Safeguarding Means Knowing Who. Not Just Trusting Who.
safeguarding referrals annually in England
involve concerns about person’s identity or role
to verify with Certifyd
The reality of safeguarding in the UK.
Safeguarding identity verification with Certifyd creates a verifiable chain of authority around vulnerable people. Every person who interacts with a vulnerable individual — care workers, visitors, volunteers, transport providers, professionals — verifies through device-bound authentication. The system confirms not just who they are, but their active membership with their organisation and their specific authorisation to be with that individual. When a safeguarding concern arises, there is a tamper-proof record of exactly who was present, when, and under whose authority.
Safeguarding vulnerable people — children, elderly adults, people with learning disabilities, people with mental health conditions — fundamentally depends on knowing who is in contact with them. Over 800,000 safeguarding referrals are made annually in England. A significant proportion involve questions about the identity, authority, or organisational affiliation of people who had access to the vulnerable person.
Current safeguarding practices rely on DBS checks (point-in-time), ID badges (easily forged), and sign-in sheets (easily falsified). None of these provide real-time, verifiable proof that the person with the vulnerable individual is who they claim to be, works for who they claim to work for, and is authorised to be there. The gap between ‘we checked them at onboarding’ and ‘we can prove who was with them on Tuesday afternoon’ is where safeguarding failures occur.
Certifyd’s bi-directional, device-bound authentication closes this gap. Every interaction creates a tamper-proof record linked to a cryptographically verified identity. When a safeguarding investigation asks ‘who was with this person?’, the answer is not ‘we think it was...’ but ‘this specific, verified individual, confirmed through their registered device, working under this specific organisation’s authority.’
This is broken.
Here's why.
DBS checks are point-in-time — they don’t prove who is with the vulnerable person today.
ID badges and lanyards are easily forged, borrowed, or outdated.
Sign-in sheets can be falsified — names invented, times fabricated, visits logged that didn’t happen.
When safeguarding concerns arise, establishing who was actually present is often difficult or impossible.
Simple verification.
Every time.
Every person interacting with a vulnerable individual verifies through their device-bound passkey
The system confirms their identity, organisational membership, and specific authorisation
A tamper-proof record is created: who was present, when, where, and under whose authority
When a safeguarding concern arises, verifiable evidence is immediately available
Ready to see it in action?
Book a demo or tell us about your needs.
“Rotating agency staff cover nights and weekends. Families ask who’s looking after their parent. Honestly? We can’t always tell them fast enough.”— Manager, residential care home
Common questions.
Both Ofsted and CQC assess safeguarding as a core element of their inspections. Certifyd provides tamper-proof verification records that demonstrate who was with vulnerable people, when, and under whose authority. These records support the ‘Safe’ key line of enquiry for CQC and the safeguarding judgement for Ofsted by providing evidence of ongoing identity verification, not just point-of-hire checks.
Yes. When a safeguarding concern is raised, one of the first questions is ‘who had access to this person?’ Certifyd provides a tamper-proof audit trail of every verified interaction: the specific individual, their verified identity, their organisational affiliation, and the exact time. This evidence is invaluable for investigations, removing ambiguity about who was present.
Yes. Volunteers who work with vulnerable people can register on Certifyd through their volunteering organisation. Each volunteer’s identity is device-bound and their membership in the volunteering organisation is confirmed at each interaction. This provides the same level of identity assurance for volunteers as for paid staff — particularly important given that safeguarding standards apply equally to both.
Multi-agency safeguarding involves professionals from different organisations (social services, police, health, education) working with the same vulnerable person. Each professional verifies through Certifyd as a member of their respective organisation. This creates a unified, tamper-proof record of all professional interactions, regardless of which agency they represent — valuable for both coordination and accountability.
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Bring verifiable identity to safeguarding
Book a demo to see how Certifyd works for your team, or tell us about your verification needs and we'll get back to you within 24 hours.
Read: The Safeguarding Gap in Care Homes