Safeguarding and Prevent

About the course

This is a fully online course and requires access to an internet enabled computer or tablet. Once students receive the log in details for the programme then they can complete the course at any time and the certificate can be printed off at the end of the course. The course consists of a series of short training units followed by a quiz. The quiz can be retaken if it is not achieved at the first attempt.

This course seeks to provide knowledge on common child welfare issues, safeguarding principles, individual responsibilities, and how to form the best policies and procedures for your institution using existing expert knowledge and guidance by the government.

Upon completion of this safeguarding training course, we aim to have provided the learner with the following:

• A knowledge of the key legislation surrounding safeguarding and Prevent law

• A greater awareness of safeguarding issues such as the different types of abuse

• Understanding of their personal responsibilities towards safeguarding and maintaining a safe environment for children

• Understanding their organisation’s duties and responsibilities when safeguarding children

Safeguarding

Keeping a child safe is the individual responsibility of every teacher or caregiver and the collective legal and social responsibility of the organisation whose responsibility the child is under at that time.

“Safeguarding” (and promoting the welfare of children) is defined by the Department for Education as:

• Protecting children (defined as anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday) from maltreatment

• Preventing impairment of children’s health or development

• Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care

• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

The NSPCC states online (2018) that ‘there were over 58,000 children identified as needing protection from abuse in the UK in 2016’, and in 2016 the first Office of National Statistics Survey of its kind ‘showed that 9% of adults aged 16 to 59 had experienced psychological abuse, 7% physical abuse, 7% sexual assault and 8% witnessed domestic violence or abuse in the home.’

Although this can understandingly be very difficult – spotting signs of abuse from very early on is very important in order to protect the child and subsequently prevent any future abuse.

Therefore all adults working in positions of trust and care should gain extensive safeguarding training and awareness in order to better prepare them for any encounters with cases of child abuse. Frequent safeguarding training should also aid in the creation and active promotion of a trusting and safe environment for children.

Prevent

From Revised Prevent Duty Guidance: for England and Wales 2015 (Home Office, HM Government — updated April 2019), the ‘Prevent’ strategy from 2011 has three stated ‘strategic objectives’:

• Respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it

• prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support

• work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation that we need to address

Schools and childcare providers are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism” – The Prevent Duty: Departmental Advice for Schools and Childcare Providers June 2015, Department for Education, HM Government.

Entry Requirements:

This course is available to all individuals with an internet enabled tablet or computer. The training and assessment is only available in English.

All applicants must complete fire awareness before they can access any further courses.

Certification:

This course is certified by the CPD certification service.

Course Units:

What is safeguarding? – Who exactly is responsible, what the responsibility entails, understanding the different attributes of child maltreatment, and why safeguarding is important.

Legislation – What makes up UK safeguarding law, including: The Education Act 2002, The Children Act 2004, Working Together to Safeguard Children Guidance 2018, Keeping children safe in education: Statutory guidance for schools and colleges September 2019, and the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Inspection bodies – The different inspecting bodies in the UK tasked with upholding safeguarding standards, their responsibilities & obligations, what powers they hold, and their criteria regarding affected organisations and institutions.

Understanding responsibilities regarding counter-terrorism (‘Prevent’) and safeguarding – Understanding what ‘prevent’ is, an overview of the ‘Prevent Duty’ for schools & childminders, and joint Prevent & safeguarding duties under the law (The Prevent Duty June 2015).

Abuse – What defines as abuse, the different kinds of abuse: sexual, physical, neglect & emotional, and spotting the signs & symptoms of abuse.

School/Organisational Policy – Handling disclosure: what to do, reporting child welfare concerns, ‘safeguarding teams’, ‘Designated Safeguarding Lead’ (DSL), record keeping, implementing staff guidance and dealing with allegations against members of staff.

Progression:

Please see the industry short online training section of the Adult Skills website for our full training offer. Learners requiring a formal qualification in Safeguarding may be interested in our Level One Safeguarding Online offer (https://www.myerscough.ac.uk/courses/short-course/).

How to Apply:

To apply for this programme, please complete the on-line application form using the links on the right of the factsheet on the website.

Please note that the information provided in this fact sheet was accurate at the date of publication. However, programmes of study are continually being modified and information is therefore subject to change.