The BCSSP training programme aims to increase participants’ knowledge and skills in the field of safeguarding so that professionals can provide high quality services and improve outcomes for adults, children, young people and their families and carers, and keep our communities safe.
Attending training in mixed groups has been proven to build relationships between practitioners across different roles and workplaces, which is important for multi-agency working. It means that people can share their experiences, learn from each other and appreciate safeguarding challenges from a range of viewpoints. It is our objective to deliver quality training in a safe and reflective environment.
All BCSSP training is centred on the lived experiences of the child or adult at risk, is evidence based, promotes the need for working in partnership and is informed and governed by issues of equality and diversity.
The training programme is reviewed annually and revised according to the feedback received from our partner agencies, course participants, identified learning from Reviews, examples of best practice, and in line with changes to legislation and statutory guidance.
BCSSP training is accessible to all individuals who work in B&NES with children or adults at risk and/or their carers. It complements single agency training by focusing on effective multi-agency working to meet identified need.
The BCSSP offer a wide variety of multi-agency learning events. To find the courses currently available, please log into the Learning Zone and view the relevant catalogues. For information about ‘core’ safeguarding training courses, please see the ‘What Training do I need?’ section below.
To book on to BCSSP training you will need a Learning Zone account.
For B&NES Council staff, your account is automatically available to access through your council desktop.
For the wider workforce, you will need to create a Learning Zone account; this requires basic information about your role, organisation and area of work. If you require support in creating your account, please refer to the online booking guide.
Individual agencies and organisations must ensure that their staff have an appropriate level of safeguarding training. To ensure that the multi-agency training is accessed by appropriate practitioners, the BCSSP has produced the following ‘Training Standards Guidance’:
Safeguarding training should be refreshed at a minimum of every three years, at the level appropriate to role and responsibilities. It is recognised that particular agencies and some professional roles may require that training is refreshed more regularly; equally, additional training may be required to meet an individual’s personal or professional development plans. For this reason, practitioners should also refer to their own single agency training requirements.
Safeguarding and Child Protection (eLearning)
This course provides a basic level of awareness of safeguarding topics and is designed to provide staff with the ability to identify potential signs and indicators of abuse and neglect and how to raise a safeguarding concern.
This training is suitable if:
You have some, infrequent contact with children and/or families but do not work directly with children as part of your job, however you do have a responsibility to contribute to the safeguarding of children.
Examples of this may include administrators, domestic and ancillary staff, maintenance staff and security staff.
Introduction to Child Protection
The Introduction to Child Protection training is designed to provide a greater depth of understanding on the forms of abuse, how to spot them, and how to work with other agencies to support children, young people and families, and how to report these to the Safeguarding Lead within their organisation.
This training is suitable if:
You have contact with children and/or families on a regular basis.
You might attend family meetings in relation to concerns, contribute to assessments / plans and work with other agencies and organisations to help keep children safe. You will do this with the support of your lead safeguarding professional.
Examples of this may include, teaching and pastoral support staff in schools, early years practitioners, Police, Probation practitioners, healthcare practitioners working with children or families, practitioners in voluntary / community organisations, youth workers.
Introduction to Child Protection Refresher
This training is for those professionals who have previously completed the Introduction to Child Protection course or equivalent in the last 3 years.
The course provides a refresher of the central learning in the Introduction to Child Protection and covers key updates and changes in relation to safeguarding children in the last 3 yrs.
This training is suitable if:
You have completed the Introduction to Child Protection course in the last 3 years and need to refresh your safeguarding learning, but do not need to advance onto more in-depth / specialist training.
Advanced Child Protection
Anyone needing to complete the Advanced Child Protection training must complete the Introduction to Child Protection (or equivalent) first.
This course is designed for those people taking up the role of Safeguarding Lead (or Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or Deputy DSL if in education).
This course is aimed at equipping practitioners and managers with the knowledge, skills and confidence of what to do should you have concerns, or if another member of your team raises concerns with you.
The course builds on the knowledge gained in the Introduction to Child Protection: it explores local tools and resources for helping to identify both the needs of children and families and the best supports in meeting those needs, and leads you on a journey from Early Help through to Child Protection.
This training is suitable if:
You have contact with children and/or families on a regular basis.
You work intensively with children/families where there are safeguarding concerns and/or you have specific responsibility in relation to safeguarding within your setting.
Your job might include completing work with children/families directly related to reducing the risk of harm to the children, making decisions about when to request a service from children‘s services, completing referrals for specialist services, completing assessments and reports for Child Protection conferences and Child in Need meetings and ensuring that actions allocated to your organisation are completed.
You might be responsible for offering advice and support to other staff in your organisation, delivering foundation level/induction child protection training for staff and ensuring that policies and practice within your setting is in line with current legislation and statutory guidance.
Examples of this may include: social care practitioners, Designated Safeguarding Leads, Named Safeguarding GPs, specialist Health Visitors, Safeguarding champions, Investigation officers.
This training is also suitable if:
You are an operational or strategic manager in an organisation that employs staff to work with children and families.
You are responsible for ensuring that the safeguarding work undertaken within your setting is effective and efficient.
You have oversight for the development of systems, policies and practices within your organisation to keep children safe and work effectively in partnership with others.
Advanced Update
This training is for those professionals who have previously completed the Advanced Child Protection course or equivalent.
The course works on the basis that you are familiar and confident in the materials contained in the Introduction to Child Protection and Advanced Child Protection courses and provides all of the key updates and changes in relation to safeguarding children in the last 3 yrs.
In particular this course covers changes to legislation and guidance, local resources, policies and pathways, learning from reviews and fulfilling your safeguarding responsibilities.
This training is suitable if:
You have previously completed the Advanced Child Protection course and need to refresh your safeguarding learning.
Adults Safeguarding Level 1 (eLearning)
This course provides a basic level of awareness of adult safeguarding topics and is designed to provide staff with the ability to identify potential signs and indicators of abuse and neglect and what to do if worries are held about the safety of an adult with care and support needs
This training is suitable if:
You have some, infrequent contact with adults with care and support needs, but do not work directly with them as part of your job.
Members of this group have a responsibility to contribute to safeguarding adults, but do not have specific organisational responsibility or statutory authority to intervene. Examples of this may include administrators, HR staff, ancillary staff.
Adults Safeguarding Level 2
The Adults Safeguarding Level 2 course is designed to provide a greater depth of understanding around adult protection issues, including the importance of maximising the decision making of the adult involved and consideration of legislation, codes of practice, policy and procedural frameworks.
This training is suitable if:
You have regular contact with adults with care and support needs, their families or carers, or the public.
Members of this group have considerable professional and organisational responsibility for safeguarding adults. Examples of this may include carers, residential care staff, paramedics, GPs, probation, pharmacists and housing officers.
Safeguarding Adults Level 3 - Undertaking Safeguarding Enquiries
This training is for those professionals who have previously completed Adult Level 2 training (or equivalent) as knowledge of Adult Safeguarding is essential.
This course is aimed at equipping practitioners and managers with the knowledge, skills and confidence in undertaking or co-ordinating a safeguarding enquiry, focusing on the outcomes identified by the individual, a ssessing risk and developing an effective safeguarding protection plan. The training will consider the Mental Capacity Act in relation to adult safeguarding and highlight the importance of multi-agency working.
This training is suitable if:
You engage in assessing, planning, intervening and evaluating the needs of adults where there are safeguarding concerns (as appropriate to role). Examples of this may include social workers, senior care workers, residential mangers, GPs, safeguarding leads.