextual safeguarding.
She led the first school in Sutton to achieve the Wellbeing Award for Schools in 2019 and played a key role in the Southwest London NHS Mental Health in Schools Pilot, helping to shape improved mental health support across the borough.
Lina brings a thoughtful, data-informed approach to curriculum development, using pupil voice and local context to design PSHE and RSHE programmes that are meaningful and relevant. She’s also a skilled and engaging trainer, delivering sessions on safeguarding, RSHE, e-safety and children’s mental health through Teaching School Alliances and directly in schools.
With Lina now in role, and leading safeguarding reviews and training along with Steve Welding, there is more capacity to further develop and embed our Cognus Reflective Safeguarding Supervision offer, as well as increase our traded training opportunities.
Earlier in the year the Education Safeguarding Team and Education Psychology Service received a letter of recognition on behalf of the sponsors of the London Children’s Services Practice Spotlight for their work around safeguarding supervision – ‘Better Together’ – Strengthening our Designated Safeguarding Lead Network.
Your work exemplifies the motivation that binds us together, cementing our connection to one another and the children, young people and families we serve. Your dedication and impressive work to transform the lives of children, young people and families in London is inspirational
Director of London Innovation & Improvement Alliance (LIIA, April 2025)
The role of the DSL and safeguarding team is forever expanding. It is important that DSLs have a safe space to share reflections on practice – what is going well, what is causing frustration and what would help to improve things.
We are so proud of the DSL Network in our local area. What they do daily does not go unrecognised. However, they need to remember that they are ‘human first’. It is important to recognise that to be able to fully ‘show up’ for others, they must ensure their own needs are met and their feelings validated.
‘The Teacher Wellbeing Index 2025 highlights ongoing pressures on the education workforce, with staff wellbeing now at its lowest level since 2019. High stress, rising anxiety, and increasing pastoral demands continue to shape the daily experience of teachers and support staff. Many are managing responsibilities that go far beyond the classroom, including emotional regulation, family support, and filling gaps left by stretched services. These pressures have become entrenched and affect staff across all roles, but are particularly acute for those with safeguarding responsibilities.
For DSLs and school leaders, the findings underline how closely staff wellbeing and safeguarding practice are linked. When nearly half of staff feel their workplace negatively affects their mental health, there is a clear risk to professional curiosity, decision-making, and capacity to follow up concerns. Chronic stress reduces vigilance, increases cognitive fatigue, and can weaken the consistency of safeguarding responses. Ensuring staff feel supported, valued, and able to manage their workload is therefore not only about retention, it is an essential component of a safe, effective safeguarding culture’.
- 76% of all education staff report work-related stress, rising to 86% among senior leaders.
- 36% of staff recorded scores indicating probable clinical depression.
- 70% of staff help pupils regulate emotions weekly, a 31% rise from pre-pandemic levels.
- 63% of staff experience time poverty for three-quarters or more of the working week.
- 29% of staff have actively sought to leave their job due to pressures on wellbeing.
You can find the full report here:
https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/resources/for-organisations/research/teacher-wellbeing-index
Every member of the safeguarding team should have access to support. We now offer an extended reflective safeguarding supervision service. More information can be found here:
Reflective Safeguarding Supervision Offer – Cognus
We are now delivering safeguarding supervision to over 60 colleagues from early years settings, schools and colleges (an increase of 25 attendees since September).
Please take some time to view our podcasts and testimonials on the link above, with video recordings recently added.
For further information please contact:
hayley.cameron@cognus.org.uk.