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Safeguarding Training Centre: from INSET support to a holistic whole-school approach

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Where it all began

Some of you may know that Safeguarding Training Centre was originally an extension of The Key for School Leaders. It had a modest offering that consisted of our annual INSET pack and occasional safeguarding news updates. 

We quickly learned that our downloadable INSET pack was becoming a must-have for time-pressed designated safeguarding leads (DSLs) looking for the latest Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance in a practically ready-to-deliver format.

September INSET day is arguably the most important day of the academic year, an opportunity to connect and all get on the same page, especially when it comes to keeping children safe and knowing how best to support your pupils. Delivering this vital training is just one piece of the puzzle. 

Conversations we had with DSLs around the country highlighted a real need to not only test and evidence staff understanding of what had been delivered to them on INSET day but also a way to easily refresh knowledge and induct new starters throughout the year - without having to re-deliver the same presentation repeatedly.

 

Re-introducing Safeguarding Training Centre

Equipped with fantastic DSL insights, we set to work on creating additional resources to support our INSET pack, including:

A 10-question safeguarding assessment that would address the need for proof that every INSET day attendee had totally understood statutory safeguarding guidance - with pass/fail results feeding into one easy-to-monitor digital dashboard.

A safeguarding essentials eLearning course where new staff joining mid-year could learn about the latest KCSIE guidance in approximately one hour without the need for DSLs to repeat their INSET presentation. It also served the need for any staff that wanted to refresh their knowledge of KCSIE.

To date, our assessment and eLearning course have supported over 100,000 members of staff around the country.

 

Creating a strong safeguarding culture, beyond INSET

We know that safeguarding is complex and ongoing, something that isn’t just covered off in an annual training session. Reflecting back on the past few years we’ve seen an increasing demand for even more training resources that speak to defined safeguarding needs such as:

> Sexual harassment
> Preventing radicalisation
> Pupil safety on Fortnite, TikTok and other popular apps
> Re-integrating pupils following partial school closure due to COVID

And that’s just to name a few. 

 

Where Safeguarding Training Centre initially served to support the DSL to deliver annual INSET training, it’s grown to become a service that now stretches to the teacher and parent community too. A quick count of our resources has seen us expand our offering to provide so much more to over 3000 member schools, including:

  • 5 engaging elearning courses for staff, governors and volunteers 
  • 17 staff briefings covering the latest requirements and best practice in keeping children safe
  • Interactive termly checklists covering safeguarding obligations and named awareness days
  • 22 safeguarding scenarios that let staff put their learning into practice
  • Over 30 shareable factsheets for staff and parents to protect children and create a wider safeguarding culture

 

And we’re not stopping there! We’re currently putting the final touches to our DSL refresher training eLearning course, which will be launching mid-September and have plenty more in the pipeline for the academic year ahead.

 

If you’d like to find out more about Safeguarding Training Centre, including price of membership, just head to our website.

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