Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, but it takes leaders with lived experience to help others carry it out with confidence and care. That’s exactly what Simon and Jill Snell have built at SAFE Ltd – a specialist safeguarding training and consultancy company grounded in operational experience, practical delivery, and a deep commitment to protecting the most vulnerable.
“Our goal is simple,” says Simon. “Make safeguarding meaningful – not just mandatory.”
SAFE (Safeguarding Associates for Excellence) provides enriched training and consultancy across all aspects of child and adult safeguarding. With a proud foundation in frontline police work, the organisation has become a trusted partner to schools, councils, charities, national sporting bodies, and private organisations seeking to improve their safeguarding standards.
From frontline services to SAFE
Between them, Simon and Jill Snell bring over 60 years of real-world safeguarding experience. Both spent decades working within specialist police safeguarding units. Simon led on child protection, exploitation, domestic abuse, and family liaison, ultimately becoming Head of the Force Child Exploitation Team. He served on national panels and helped shape the UK’s criminal justice response to CSE (child sexual exploitation), including contributing to covert strategy and psychological interviewing practices.
Jill, meanwhile, built a reputation for her expertise in specialist interviewing, especially of sex offenders, and served as a Sergeant in the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) team, overseeing the management of dangerous offenders within prison and the community. She is also a qualified trainer, having delivered specialist police interview training throughout her career.
Their careers were filled with high-stakes, emotionally complex cases, and both saw how gaps in frontline awareness could lead to missed opportunities to protect.
“We both saw first-hand the critical gaps in awareness, confidence, and support,” Jill says. “We wanted to do something practical to close that gap – by helping others step into these conversations with the knowledge and assurance they need.”
SAFE Ltd was born out of that shared vision. Today, Simon serves as Director of Training, designing and delivering accredited courses across multiple levels, while Jill acts as Managing Director, overseeing operations, finance, and customer support. Their team of trainers includes former detectives, senior police officers, social workers, and education professionals. People who’ve seen the challenges firsthand – and know how to help others navigate them.
“There are lots of people delivering safeguarding training,” says Simon. “But very few who’ve stood in the shoes of the people we’re training. That’s what makes our work real.”
SAFE’s course catalogue spans everything from Designated Safeguarding Lead training to Adult safeguarding, safer recruitment, sexual harassment awareness, and managing allegations through to Safeguarding Managers Level 5 courses. All are designed in-house and delivered by their experienced trainers.
Their training is credited with helping staff take timely, life-changing action. The proof of impact is in the feedback. They regularly receive stories from learners who’ve applied their training to prevent harm, intervene early, or escalate a concern that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.
One learner described how, after attending a session, they were able to escalate a concern that led to the safe removal of a child from harm.
“This isn’t theoretical. These are real children. Real families,” Jill says. “When someone says, ‘I knew what to do because of your course’ – that’s everything. We’re not training people to pass a quiz. We’re preparing them to spot the signs and protect the most vulnerable.”
Safeguarding at scale
From its early roots in the South West of England, SAFE has grown steadily into an international training provider. Their learners span education, health, sport, local government, and the voluntary sector. And while the business has scaled, its training has remained deeply personal.
“This work is about people,” says Simon. “The scale might be bigger, but the risks are still individual. We will never forget that.”
That mindset drives SAFE’s commitment to live, instructor-led training delivered by experienced professionals. The training is scenario-based, discussion-led, and deliberately designed to feel human.
Because identifying abuse or neglect isn’t always clear-cut.
“Sometimes it’s just a gut feeling that something’s off,” says Jill. “We teach people to trust their instincts, but also how to escalate concerns in a way that’s measured, respectful, and compliant.”
The balance of compliance and care is what sets SAFE apart. They help professionals meet statutory requirements, but more importantly they help them meet real-world responsibilities.
SAFE’s course catalogue covers a wide spectrum – Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), adult safeguarding, managing allegations, safer recruitment, sexual harassment, and their nationally recognised Safeguarding Managers Course (Level 5). This flagship programme has been delivered to hundreds of agencies over the past decade and remains one of Simon’s proudest achievements.
All courses are tailored to the audience, whether it’s a school in Devon, a football club in Manchester, or a nursing team in Dubai. And many clients return year after year, not only for training but for ongoing consultancy – helping them embed policies, review processes, and respond to evolving risks.
“We’re proud that people trust us enough to come back,” Jill says. “It means they see the value, and they see the results.”
SAFE continues to expand its reach across sectors, borders, and delivery formats. Instructor-led training remains at the core – offering a rich, interactive learning experience that goes far beyond reading a manual or watching a video. Learners benefit from the ability to ask questions, learn from experienced trainers, discuss real scenarios, and engage in meaningful conversations; all of which lead to deeper understanding and immediate, practical application. To complement their instructor-led training, SAFE are exploring blended learning approaches to make safeguarding training even more accessible and impactful.
But no matter how far it scales, Simon and Jill are committed to keeping the heart of SAFE the same: promoting the welfare and safety of children and adults at risk.
Arlo Change Makers is a series that highlights the passionate people behind training organizations that are changing people’s lives.
We are proud to be the platform behind Simon, Jill and SAFE – helping them streamline administration, scale their business and deliver more impactful training.
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