Ahead of the International Safeguarding Conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Ms Carly Attard Zarb reflects on safeguarding leadership, social work, prevention, and the formation of future practitioners.
You are facilitating one of the online working groups before the International Safeguarding Conference in Rome this June. What has that experience been like?
The preparatory phase has been an enriching and formative experience, bringing together practitioners from diverse cultural and professional contexts with a shared commitment to advancing safeguarding for children and vulnerable adults. It has provided a valuable platform for the exchange of knowledge, good practice, and perspectives across different systems and realities.
Representing the Safeguarding Commission of the Church in Malta in this context has been both an honour and a responsibility. I anticipate that both the preparatory work and the conference itself will highlight that, despite contextual differences, the core principles and values underpinning safeguarding remain universally shared and consistently upheld.
What does being Lead Safeguarding Officer involve?
While our safeguarding practice is inherently collaborative and grounded in shared responsibility, the role of Lead Safeguarding Officer has required a heightened level of accountability, particularly in overseeing investigations and assessments.
This has necessitated meticulous attention to detail, ensuring that processes are thoroughly followed and that safeguarding principles are consistently translated into practice. The role has also underscored the importance of supporting and guiding the team, bringing the different teams together, while working closely with and under the guidance of the Head of Safeguarding to uphold the highest professional standards.
Ultimately, it has demonstrated that leadership in safeguarding is defined by integrity, responsibility, and a steadfast commitment to those whose lives are impacted by our work.
How are safeguarding and social work connected?
Safeguarding is often narrowly perceived as the remit of child protection services or reduced to a matter of procedural compliance. In reality, it is a shared, cross-sectoral responsibility that extends beyond responding to risk once statutory thresholds are met.
Safeguarding encompasses prevention, early identification, ethical responsibility, responsiveness, and accountability. It converges with social work through shared values, principles, and ethical foundations. Safeguarding, similarly to social work, also demands a distinctly proactive and preventative approach, moving beyond risk management towards a culture of awareness, care, responsibility, and continuous improvement in practice.
What do you wish you had known about safeguarding at the start of your career?
Despite its inherent challenges, safeguarding can have a profound and meaningful impact when grounded in research, evidence-based practice, multidisciplinary collaboration, and strong ethical responsibility.
Experience has shown me that, when these elements are in place, safeguarding practice can truly make a difference in people’s lives and can become very rewarding on a professional-practice level.
What should Malta emphasise when forming future social workers in safeguarding?
I would advocate for greater emphasis on practical exposure to safeguarding preventative approaches, policy development, and safeguarding risk management procedures.
Strengthening these areas would better equip future social workers with the skills and insight needed to engage with safeguarding not only as a reactive function, but as a proactive and strategic aspect of professional practice.
Ms Carly Attard Zarb is Lead Safeguarding Officer at the Safeguarding Commission of the Church in Malta. Her work involves safeguarding investigations and assessments, multidisciplinary collaboration, prevention, policy awareness, and risk management.