Developing effective safeguarding training
A quick checklist to ensure the effectiveness of your organisation's safeguarding training programme.
Responsibility for safeguarding cannot rest with any one individual or team - it is everyone's responsibility.
To ensure that each staff member or volunteer understands how to identify and act upon potential concerns, check that your training programme covers the following key aspects.
For detailed guidance on all of the following points, please consult our latest whitepaper - Understanding safeguarding: How to develop the right safeguarding culture, policies and procedures.
Covering the basics
- What is safeguarding?
- Categories of vulnerable people
- Types of abuse and neglect
- Common failings that increase the risk of incidents
- Emerging safeguarding trends
- What to do when there is a safeguarding incident
- Potential consequences of a safeguarding incident
Duties and responsibilities
- Applicable laws, regulations and statutory guidance
- Responsibilities of every team member
- Additional responsibilities of individuals such as front-line staff and managers
- Awareness and accessibility of organisation's formal safeguarding policies and procedures
Identifying and reporting concerns
- How to identify the early signs of potential issues
- Importance of speaking out
- Reporting procedure for raising potential alerts or disclosures
- Information-sharing protocols
- How will the organisation respond?
- Whistleblowing policies and processes, and related concerns surrounding anonymity
Defensible decision-making
- Importance of keeping records
- Difficulties in justifying decision-making without good evidence
- What information to record and where to record it
- Level of detail expected
Understanding and compliance
- The need for regular training
- Maintaining records of training
- Testing and confirming understanding of training, e.g. via a group activity or follow-up quiz
- Processes to certify competence to deal with vulnerable groups
- On-going monitoring to ensure behaviour remains in line with training, policies and procedures, e.g. via staff appraisals
Review and update
- Systematic reviews to improve safeguarding training
- Updating training procedures to stay in line with changes to policies and procedures
- Re-training individuals following significant changes or important findings or trends
- Inviting anonymous feedback on ways to improve
How we can help?
We were the first UK insurer to employ a Safeguarding Risk Consultant, whose job is to support our customers in better understanding and managing their safeguarding exposures.
We also regularly publish specific guidance on related topics, such as recording evidence and safer recruitment, which you can view online at our Safeguarding Risk Resource hub.
For more information on how we can help your organisation meet the challenges of safeguarding, please call us on 0800 232 1901 or email us at info@zurichmunicipal.com
