Meeting the statutory requirement for all staff to receive Basic Awareness Training every 3 years, this course addresses issues facing all adults within your school/service, their responsibilities and actions to safeguard children.

The course can be delivered as:
a one day course (5 hours contact time) or as
a half day course (3 hours contact time)
to any number of delegates in your school or service base.

It is recommended that the training should include all adults within your school or service, as the children decide in whom they will confide and with whom they will interact.

The objectives of the course:

•	To raise awareness of what constitutes child abuse
•	To ensure participants are aware of the law underpinning child safeguarding work
•	To ensure participants are familiar with child protection procedures
•	To explore participants’ understanding of their role and responsibilities in relation to child safeguarding

This course explores the Government’s guidance document entitled “Safer Working Practice for All Adults working with Children & Young People 2007”.

There are approximately 3000 allegations made against Education staff each year, and a similar number against other members of the children’s workforce and foster carers.

As a follow up to the Basic Awareness Training, this course provides an opportunity for all staff to consider appropriate professional behaviour and relationships, which will keep children safe from abuse and staff safe from unwarranted allegations.

The course has been very well received as, all too often, it is assumed that staff will use common sense to determine the boundaries of acceptable and appropriate behaviour and relationships. It is important for schools and other organisations to develop a Code of Conduct for use during induction and to ensure that all staff are aware of the school’s or organisation’s expectations. This course has proved to be a useful opportunity for all staff to work together in order to begin to create their shared professional Code of Conduct.

This programme is appropriate for the entire staff team of a school or other organisation involved in work with children and young people. Schools and organisations for whom we have delivered this training have reported that it has triggered more detailed discussion for weeks afterwards than any other staff development activity.

The content is covered during a half day in your school or service base. If you select the full day option there is an additional opportunity to develop some skills of classroom management by exploring situations of conflict and de-escalation. This will be of value to all staff – even experienced teachers – but also to many non-salaried staff who interact with the children and young people. These staff rarely have an opportunity to develop the necessary understanding of child and adolescent psychology or how to manage potential conflict.

The objectives of the course:

•	To raise awareness of the background to the Government guidance and how it might be applied to schools or other organisations working with children & young people
•	To consider what is safe and what is unsafe practice
•	To understand our responsibilities as staff and as managers
•	To explore situations of likely conflict and methods of de-escalation

It is a statutory requirement for every school, service or organisation to have a designated person who manages safeguarding. In primary schools this is often the Headteacher, a Deputy Head, SENCO or other senior member of staff, but it may also be someone from the office staff or other support staff. In secondary schools or other organisations there may be several senior staff, in addition to the Headteacher, who bear responsibility for managing safeguarding.

Meeting the statutory requirement for all headteachers and designated staff for safeguarding to receive Advanced Training every 2 years, this course focuses on the manager’s responsibilities and actions when handling disclosures and when working with other agencies engaged in the process of safeguarding children.

The course is over one full day and is delivered at either The Holiday Inn, Hemel Hempstead (close to the M1 and M25), Grange Bracknell Hotel, Berkshire (close to the M3, M4 and M25) or The Great Barr Hotel, Great Barr, Birmingham, West Midlands (close to the M5 and M6).

It is recommended that at least two staff within your school or organisation have undertaken this training to ensure someone is always available to meet this managerial responsibility.

The objectives of the course:

• To explore responsibilities and duties of the designated person within your school or organisation
• To identify barriers to intervention: values and beliefs, myths and realities
• To identify roles of personnel within other agencies
• To explore inter-agency working
• To extend skills of working with children
• To enhance the quality of referrals and the school’s/service’s role in safeguarding children
• To consider the role of the Common Assessment Framework in ensuring early intervention

Sir Michael Bichard advocated that this training should be compulsory for anyone engaged in recruitment to the children’s workforce. Initially every headteacher and Chair of Governors was to receive a password to undertake this training on-line. However, it soon became clear that this was not well received as internet based training and we are fortunate to have an NCSL accredited trainer to deliver this course at a central venue.

It is recommended by the Government that this training has been undertaken by the Headteacher or Head of Service and the Chair of Governors. However, many larger schools are finding it useful to train additional senior staff and Bursars or Business Managers - who often bear responsibility for recruiting support staff.

This NCSL accredited training fulfils the requirements of the DCSF, OFSTED and the Independent Schools Inspectorate and is delivered over one full day at The Holiday Inn, Hemel Hempstead, South East England (close to the M1 and M25), Grange Bracknell Hotel, Berkshire (close to the M3, M4 and M25) or Holiday Inn Express, Great Barr, Birmingham, West Midlands (close to the M5 and M6).

The course consists of five modules.

Module 1 • The Modus Operandi of Abusers
Module 2 • The Recruitment Process
Module 3 • Interviews
Module 4 • Checks and Induction
Module 5 • Safer Cultures

Much of the training is delivered through case studies, providing an opportunity to discuss issues, to consider responses and to share experiences. Many senior staff value the opportunity to consider hypothetical situations or to share real concerns they are experiencing now or have experienced in the past.

This training can be delivered during the evenings or weekends or on weekdays in your school or service base or at a locally arranged venue for whole governing boards or for groups of governors. We now also offer this training centrally at Grange Bracknell Hotel, Berkshire - see booking form.

The training focuses on the legal responsibilities of Governing Bodies and Boards of Management, with particular reference to safeguarding implications of the following legislation and statutory guidance:

• Children Act 1989
• Education Act 1996
• Education Act 2002
• Children Act 2004
• Education & Inspections Act 2006
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
• Government Guidance Documents:

 Every Child Matters: Change for Children
 Safeguarding Children & Safer Recruitment in Education 2007
 Working Together 2006
 Safer Working Practice for all Adults Working with Children & Young People

This training can be delivered during the evenings or weekends or on weekdays in your school or service base or at a locally arranged venue for whole governing boards or for groups of governors. NB this does not meet the full requirements of the DCSF, OFSTED & ISI, but is intended to raise awareness of the significance of safer recruitment for the whole governing board.