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Safeguarding Settings

Safeguarding settings in Pigeonhole let you see your safeguarding team, see your sign-off rules, and manage the categories used when recording a concern.
Open in app: Safeguarding Settings.

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Accessing Safeguarding Settings

Safeguarding settings are on one page, shared by Managers and Safeguarding Leads. Managers open it from Settings → Safeguarding Settings. Managers can set up categories, but they can’t see any records of concern unless they are also a Safeguarding Lead or Deputy Safeguarding Lead. The sign-off rules and safeguarding exclusions belong to your Safeguarding Leads. A manager who isn’t a lead sees the rules read-only, doesn’t see exclusions at all, and sees this notice:
The Safeguarding Settings page for a manager, with the notice "Managed by your Safeguarding Leads"
Safeguarding Leads and deputies open the same page from Safeguarding → Settings, whether or not they are managers, and can manage categories there too. See Sign-off Rules and Exclusions.

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DSL Team

The DSL Team card lists every staff member who currently holds a Designated Safeguarding Lead permission, so you can see your safeguarding team at a glance. Each person is shown with their name and whether they are a Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or Deputy Safeguarding Lead (DDSL). Click a name to open that staff member’s profile.
Safeguarding leads are not added on this page. To add or remove a lead, give the staff member the Safeguarding Lead or Deputy Safeguarding Lead permission on their staff profile. They then appear in the DSL Team card automatically.

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Signatures and Sign-off

The Signatures and sign-off card shows your setting’s rules for:
  • whether staff must sign a record of concern when they raise it
  • who must read a concern before it can be closed
  • who must sign to close it
By default there are no requirements: any Safeguarding Lead or deputy can close a concern on their own, and Pigeonhole records who closed it and when. Only a Safeguarding Lead can change the rules. See Sign-off Rules and Exclusions and Closing and Sign-off.

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Record of Concern Categories

The Record of Concern Categories card lets you manage the categories that are available when creating a record of concern. Categories help you organize and classify concerns, making it easier to track patterns and manage different types of safeguarding issues. This is the only type of category configured on this page — categories apply to records of concern only. There are no separate categories for records of action. Record of Concern Categories with hierarchical structure

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Managing Categories

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Category Features

Categories support:
  • Hierarchical structure (parent categories and subcategories)
  • Custom naming
  • Add, edit, and delete capabilities
  • Nested subcategories for detailed classification
Your Pigeonhole site is configured with a default set of safeguarding categories that you can use.

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Adding Categories

  1. In the “Add new category…” field, enter the category name
  2. Click Add or press Enter
  3. The category appears in the list

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Adding Subcategories

  1. Hover over a parent category
  2. Click the + (Plus) button that appears
  3. Enter the subcategory name
  4. Click the checkmark or press Enter

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Editing Categories

  1. Hover over a category
  2. Click the Edit (pencil) icon
  3. Modify the name
  4. Click the checkmark or press Enter to save

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Deleting Categories

  1. Hover over a category
  2. Click the Delete (trash) icon
  3. Confirm the deletion