This article brings together two distinct but interrelated fields: human rights education (HRE) and safeguarding. It endeavours to show that the former can be beneficial for the efficacy of the latter. By extending an argument put forward recently that for HRE to be effective it must enable children to recognise and respond to lived human rights injustices, the article places this important issue within the existing framework and processes associated with safeguarding young people in formal education. It attempts to both elucidate and consolidate the connection between HRE and safeguarding, arguing that if HRE were to become an integral part of safeguarding training and delivery, children may be better equipped to recognise and speak up about violations of their human rights, rather than relying on a passive system of adult observation.