Switching safeguarding software: what should an early years provider check first?

Changing safeguarding software is not quite the same as changing your invoicing system or moving your staff rota.

Safeguarding records may contain years of sensitive information about children, families and staff. They may also contain decisions, actions and outcomes that need to make sense long after the original concern was recorded.

So the question is not simply:

“Can we move the data?”

A better question is:

“Can we change systems without losing the safeguarding story?”

That means thinking about what will move into the new system, what will stay in the old one, what needs to be retained and how important previous information will remain visible to the people who need it.

Start with what you already have

Before changing system, look carefully at the safeguarding information you currently hold.

Depending on the system and your own recording arrangements, this might include:

• safeguarding concerns

• wellbeing observations

• injuries

• disclosures

• relevant attendance or absence information

• actions

• decisions

• outcomes

• referrals

• body maps

• correspondence

• attachments

• information about family circumstances

• external professional information

The important thing is not simply that each individual record exists.

It is whether somebody looking back can understand what was noticed, what happened next and how different pieces of information fit together.

This matters particularly in early years, where a number of apparently small observations may become significant when seen together.

1. Find out exactly what your new system can import

Do not assume that changing safeguarding software means transferring the entire contents of one system directly into another.

Ask the new provider exactly what can be imported and what cannot.

With On the Button, we can currently import basic child information:

• name

• date of birth

• gender

We do not currently import historic safeguarding records from another system.

Instead, we encourage settings to retain their previous safeguarding information securely and make sure it remains available in accordance with their own retention responsibilities.

2. Carry forward the information that matters

Starting a new system should not mean starting with no knowledge of what came before.

Where a child has relevant previous safeguarding or wellbeing history, we encourage settings to create a summary when they begin using On the Button.

That might include:

• significant previous concerns

• known risks

• previous referrals

• important family circumstances

• recurring injuries

• patterns of absence

• previous actions

• important outcomes

Dates can be included where they are known and useful.

The purpose is not to recreate every historic record.

It is to make sure the people responsible for safeguarding are not looking at a child as though nothing has happened before simply because the software has changed.

3. Keep the original records

A summary is not a substitute for the original safeguarding record.

Historic information should still be retained securely for as long as required.

Before leaving your current provider, ask:

• what records can be downloaded

• in what format they will be supplied

• whether attachments are included

• whether body maps are included

• whether actions and outcomes are included

• whether the full chronology can be exported

• how long you will continue to have access after your contract ends

• whether anything must be downloaded before a particular date

Do not wait until the old account has closed before finding out.

4. Check that the chronology still makes sense

A useful safeguarding record is more than a collection of forms.

You should be able to follow the sequence of events.

For example:

Concern recorded → DSL informed → decision made → action taken → outcome recorded → further information added if needed.

When changing systems, look at whether that thread will still be understandable.

If some information remains in the old system while new information is recorded in the new one, make sure your team knows where the historic record is held and how it can be accessed if needed.

5. Decide when the new chronology begins

It is useful to have a clear point at which the new system becomes the live safeguarding record.

From that date onward, the team should know where new concerns are recorded.

Running two live safeguarding systems for a prolonged period risks:

• duplicate records

• different parts of the story being held in different places

• staff being unsure which system to use

• one version being updated while another is not

• leaders having an incomplete picture

A clear go-live date helps avoid that.

6. Make sure your whole team knows what is changing

Safeguarding systems only work if people use them.

Before changing over, practitioners need to know:

• when the new system starts

• how they log in

• what they should record

• where they record it

• what happens after they submit something

• who receives the information

• what to do if they cannot access the system

• what to do in an emergency

Managers and DSLs need to understand the next stage too:

• how concerns are acknowledged

• where actions are recorded

• how outcomes are added

• how previous information is viewed

• how the chronology is used

• how information is exported when needed

7. Test the new system with a real safeguarding scenario

Before deciding that a new system works for you, ask the provider to show you the full journey.

For example:

A practitioner notices a mark on a child. During the conversation that follows, the child says something that worries them.

Ask the provider to show you:

• where the practitioner records it

• how quickly it can be recorded

• who is alerted

• what happens if the usual DSL is absent

• where the DSL records their decision

• where actions are recorded

• where outcomes are added

• how previous concerns can be seen

• what the chronology looks like afterwards

• how the information could be shared externally

You learn much more from following one concern from beginning to end than you do from looking at a list of software features.

8. Check how you can get your information out again

It may feel strange to think about leaving a system before you have even joined it, but it is important.

Safeguarding information belongs to the provider, not the software company.

Ask what happens if:

• you change provider again

• the setting closes

• information needs to be sent to Social Care

• the LADO requests records

• Ofsted asks to see the chronology

• information needs to accompany a child elsewhere

With On the Button, chronologies can be exported when needed.

Safeguarding information should never become trapped simply because it has been recorded digitally.

9. Think about more than child safeguarding

When changing systems, look at the wider information that may be connected to safeguarding.

For example:

• child wellbeing

• family wellbeing

• staff wellbeing

• complaints

• whistleblowing

• injuries

• attendance information

• safer recruitment

• safeguarding training

You may not need all of these within one system.

But you should understand where each type of information will be recorded and whether the people responsible can see the wider picture when they need to.

10. Think about external documents too

Safeguarding does not happen entirely inside one piece of software.

You may also receive:

• Social Care correspondence

• LADO information

• professional reports

• letters

• meeting notes

• historical documents

• information supplied by another provider

At present, On the Button does not provide a general repository for historic and external safeguarding documents.

We are developing the On the Button Vault, which is intended to provide a secure place for historic safeguarding documents and current external files alongside information being recorded within On the Button.

Until that is available, providers moving to On the Button should continue to retain those documents securely within their existing arrangements.

Moving to On the Button

When a setting moves to On the Button, we can import the basic child information needed to get started: names, dates of birth and gender.

We encourage providers to retain their historic safeguarding records and, where appropriate, add a summary of important previous information so the relevant context is available from the beginning.

The aim is not to pretend that years of safeguarding history can simply be swallowed by a new system.

It is to make sure the transition is controlled, the team knows where information is held and the safeguarding story is not lost simply because the technology has changed.

The question to ask before you switch

Changing software should make safeguarding clearer, not create another gap in the record.

So before moving, ask:

What stays?

What moves?

What needs summarising?

Where will the original records be kept?

When does the new chronology begin?

And will somebody looking back later still be able to understand what happened?

If the answer to that final question is yes, you are much more likely to have managed the change properly.

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Sources

This comparison uses the providers’ own descriptions of their purpose and approach: Famly, Ovivio and On the Button. Product details should be checked directly before making a decision.