ARC has two separate things with similar names, and confusing them is the single most common cause of a DSL finding they cannot open the safeguarding workspace.

The role and the designation are not the same thing

	The Safeguarding Lead role	The DSL designation
Set by	Choosing "Safeguarding Lead" when inviting someone	A company admin, on the home's page
Scope	The home membership	One home — assigned per home
What it does	Changes which dashboard they land on	Opens the safeguarding records
Grants record access?	No	Yes

A person can hold the Safeguarding Lead role and see nothing. A person can hold the designation with no such role and see everything. The designation is what matters.

Because the designation is per home, someone who is DSL at two homes needs it assigning twice, once at each.

Only a company admin can assign it

Not a home manager. A registered manager cannot make anyone a DSL, and without the designation a manager cannot close or otherwise act on an ordinary concern, or open the full safeguarding record. A manager can still see the safeguarding summary — counts, with no concern content.

If you are a manager reading this, the person you need is a company admin.

Assign a DSL

Open the home. Sidebar, Company Admin, the Homes tile, then Manage beside the home. The homes list shows a DSL count per home, or No DSLs.
Find the Designated Safeguarding Leads card. "Assign DSLs for this home." Anyone already designated is listed under Current DSLs. When there is nobody, it reads No DSLs assigned.
Pick the person under Assign New DSL and select Assign. The list offers every user in your company who is not already a DSL for this home, and excludes disabled accounts. The person must already be a member of your company; if they are not, ARC refuses with "User must be a member of the company."

The designation takes effect immediately.

Remove a DSL

Select Revoke beside their name. ARC asks first: "Are you sure you want to revoke DSL access? This will immediately remove their access to safeguarding content for this home."

Revoking does not delete the history. The assignment is marked as revoked, with who revoked it and when, and the record of who was DSL and over what period survives — which is what an inspector will ask about.

What the designation actually opens

	Who holds it
Safeguarding workspace, DSL-private content, safeguarding audit log	DSL only
Closing and otherwise acting on an ordinary concern; the full safeguarding record	DSL only
Safeguarding summary (counts, no concern content)	DSL or the home manager
Allegations against a staff member	DSL, home manager or company admin

Without the designation, the safeguarding workspace returns not found — not "access denied". That is deliberate: ARC does not advertise that safeguarding records exist for a home you cannot see.

Every home needs one

A home with no DSL has nobody who can read its safeguarding records — not the manager, not you. Check the DSLs column on the homes list after creating a home, and again whenever someone leaves.