How do you safeguard a child?
Online safeguarding training forms an essential part of core training for many professions across a wide range of sectors. If you work with or around children and young adults under the age of 18, it’s highly likely you have a legal duty to safeguard their wellbeing…but how, exactly, do you do that?
What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding is the process of working to protect individuals (especially children and vulnerable adults) from harm such as abuse, neglect, and exploitation. It ensures children grow up with safe and effective care and are given the best life chances.
Closely related, child protection is the process of working to help children who have already experienced harm in the form of violence, abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
It is essential to have a knowledge of safeguarding and child protection if you are an individual who works or volunteers with or around children and young adults (under the age of 18). In fact, it is a legal duty for you to have safeguarding training in a variety of sectors, settings, and organisations—for example, all staff who work in a school or education environment, healthcare staff, and childminders, to name just a few.
We are dedicated to delivering high quality online and face-to-face safeguarding training developed specifically for your setting. Why not click here now to browse our full list of sector-specific online safeguarding courses?
How do you safeguard a child?
Your first concern when you start working in a new role (either as a paid employee or a volunteer) should be to complete a verifiable safeguarding training course. Depending on the nature of your role, and indeed your workplace, there will be different levels of safeguarding training available for you to take.
For example, everyone with a need to take safeguarding training will have to start with an introductory (basic) safeguarding course, but those with extra responsibility for safeguarding such as the designated safeguarding lead person in your organisation, or those working in a clinical or specialist capacity, will also need to complete a further (advanced) safeguarding course to achieve the correct level of knowledge required to fulfil their role.
It is important to first research your safeguarding training needs to find out specifically which level of training you will need to complete. Remember, even if you have completed safeguarding training in a previous job, you will likely still need to refresh your knowledge. Because safeguarding is such a crucial aspect of continuous professional development and because the laws and legislations surrounding safeguarding change so frequently, expiry dates on safeguarding certificates are often only valid for 1 to 3 years, and there can be serious legal consequences if you or any member of staff in your organisation is found to be without a current safeguarding training certificate.
Which safeguarding course can I take to get started?
If you would like to take a verifiable online safeguarding training course to gain an excellent introduction to safeguarding, including an overview of the signs and indicators of abuse and neglect, the key legislation you should be aware of, and how to report your safeguarding concerns in the workplace, we recommend our bestselling Safeguarding Children online course.
We offer a range of sector-specific online safeguarding courses, all of which can be accessed 24/7 and can be paused and restarted as many times as necessary to suit your busy schedule. Be sure to browse our full list of courses before purchasing to ensure you’re taking the right course for your work environment!
Please click here to browse our full list of online safeguarding training courses.
How can training help me to safeguard a child?
Safeguarding training will help you to understand the different signs and indicators of abuse and neglect that you might not otherwise be aware of. Knowing these will help you to notice when a child or young person is at risk of abuse, or when they might have already been a victim of (or are currently experiencing) abuse or neglect.
It’s incredibly important that you know the signs of abuse, including the various types of abuse and neglect (for example, emotional abuse, child sexual exploitation, FGM, etc.). However, a verifiable safeguarding training course will also provide you with the knowledge of what to do in the event of a safeguarding emergency in your workplace, so that you can—quite literally—help to safeguard a child in need if the situation arises.
Reporting Concerns
It is never the sole responsibility of one person to safeguard a child or young adult at risk. The most effective safeguarding strategies are those that involve multi-agency working with local safeguarding agencies (e.g. the police, social services, your local authority, etc.) and which follow the standard procedure set out in your organisation’s safeguarding policy.
If you suspect a child or young person might be at risk of abuse or neglect, for example, you should never take it upon yourself to approach the individual(s) in question. Rather, you should contact your organisation’s designated safeguarding lead person (or line manager, if your organisation does not have a designated safeguarding lead) and make a report of the incident in the appropriate manner. Or, if an individual is in immediate danger or there is risk to life, you should dial 999 in the first instance.
A verifiable safeguarding training course will help you to understand exactly how to file a safeguarding report, including useful information on important aspects of reporting concerns such as confidentiality and reacting in a timely manner.
Want to learn more about safeguarding training?
If you would like to know more about safeguarding training, please click here now to browse all our available online safeguarding courses.
Our friendly customer support team is always happy to answer your questions about safeguarding training if you feel unsure about which course to choose or simply want to get some peace of mind about your safeguarding training options. You can get in touch with us by calling 01327 552030, using the live chat feature on our website, or by emailing us at hello@smarthorizons.co.uk.