"He fell off the bed": Why Recording the 'Voice of the Child' is Your Most Important Safeguarding Duty
Daniel Broadhurst (Founder)
Feb 3, 2026 • 5 min read
Key Takeaways
Recording the 'Voice of the Child': The Foundation of Defensible Safeguarding
It is 8:00 AM on a Monday morning. A parent drops off their three-year-old at your setting, and as you help the child with their coat, you notice a fresh bruise on their upper arm. You ask the parent what happened. "Oh, he fell off the bed this morning," they reply casually. You reach for your records and write: "Child arrived with a bruise on their arm. Parent states the child fell off the bed."
If you stop there, you have potentially left a significant gap in your safeguarding practice. While you have documented the injury and the parent's explanation, you have missed the most critical piece of evidence required by the EYFS Framework and Local Safeguarding Partnership (LSP) guidelines: The Voice of the Child. In the early years, our duty is to be the advocate for the children in our care, and that starts with recording their truth—verbatim.
[!TIP] This article is part of our Essential Guide to Safeguarding Documentation & Record Keeping.
The Technicality of Existing Injuries
Before diving into the narrative, it is vital to distinguish between your records. Many practitioners mistakenly use their Accident Book for any injury they see. However, the Accident Book is strictly for incidents that occur while the child is in your care. For injuries a child arrives with, you must use a dedicated Existing Injury Record. Keeping these sets of data separate is essential for clarity during an inspection and protects you from any suggestion that an injury occurred at your setting.
Verbatim: The Power of the Tape Recorder
When you ask a child about an injury, your role is that of a tape recorder, not an editor. You must record exactly what the child says, using their own language, grammar, and even their made-up words. This is known as "verbatim" recording.
If a parent says their child fell off the bed, but the child tells you, "Daddy grabbed me hard," that discrepancy is a vital safeguarding signal. If you simply summarise the child’s account in your own words—for example, by writing "the child indicated his father was rough"—you are injecting your own interpretation into the record. This makes the evidence weaker and more open to challenge. By writing the child's exact words, you provide raw, undeniable evidence of their experience at that moment.
Understanding Body Maps and Non-Verbal Cues
Not every child in our care has the vocabulary to explain what happened. In these cases, the "Voice of the Child" is captured through their behaviour and your physical observations. Does the child flinch when you move toward them? Are they unusually quiet or clinging to a comfort object? These are non-verbal 'voices' that must be documented with the same care as spoken words.
Furthermore, the location of the injury speaks volumes. While bruises on shins and knees are typical for active toddlers, injuries to the inner arms, ears, or neck are far less common in accidental falls. Pinpointing these on a Digital Body Map (or "homunculus") allows you to maintain a professional, forensic record that can identify patterns of concern over time.
Beyond the Paper Diary
Paper diaries and generic incident forms often lack the space or structure to prompt for these essential details. They frequently have a single, small box for "Comments," which encourages brief, non-verbatim summaries. In a high-pressure morning handover, it is easy to forget to ask the child or to skip the behavior notes.
By moving to a digital safeguarding system designed specifically for the UK early years sector, you ensure that you follow a robust, repeatable workflow every time a child arrives with an injury. Having dedicated fields for the 'Parent Explanation' and 'Child’s Voice' ensures that no critical question is left unasked. More importantly, these sensitive records are encrypted and stored safely, ensuring that your safeguarding evidence is protected for the long 21-year retention cycle required by law.
Safeguarding is built on the small details. By capturing the authentic voice of the child, you are doing more than just filling out a form; you are fulfilling your most fundamental duty as a professional childminder.