Guardians of the Community: Contextual Safeguarding, Communities and Care

Explore research around contextual safeguarding through a series of ‘pop-up’ exhibitions in the community of Seacroft in Leeds. Each ‘pop-up’ exhibition invites visitors to look at a series of posters, co-created with parents, practitioners and researchers, the ‘look in the mirror’ and consider the role they play in supporting young people and keeping them safe.

We would then love for visitors to write ‘postcards’ to young people in their community with messages of care and hope which we will then present as a follow-on ‘pop-up’ (the week after) for young people in the community space.

These postcards will also feature on our interactive ArcGIS Story Map - our digital ‘pop-up’ exhibition that anyone, anywhere can visit!

Our ‘pop-up’ exhibitions explore principles of Contextual Safeguarding which is an approach that recognises that young people's safety and wellbeing are shaped not only by families, but also by the wider social environments where they spend their time. Libraries, parks, faith groups, community centres and neighbourhood organisations all have the potential to contribute to young people's sense of belonging, safety and wellbeing. When there are worries about a young person, social workers and other professionals often ask whether parents have the ‘capacity’ to keep them safe. At the Global Centre for Contextual Safeguarding we work hard to understand the contexts that create risk, harm and safety - which our parent co-researchers call looking at ‘the bigger picture’. Looking at ‘the bigger picture’ helps us to see the vital role that communities play in creating safety through their care for young people, including those who are getting into difficulties. In contextual safeguarding, we think of this as ‘community guardianship’.

Our ‘pop-up’ exhibitions invite visitors in community spaces to learn about principles of contextual safeguarding and then ‘look in the mirror’ to encourage everyone to see themselves as community guardians. They can also share with young people by writing messages of care and hope on our postcards and on our ArcGIS StoryMap

This event is led by our research collaborative working on the research project ‘From Capacity to Context’ in the Global Centre for Contextual Safeguarding at Durham University. This includes Dr Lynne Cairns (Global Centre for Contextual Safeguarding,

Durham University), Joanne Ross (The Safe Project, Leeds), Dr Sarah Hall (Ivison Trust) and four incredible parent co-researchers.

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Scheduling information

Our exhibitions will be popping up in:

Seacroft Community Library and Hub, Deacon House, 1 Seacroft Avenue, Leeds LS14 6JD

For Guardians of the Community (posters and mirror) between 26th October - 02nd November 2026

For young people in the community (postcards from your community guardians) between 02nd - 07th November 2026

St Richards Church Hall , Kentmere Avenue, Leeds LS14 1BX

For Guardians of the Community (posters and mirror) between Tuesday 27th - Friday 30th October (open to public between 11am – 2pm)

(Postcards from your community guardians will then be shared with young people in the Church community between Saturday 31st October - Friday 06th November)