Is Safeguarding Training a Legal Requirement?

When it comes to safeguarding training and the law, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. In this blog we define what safeguarding training is, who needs to take it and is it a legal requirement to take safeguarding training in the United Kingdom?

What is safeguarding training?

You might be familiar with safeguarding training already if you’ve ever worked in close contact with children or vulnerable adults (“adults at risk”). Safeguarding is the process of working to protect individuals from harm in the form of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and any other form of maltreatment. A safeguarding training course will teach you the best practice for protecting individuals from harm in the workplace and further afield, including what to do if you suspect abuse or neglect and how to report your concerns so that the various safeguarding partners can investigate such incidents further.

Closely related, child protection is the process of working to help individuals who have already been a victim of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or any other form of maltreatment. A module on child protection should be included in every verifiable safeguarding training course, and because of this, many safeguarding courses are called child protection courses.

The likelihood is that if you have received child protection training in the past, you will have some knowledge of safeguarding. However, safeguarding training needs to be refreshed periodically so that your understanding of the various processes and procedures is up to date. Safeguarding laws and legislations change all the time in response to real-life events, and as such, you will typically need to refresh your training every 2 years. (This can vary by training provider, however, so always be sure to check the date on your safeguarding certificate.)

Who needs safeguarding training and when is it a legal requirement to take it?

As a general rule, everyone who works in close contact with children and vulnerable adults will be required by law to complete safeguarding training. This includes individuals who work in volunteer roles, home-based childcarers, self-employed individuals who work in close contact with children and/or vulnerable adults, and any other individuals who might come into contact with children and/or vulnerable adults at work.

Note: By legal definition, a child is anyone under the age of 18.

Safeguarding training is also a legal requirement for anyone who works in a school or pre-school environment no matter what role they undertake. Similarly, healthcare professionals including dental teams will need to complete safeguarding training.

You can always check with your local authority to find out if you need safeguarding training in your role, or alternatively, call our friendly customer support team on 01327 552030 for advice on which safeguarding training course is best suited to your specific workplace.

Can I be prosecuted for not having safeguarding training?

Because it is a legal requirement to take safeguarding training if you come into close contact with children or adults at risk, then failing to take a safeguarding training course in roles that require you to can lead to serious legal consequences for you as an individual and for the reputation of the organisation you work for.

Depending on the sector you work in and your role and responsibilities within the organisation, the legal consequences could be quite severe. For example, if an Ofsted inspector finds that you have been lone working with children in a pre-school that did not ensure its staff had all been given verifiable safeguarding training, the repercussions of this offence could include the pre-school being placed in Special Measures. Consequences could be especially severe if it is discovered that harm has come to any individual under such circumstances.

If you are prosecuted for any safeguarding-related incident, this information will remain on your criminal record and could seriously impact your ability to secure a job in the future. DBS checks are required for almost every role that involves working with children and vulnerable adults, and safeguarding convictions will never be filtered from recruiters on your DBS certificate.

If you can’t remember the last time you took a safeguarding training course, please click here now to view our available courses. All of our verifiable online safeguarding training courses are immediate access and can be taken 24/7, with a fully verifiable safeguarding certificate available to download and print instantly upon successful completion of each course.

How easy is it to take safeguarding training?

Like all professional development, your safeguarding training needs to be updated regularly. Our certificates are typically valid for up to 2 years here at the Child Protection Company, but in many workplaces, you might be expected to refresh your training annually.

Fortunately, when you take online safeguarding training with us, it’s not such a headache to arrange for all staff to complete or refresh their safeguarding training. From our easy to use online learning management system, administrators can roll out safeguarding courses to all staff in your organisation or select which members of staff will receive an invitation to start training. You can monitor all progress from one central online location to see who has already completed their training and who needs a nudge.

What’s more, administrators can view all staff certificates in one place, making it easy to evidence your staff training to an inspector at the simple touch of a button when the time comes. From introductory safeguarding training courses to advanced child protection, and online safety to the Prevent Duty Training, we’re specialists in online safeguarding training here and we’ve helped over 125,000 individuals across the United Kingdom to meet their legal safeguarding requirements already.

Why not join one of the UK’s leading providers of safeguarding training and start learning with us today? It’s as simple as clicking here and adding the right course to your basket…

Got a question about safeguarding training?

If you’d like to speak to a member of our friendly customer support team about any safeguarding questions you might have, or to receive a tailor-made quote for your team, please get in touch by calling us on 01327 552030, email us at hello@smarthorizons.co.uk, or use the live chat feature available on this website to chat to us during office hours.

Our offices are open from 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.