What training is required?

You must make sure you have the right level of safeguarding training available for all your staff, volunteers and trustees. The Charity Commission expects all charities to ensure that trustees, employees and volunteers know about safeguarding and best practice for all other groups.

The training should:

• match the needs of your organisation and your activities
• be appropriate to their role and the level of the risk involved
• be up to date reflecting current legal or regulatory requirements.

People usually start with either:

• introductory training that covers both safeguarding children and adults at risk
• introductory training that specialises in safeguarding either children or adults at risk.

You may also need or want to find training that is:

• designed for people in different roles (for example training for a designated safeguarding lead or training for trustees).
• designed to cover particular risks (for example Prevent training about safeguarding people from radicalisation).
• designed for people who provide a certain type of activity (for example training for sports clubs).

Organisations that work providing regular activities, training or care for children or adults at risk – particularly if they are funded by statutory bodies (such as the local council) or are inspected by Ofsted or the Care Quality Commission – will need to make sure their training is up to the standards required by those regulators. For everyone else there are no set standards and no standardised accreditation of safeguarding training.

So how do you know if you are doing things right?

• Arrange training on a regular basis with updates and refreshers depending on the level of risk.
• Retraining is recommended at least every three years for all staff and volunteers at the right level for their role.
• Make sure your designated safeguarding leads get specific training for their role every two years.
• Check to see if the training you offer covers the risks and areas that you have considered as most relevant to your organisation when producing your safeguarding policy.
• Keep records of who attended what type of training and when.
• Gather feedback on the training sessions.
• Review your training every year to ensure it reflects current legal duties, to see whether everyone is attending often enough and whether the training feels useful for them.
• Ask your local safeguarding board or partnership for advice on the choices you have made.