Safeguarding · Safeguarding in schools is always evolving and it is important that your training...

Safeguarding: Training Requirements

Version: October 2015

Andrew Hall Specialist Safeguarding Consultant

www.safeguardinginschools.co.uk

© 2015 Andrew Hall Success In Schools Ltd.

Training Requirements

Andrew Hall October 2015

About the Author

Andrew Hall

Andrew is an experienced education consultant who

specialises in safeguarding in schools and colleges. He

has extensive headship experience in special schools for

children of all ages with autism, social, emotional and

behavioural difficulties and complex learning difficulties,

including SLD and PMLD. Andrew runs engaging

workshops for staff at all levels in schools and colleges.

Contact Andrew Hall on 01223 929269 to arrange training

or consultancy at your school or college.

Published in 2015 by Success In Schools Ltd.

Menta Business Centre,

2 Hollands Road, Haverhill

SUFFOLK CB9 8PU

[email protected]


With the exception of public sector information, this document must not be reproduced in any form,

including printing, photocopying, scanning or retyping. Breaches of copyright will be challenged and

pursued using legal means. This handbook contains public sector information licensed under the

Open Government Licence v2.0.

Purchasing schools may photocopy this document for the purposes of sharing information within the

school only and must not be distributed outside the school without written permission from Success In

Schools Ltd.

Safeguarding Training - October 2015 Page 1

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Safeguarding Training – October 2015

I don't much like the word 'training'. To me it sounds too much like training dogs to

respond to commands. Although I prefer the phrase 'building capacity', it's not so

self-explanatory, so I carry on using the word ‘training’.

I like 'building capacity' because it suggests that developing skills in safeguarding

children is developmental and because it is an organisational process, not limited to

one person. 'Training' sounds like once a person is 'trained', no more learning is

needed. It's also why I don't like 'refresher' training; it's not just about repeating what

was said last time. Ideas evolve all the time, not least the learning from serious case

reviews and there are often changes in legislation or expectations.

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010 set out the specific content that

should be included in training programmes for professionals carrying out different

roles. But when Working Together was revised and republished in 2013, the national

standards for the content of child protection training were removed.

Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB) were set up in 2006, and regulation 5 of

the Local Safeguarding Children Boards Regulations 2006 specifies their functions

which includes ’developing policies and procedures in relation to...training of persons

who work with children or in services affecting the safety and welfare of children’.

Some LSCB continue to use the groups and levels from Working Together 2010;

others use a hybrid model using old and new, for example, the Pan-London

guidance 'Competency Still Matters'; and others have devised their own training

standards.

Although, organisations within the LSCB area should follow their guidance, they are

able to commission training from whichever provider they wish. However, the

organisation must satisfy themselves that the provider fulfils the LSCB's policy on

training.

Key Training Opportunities

For schools, there are six key areas of training to arrange:

Induction Training (mandatory)

Awareness training for whole staff (statutory)

Designated Safeguarding Lead Training (statutory)


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Safer Recruitment Training (statutory)

Training about preventing terrorism (statutory)

(see Appendix 1)

Training for School Governors (non-statutory)

Training on specific issues, including

o Female Genital Mutilation (Ofsted)

o Child Sexual Exploitation (Ofsted)

There is no national guidance on the timescale for refresher training for staff, with the

exception of the DSL training, which is at two-yearly intervals. Safer Recruitment

training no longer has a refresher timescale. It is useful for schools should set out

their own training arrangements in their safeguarding policy.

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015 (see also appendix 1)

Working Together to safeguard Children 2015 is the over-arching statutory guidance

for all services that work with children and young people. The document gives

guidance on the role of the Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB) and says

that they should ‘monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of training’. The training

should cover how to identify and respond early to the needs of all vulnerable

children, including: unborn children; babies; older children; young carers; disabled

children; and those who are in secure settings.

Although LSCB’s may provide training, they do not commission or deliver direct

frontline services. LSCBs do have a role in making clear where improvement is

needed, but does not have the power to direct other organisations, who retain their

own lines of accountability for safeguarding.

Keeping Children Safe in Education July 2015 (see also appendix 1)

Keeping Children Safe in Education July 2015 says ‘all staff members should receive

appropriate child protection training which is regularly updated’. This training should

include whistleblowing procedures and how to raise concerns about poor or unsafe

practice and potential failures in the school or college’s safeguarding regime.

Governing bodies and proprietors must ensure that they comply with their duties

under legislation which includes ensuring that appropriate safeguarding and child

protection training is available in their schools or colleges. The headteacher and all

staff members should undergo child protection training which is updated regularly, in

line with advice from the LSCB.


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The governing body should appoint a designated safeguarding lead and ensure that

this person has the training to carry out their duties. This training should be updated

every two years.

The School Staffing Regulations require governing bodies of maintained schools to

ensure that at least one person on any appointment panel has undertaken safer

recruitment training. Schools may choose appropriate training and may take advice

from their LSCB in doing so. The training should cover, as a minimum, the content of

the guidance set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education (2015). The DfE no

longer accredits Safer Recruitment training, although the Safer Recruitment

Consortium do run an accreditation scheme.

Ofsted's Inspecting Safeguarding in schools (September 2015) (see also

appendix 1)

The current Ofsted framework says that there should be clear and effective

arrangements for staff development and training in respect of the protection and care

of children, including keeping learners safe from the dangers of radicalisation and

extremism.

In addition to inspecting the school’s compliance with statutory guidance, Ofsted will

also be also alert to FGM when considering a school’s safeguarding arrangements

and, where appropriate, ask questions of designated staff such as how alert are staff

to the possible signs that a child has been subject to female genital mutilation.

The Prevent Duty: Departmental advice for schools and childcare providers

(June 2015) (see also appendix 1)

As a minimum, schools should ensure their Designated Safeguarding Lead

undertakes Prevent awareness training and is able to provide advice and support to

other members of staff on protecting children from the risk of radicalisation, equip

staff to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism and to challenge

extremist ideas.

The Home Office has developed a core training product for this purpose: Workshop

to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP). However, this is not the only available

training package and schools may commission their own training.

Designated Safeguarding Leads may choose to deliver the Home Office WRAP

training themselves after attending a Train the Trainer WRAP training session. Once

trained, staff must apply to the Home office for an accreditation number, which

should be recorded as proof of accreditation for Ofsted and others.


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Minimum Standards of Training

Statutory guidance on safeguarding training is actually very slim. Setting aside the

question of good practice and building capacity to safeguard all children, the

minimum schools must do is:

Keep a record of staff training, including type of training and dates

Arrange training for all staff on a ‘regularly updated’ basis

Training should cover how to identify and respond early to the needs of all

vulnerable children, including: unborn children; babies; older children; young

carers; disabled children

Ensure induction training for new staff

Ensure DSLs receive specific training for their role every two years

Ensure that at least one person in each recruitment process has had 'Safer

Recruitment' training

Provide training about the duty to 'prevent terrorism'

Provide training to help staff understand the mandatory reporting

arrangements for Female Genital Mutilation

Many schools will offer more training than this and ensure that all staff are able to

understand the risk to children in their community and be able to respond

appropriately.

Training Levels

In the past training specifications have often talked about levels. Today, unless that

is the language used by the LSCBs own training policy, training events should be not

be described in terms of levels, for example, as 'Level 3 training', but by the role it is

aimed at.

However, training is often advertised as, eg. Level 3, but in different areas, Level 3

means different content. Always check what content is being described and who the

training is aimed at.

Designated Safeguarding Leads

In order to properly understand local procedures, thresholds and risks, it is important

for Designated Safeguarding Leads to attend the local LSCB training. In some areas

the need to attend this training forms part of the local policy, not least because it may

say such training should be multi-agency.


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However, the role of the DSL is complex and in order to fully understand their

changing role, other training could be sought, especially in developing ideas about

embedding safeguarding in to the school.

Choosing a training provider

There are a large number of providers offering safeguarding and child protection

training including charities, generic training companies, specialist training

companies, freelance trainers, and of course local authorities and LSCBs

themselves.

Given that there is a wide variety of training providers, how do schools know who to

choose?

There is no vetting or accreditation scheme for safeguarding training, so it is

important that schools carry out due diligence before booking a provider. Some

schools have been badly let down by companies who don't meet expectations.

Things to consider when booking a training provider

Before contacting any training provider think carefully about the needs of your school

and your staff. Ask yourself:

What outcome do I need this training to achieve?

How does the training fit into our Safeguarding Development Plan?

How does this training fit into understanding the developing risks for our

pupils?

Safeguarding in schools is always evolving and it is important that your training

provider is not only delivering the latest content, but is keeping ahead of events and

is flexible enough to be able to talk about emerging trends.

Remember that safeguarding and child protection are not the same thing. Schools

need to make sure they are purchasing safeguarding training, not only child

protection training, unless that is what they require.

Website

The provider’s website plays a key role in assessing whether they are up to date or

not. The site should reference the latest legislation, currently 2015. Information

should talk about Designated Safeguarding Leads, not child protection officers.


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There should be absolutely no mention of Area Child Protection Committees - they

were abolished more than 10 years ago.

Where courses are advertised, are the dates being offered recent?

Does the website have phone numbers, email addresses and a physical company

address?

What do you know about the people behind the company?

Does the website offer testimonials from clients? Are you able to ask the company

for contact details, so that you can speak to the former clients directly?

Accreditation

There is no national scheme for the compulsory accreditation of safeguarding

training, including Safer Recruitment training. Sometimes providers use a CPD logo

on their materials to suggest national verification. The biggest provider of

accreditation services is the ’CPD Certification Service'. This is a commercial

membership company for CPD providers and on payment of a fee, their materials

are assessed and a logo can be used on specific courses. Companies in any

industry can apply for these certification assessments, not only safeguarding

training.

Although there is accreditation available for Safer Recruitment training, it is not

statutory to choose an accredited provider.

How is the training described?

Course specifications should no longer refer to training ’levels’. National training

content has not been specified since ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children

(2013)’, and the word 'level’ now has no national meaning. Look for specific roles in

the training description, for example, ’Designated Safeguarding Lead’ or ’basic

awareness for all staff’.

Course descriptions should not refer to 'three year refresher' training, with the

exception of DSL training, there is no ‘refresher’ training specified, unless the LSCB

says so in their policy.

When you are speaking to potential training providers, ask whether they are able to

respond to the specific needs of your school or whether the package is the same

whatever your individual context.


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Other questions to ask

What is the content of the training programme?

Is the training package flexible enough for you?

Are up-to-date materials in use?

Is the latest learning from Serious Case Reviews included?

What is the trainer’s background and recent practice?

Are you able to book a specific trainer that fits with the context of your school?

What training methods will used?

What is their preferred group size and max number?

How long does the training session last?

Does the training respond to the specific needs of your school?

Is it flexible enough or can the provider bespoke the training for you?

What resources and information will be given to people attending the training?

Payment

Is there a simple fee structure or are there lots of add-ons?

Who is providing the delegate materials?

Does the fee include travel and/or accommodation?

Will the trainer be bringing equipment with them, or will you need to provide

everything?

When is payment due?

Be cautious of paying everything before the day, especially if you haven't

used the company before or spoken to someone who has.


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Registered companies can be checked for legitimacy and up-to-date details at

Companies House.

What is the company's cancellation policy?


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Appendix 1

Information about safeguarding training taken from the statutory guidance

Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015)

Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015) identifies training in the following

paragraphs:

4. Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) should monitor and evaluate the

effectiveness of training, including multi-agency training, for all professionals in

the area. Training should cover how to identify and respond early to the needs

of all vulnerable children, including: unborn children; babies; older children;

young carers; disabled children; and those who are in secure settings.

(Working Together to Safeguard Children Chapter 1)

4. These organisations [local authorities and district councils that provide

children’s and other types of services] should have in place arrangements that

reflect the importance of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children,

including:

clear whistleblowing procedures, which reflect the principles in Sir Robert

Francis’s Freedom to Speak Up review and are suitably referenced in staff

training and codes of conduct, and a culture that enables issues about

safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children to be addressed.


3. LSCBs do not commission or deliver direct frontline services though they may

provide training. While LSCBs do not have the power to direct other

organisations they do have a role in making clear where improvement is

needed. Each Board partner retains its own existing line of accountability for

safeguarding.


Keeping Children Safe in Education (July 2015)

Keeping Children Safe in Education July 2015 identifies training in the following

paragraphs:

11. All staff members should also receive appropriate child protection training

which is regularly updated.


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22. Staff and volunteers should feel able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe

practice and potential failures in the school or college’s safeguarding regime.

Appropriate whistleblowing procedures, which are suitably reflected in staff

training and staff behaviour policies, should be in place for such concerns to be

raised with the school or college’s management team.

30. Governing bodies and proprietors must ensure that they comply with their

duties under legislation. They must also have regard to this guidance to ensure

that the policies, procedures and training in their schools or colleges are

effective and comply with the law at all times.

37. Governing bodies and proprietors should appoint a member of staff of the

school’s or college’s leadership team to the role of designated safeguarding

lead…This person should have the appropriate authority and be given the time,

funding, training, resources and support to provide advice and support to other

staff on child welfare and child protection matters.

40. The designated safeguarding lead should undergo updated child protection

training every two years. The headteacher and all staff members should

undergo child protection training which is updated regularly, in line with advice

from the LSCB.

43. The School Staffing Regulations require governing bodies of maintained

schools to ensure that at least one person on any appointment panel has

undertaken safer recruitment training. Schools may choose appropriate training

and may take advice from their LSCB in doing so. The training should cover, as

a minimum, the content of this guidance (Keeping Children Safe in Education).

Ofsted's Inspecting Safeguarding in Early Years, Education and Skills Settings

(August 2015)

13. There are clear and effective arrangements for staff development and training

in respect of the protection and care of children and learners. Staff and other

adults receive regular supervision and support if they are working directly and

regularly with children and learners whose safety and welfare are at risk.

15. Inspectors should look for evidence of five main aspects of the setting’s

safeguarding arrangements [including]:

the extent to which leaders, governors and managers create a positive

culture and ethos where safeguarding is an important part of everyday life

in the setting, backed up by training at every level


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18. Inspectors will want to consider evidence that:

staff, leaders, governors and supervisory bodies (where appropriate) and

volunteers receive appropriate training on safeguarding that is updated

regularly and know their responsibilities with respect to the protection of

children, young people and vulnerable adults

there is a designated senior member of staff in charge of safeguarding

arrangements who has been trained to the appropriate level and

understands their responsibilities with respect to the protection of children,

young people and vulnerable adults and the safeguarding of all learners;

for designated members of staff in schools and colleges this training

should take place every two years

Prevent Duty Guidance (for England and Wales) (2015)

70. Specified authorities [including schools] should make sure that staff have

training that gives them the knowledge and confidence to identify children at

risk of being drawn into terrorism, and to challenge extremist ideas which can

be used to legitimise terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups. They should

know where and how to refer children and young people for further help.

Prevent awareness training will be a key part of this.

Prevent Duty: Departmental Guidance

Page 7 Staff training

The statutory guidance refers to the importance of Prevent awareness training to

equip staff to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism and to challenge

extremist ideas. The Home Office has developed a core training product for this

purpose – Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP). There are a number

of professionals – particularly in safeguarding roles - working within Local

Authorities, the Police, Health and Higher and Further Education who are accredited

WRAP trained facilitators. We are working to build capacity within the system to

deliver training.

Individual schools and childcare providers are best placed to assess their training

needs in the light of their assessment of the risk. As a minimum, however, schools

should ensure that the Designated Safeguarding Lead undertakes Prevent

awareness training and is able to provide advice and support to other members of

staff on protecting children from the risk of radicalisation. We recognise that it can be

more difficult for many childcare providers, such as childminders, to attend training

and we are considering other ways in which they can increase their awareness and


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be able to demonstrate that. This advice is one way of raising childcare providers’

awareness.

Published by

Success In Schools Ltd.


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