Language plays a crucial role in schools, not just as a medium of instruction but also as a tool for building relationships, trust, and understanding. For professionals, the language used in policies, training, and daily interactions is often carefully chosen to ensure clarity and precision. Yet, for young people, language—especially slang—can be fluid, evolving rapidly to reflect their social worlds and experiences.
This contrast highlights a potential safeguarding blind spot. While professionals rely on consistent terminology to define risks and interventions, young people often use coded or colloquial phrases that might obscure the very issues staff are trained to spot. For example, terms like “low-key” (indicating something done subtly) or “chirpsing” (flirting) may seem inconsequential, but in certain contexts, they could point to situations requiring closer attention. Similarly, phrases like “ghosting” (cutting off communication) or “link” (meeting up, sometimes secretly) might hint at vulnerabilities or risky behaviours.
Professionals place great emphasis on language for a reason: it provides a shared framework for safeguarding. Ensuring staff understand terms such as “designated safeguarding lead” or “child-on-child abuse” is vital for clarity and action. But just as professionals have their vocabulary, so do young people, and failing to bridge this gap risks creating barriers to understanding.
Increasingly, schools are recognising the importance of keeping up with the ways pupils communicate. Listening to student voice is an invaluable tool in this regard, offering insights into the language pupils use and the experiences they navigate. Reviews conducted by organisations such as Oxley Safeguarding Services often highlight the importance of student voice in shaping effective safeguarding provision. By involving pupils in discussions about their world, schools can create safeguarding strategies that are both relevant and responsive.
The stakes are high. When pupils feel that adults don’t understand their language or experiences, they are less likely to seek support. Conversely, when staff demonstrate that they are listening—really listening—it fosters trust and openness. Schools that take the time to stay informed about evolving slang not only strengthen safeguarding practices but also build stronger, more meaningful connections with their pupils.
Language is a bridge. By recognising the importance of both professional terminology and young people’s slang, schools can create an environment where communication flows freely and safeguarding is proactive, not reactive.
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