The Whispering Exit

The Whispering Exit is a national awareness and advocacy campaign created in response to ongoing safeguarding failures in private schools. Too many serious concerns are brushed off, downplayed, or handled behind closed doors to protect a school’s reputation—while pupils and parents are left without answers, support, or justice.

Most families walk away quietly. Some never realise what went wrong. Many can’t afford to fight.

We exist to break the silence—and raise the standard.

Our Mission: We’re here to shine a light on the safeguarding culture inside private schools.

We support parents, advocate for transparency, and campaign for child protection to come first.

This campaign was built to do four things:

Raise Awareness about the patterns of safeguarding failure hidden behind school gates

Support Parents who feel isolated, blamed, or unheard after requesting safeguards

Promote Accountability through campaigning, resources, and media advocacy

Work With Ethical Schools who believe in transparency, inclusion, and real change

Beyond Tick-Box Culture: Safeguarding isn’t about policies—it’s about protection.

And topics like race, SEN, and mental health are too often treated as tick boxes.

At The Whispering Exit, we believe real safeguarding includes:

• The emotional and psychological safety of every child
• Active support for neurodivergent pupils, not just compliance
• Anti-racism and cultural safety in day-to-day school culture
• Mental health work that’s embodied—not just branded
• We are not interested in token gestures.
• We want to work with private schools that actively safeguard their pupils
• For Private Schools That Want to Do Better: We believe there are private schools that genuinely care.
• Private Schools that want to lead—not cover up.
• Private Schools that know trust is earned through action, not silence.

Become a Whispering Exit Safeguarding Ally

• We invite schools to sign our Safeguarding Pledge—a public commitment to:
• Putting child protection above school reputation
• Referring serious concerns to appropriate authorities
• Taking neurodiversity and SEN needs seriously
• Building a culture of transparency and parental partnership
• Rejecting gag clauses, NDAs, or internal-only resolution of safeguarding breaches

Partner Schools Receive:

• A digital badge to display their safeguarding values
• A place in our Whispering Exit Partner Directory
• Recognition as a school actively committed to real safety and accountability

This Campaign Is For:

• Families failed by the lack of safeguarding systems in private education
• Pupils who were left unprotected, unseen, or unsafe
• Private Schools that want to rebuild trust—not reputation
• Anyone who believes safeguarding is not optional
• No parent should feel punished for wanting private schools to follow safeguards
• And no child should feel unsafe at school.

Join the movement. Share your story. Or stand with us as a partner.

Our Mission

The Whispering Exit is dedicated to driving national awareness and advocacy for safeguarding and accountability in private education. We seek to address the persistent safeguarding failures in private schools and advocate for transparency and child protection over prestige.

Our campaign supports parents, promotes accountability, and collaborates with ethical schools committed to real change.