Book Review: The Honest DSL by Hannah Carter
Summary
A raw, essential read for Designated Safeguarding Leads and school leaders, The Honest DSL pulls back the curtain on the emotional labour and systemic challenges of child protection in education. Equal parts field guide and personal testimony, this is safeguarding leadership told with integrity, empathy, and extraordinary clarity.
Book Overview
The Honest DSL (self-published, 2024, approx. 350 pages) is a rare book that captures the lived reality of safeguarding in schools. Written by an experienced Designated Safeguarding Lead, it offers a blend of professional insight, personal reflection, and practical frameworks. Rejecting the sanitised tone of policy documents, the author declares early on: “This isn’t a handbook. It’s the truth about leading safeguarding.”
Across 34 concise chapters, the book traces the DSL journey from the first daunting weeks in the role to the long-haul battles with systems, bureaucracy, and burnout. The result is a compelling portrait of what it truly means to hold the line for children.
Relevance and Audience
This is indispensable reading for:
- Designated and Deputy DSLs
- Senior Leadership Teams and Headteachers
- Pastoral, SEND, and inclusion leaders
- Governors and policy shapers
At a time when safeguarding complexity has intensified—spanning online harm, self-neglect, gender identity, and family crisis - The Honest DSL provides the candour and reassurance the sector has been missing. It is especially valuable for multi-academy trust DSL networks and local authority training contexts.
Structure and Key Themes
The book is structured into four parts—Foundations of the Role, The Day-to-Day Reality, Specific Safeguarding Concerns, and Crisis and Conclusion. Each section builds on the previous, blending narrative honesty with operational clarity.
Key Themes
- Emotional Labour and Resilience
- The author writes movingly about the toll and transformation of the role: “Once you see what we see, you can’t unsee it.”
- Systems vs. Humanity
- A recurring motif contrasts statutory frameworks (KCSIE, Working Together) with the messy human realities DSLs navigate daily.
- Boundaries and Sustainability
- Through chapters such as “Avoiding the Three Traps” and “Fail-safes, Backups and Backups for the Backups,” the book offers practical strategies to prevent burnout.
- Hidden Safeguarding Realities
- Topics rarely addressed elsewhere—affluent neglect, the hygiene dilemma, incel culture, safeguarding in alternative provision—are handled with nuance and courage.
Strengths and Distinctive Features
What distinguishes The Honest DSL is its authenticity and immediacy. The writing is conversational yet expertly structured, offering both empathy and expertise. Each chapter concludes with takeaway reflections that could form the basis for staff CPD or supervision discussions.
The book’s applied realism—triage systems, safeguarding calendars, staff competency frameworks—makes it ideal for leaders seeking to tighten processes while sustaining morale. The inclusion of first-hand vignettes grounds every insight in lived experience, ensuring the reader never loses sight of the child at the centre.
Limitations
Readers expecting academic references or comparative research may find the tone anecdotal. Its emotional intensity may also feel heavy for newly appointed DSLs. However, these are small caveats against the book’s greater contribution: its truth-telling. By confronting discomfort head-on, it models precisely the reflective courage the role demands.
Practical Implications
This book should be required reading for DSL induction and supervision. It is equally valuable for senior leaders wishing to understand the pressures borne by safeguarding teams. Ideal formats include:
- CPD book clubs or network reading groups
- Leadership coaching and wellbeing sessions
- MAT-wide safeguarding development programmes
Its frameworks—on triage, escalation, and communication—translate seamlessly into practical school systems.
Verdict
The Honest DSL is more than a book; it’s a mirror held up to the profession. Unflinching yet hopeful, it reminds readers that safeguarding leadership is not about perfection—it’s about persistence, empathy, and integrity.
Essential reading for every safeguarding leader, headteacher, and governor who wants to understand the emotional truth behind keeping children safe.
⭐ Verdict: 9.5/10 — Authentic, courageous, and profoundly necessary.