"At one site, we were told (almost casually) that more than half the staff were off sick with COVID, and another bug was doing the rounds. The cherry on top was that we were crammed into a small basement room that was colder than the rest of the building, so no ventilation, and a very high chance of catching whatever was circulating."
"That was my reminder that: Safeguarding isn't only about what happens in the session. It's also about what happens around the session: infection risk, travel load, lone working, fatigue, access, and the logistics nobody puts on the Gantt chart, including allowance for sick leave. And if you think that's "just wellbeing" ...well, it isn't. It's research quality. When researchers are depleted, rushed, anxious about getting to the next site, or taking avoidable health risks, the work gets worse."
During in-person discovery work across education settings, researchers encountered numerous real-world constraints: safeguarding processes, visitor protocols, staff shortages, students moving through spaces, sudden room unavailability, and the constant awareness of being a guest. One visit involved many staff off sick with COVID and a cold, unventilated basement workspace, leading to prolonged illness and inability to take sick leave. Safeguarding must therefore address infection risk, travel load, lone working, fatigue, access, and logistical allowances such as sick leave. These factors directly impact ethical decision-making, data quality, debriefing, boundaries, and overall research quality.
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