Does your organisation work with children? Those who do, should consider teaching staff safeguarding training.
The world has become a scary place for children. Although they might not know it, we adults realise that there are potential predators lurking around every corner. We want to protect them from it, but short of wrapping them in cotton wool, all we can do is pay attention to what happens in their lives – and educate ourselves on how we can spot potential dangers before they develop. That’s where safeguarding training comes in.
What is Safeguarding Training?
According to the experts in safeguarding training at Hays Education, all child support workers, educators, mentors, teachers, and everyone else who works with children, should complete a course on how to safeguard those children. Usually, we give this type of training to anyone who works with a vulnerable group of people. It teaches you how to record suspicious incidents and report them accordingly.
Safeguarding training would come into play if you noticed excessive bruises on a child, if they told you something questionable about another adult, or if you find yourself in a position on school grounds where the child is at risk of neglect, bullying, or anything else that may be harmful.
Safeguarding training is vitally important to keeping our children safe. By training our educators in this area, we give the people who spend large quantities of time with our children the ability to recognise if something is wrong with them.
You can see the Ofsted guidelines on standards for Safeguarding Training in the UK, here.
The Benefits of Safeguarding Training
There are plenty of reasons why you would want your educators to spot when something was wrong with a child. It is in the child’s best interests if most of the people that care for them know who to call if they suspect something is wrong. We have listed other benefits of this type of training, below.
Identification of Vulnerable Parties
Your educators are taught to spot vulnerabilities that they may otherwise not notice. Identifying the tell-tale signs helps secure their safety, but those signs aren’t just about abuse and neglect. A teacher trained in safeguarding may spot signs of neurodivergence in children, of dyslexia, mental illness, or other issues.
Governmental Compliance
The UK government has a statutory policy of safeguarding training instruction. They advise every school, college, or educational establishment to provide safeguarding training to their staff. If you want to remain compliant with legislation, seek out safeguarding training.
Highlights Abuse
If a child often shows up with bruises because they are clumsy, this is explainable. If three children from the same family attend your school and all three routinely show up with bruises, you have a problem on your hands. A teacher not trained to spot the signs and tell the difference could be a liability for your school, which brings us to our final point.
Safeguarding Training Builds Reputation
Your goal should always be to establish yourself as a trusted, safe space for the people you teach. Spotting problems early on and protecting children from perceived danger is one of the best ways to stand out.