Safeguarding Conference Wales Highlights Power of Lived Experience
MetroPolis was delighted to support the National Safeguarding Conference Wales 2025, where more than 150 practitioners, policymakers and researchers from across Wales and the wider UK came together on 12 November for an online event dedicated to strengthening safeguarding practice through the voices and insights of lived experience. This is the 3rd annual conference delivered through the strategic partnership between the National Independent Safeguarding Board (NISB) Wales and Manchester Metropolitan University Safeguarding and Violence Prevention Team (led by Professor Michelle McManus and Emma Ball). The conference explored the theme ‘Leading from lived experience in safeguarding: listening, learning and embedding in practice’.
Co-chaired by Tony Young, Chair of NISB and Professor Michelle McManus, the morning opened with welcomes from both NISB and ManMet, followed by a foreword from the Welsh Minister for Children and Social Care, Dawn Bowden. The agenda brought together a series of expert contributions, beginning with Kevin Barker from Care Inspectorate Wales, who shared emerging lessons from rapid reviews and joint inspections. Delegates then examined how relational practice and lived experience can be more effectively integrated into Child Practice Reviews and actions prior to the significant incident – led by Emma Ball and Professor Michelle McManus (ManMet). Linzi Margetson presented on Tracking What Matters, showcasing a live safeguarding dashboard that has implemented the national multi-agency safeguarding performance framework developed by Emma and Michelle. This dashboard allows the regional safeguarding board to examine their safeguarding data, therefore, identifying key areas of effective work and challenge, ultimately enabling them to utilise this data to inform scrutiny, audits, changes and targeted work to improve outcomes across their safeguarding responses.
The afternoon session focused on listening and embedding lived experience voices into practice. Professor Christine Cocker (University of East Anglia) presented on transitional safeguarding, and delegates also heard an inspirational presentation from Wes Cunliffe, whose reflections grounded the programme’s themes in lived experience and the realities of frontline practice, particularly the importance of that trusted professional. Interactive Padlet activities then enabled participants to share perspectives on what the sector is doing well and where further progress is needed.
Reflecting on this conference, Professor Michelle McManus said…
“Our strategic partnership with the NISB has gone from strength to strength in driving positive, co-produced action to improve the outcomes for children, their families and communities across Wales. This annual safeguarding conference, centred on leading from lived experience, moved us from a perspective of ‘learning’ to a place of action and change. At the heart of every safeguarding response is a person, a family, a community. As professionals, we hold privileged, trusted positions. Our responsibility is simply to be that trusted professional, to work flexibly with our children and young people, to ensure we listen, hear and respond to their voice. Because safeguarding was never meant to serve the system, it was meant to serve the child.”
