Tips for single agency (in-house) training

All Partnership agencies are responsible for ensuring that their workforce is competent and confident in carrying out its responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults.

Employers and voluntary groups should ensure their workers and volunteers are aware of how to recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns, including signs of possible maltreatment.  This knowledge and expertise should be put into place before they attend multi-agency training.

The MSP provides introductory safeguarding training, however some agencies may wish to provide their own training at this level.

Below is a list of the core issues to be covered, but it remains the responsibility of the individual agency to audit their in-house safeguarding training against the core content. All the information required to support this can be found on this website.

• Accountability (safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility)
• Legislation – principles of the Children Act 1989/ 2004; Working Together 2018; and/or Care Act 2014
  • underpinning values, including the concept of significant harm
• Understanding your agency role and agency Safeguarding Policy and Procedures
  • agency support for their own staff – identifying and responding to need
  • Information Sharing guidance
• What to do if you are worried a child or adult is being abused
• Accident/incident recording
• Staff conduct and managing allegations against staff
  • identification of the person in your agency with responsibility for child protection
• What is abuse:
  • definition and signs and symptoms of the categories of abuse
  • common signs of accidental and non-accidental injury
  • vulnerable groups e.g. babies, looked after children, disabled and asylum-seekers
  • children who harm children including bullying /sexual bullying
• How to respond to a disclosure – good practice
  • how to respond to children or adults
• Local services available to protect children and how to find them
• Referral process and procedures
  • how to seek professional support
  • managing and challenging differences of professional opinion – escalation process
• Child development and maintaining a child focus
  • awareness of normal child development
  • acknowledging each child is different but significant discrepancies may indicate abuse
  • impact of parenting issues including family history, family make up, compromised parenting
• Understanding of the local early help approach and Levels of Need Framework
• Lessons from Case Reviews (locally & nationally)
• Reference to (where to find) local guidelines and procedures.

Who requires introductory level safeguarding training?
As a broad guide, introductory level training should be undertaken by staff and volunteers in the following roles:

• Staff in infrequent contact with children, young people or vulnerable adults; and/or their parents/carers who may become aware of possible abuse or neglect.
• Those in regular contact with, or who have a period of intense but irregular contact with, children, young people or vulnerable adults; and/or their parents/carers, who may be in a position to identify concerns about maltreatment, including those that may arise from the use of Early Help Assessments.
• Members of the workforce who work predominantly with children, young people or vulnerable adults; and/or their parents/carers and who could potentially contribute to assessing, planning, intervening and reviewing the needs of a child and parenting capacity where there are safeguarding concerns.
• Members of the workforce who have particular responsibilities in relation to undertaking section 47 enquiries, including professionals from health, education, police and children’s social care; those who work with complex cases and social work staff responsible for coordinating assessments of children in need.
• Professional advisers, named and designated lead professionals.

Some staff and volunteers may then need to pursue more intensive training in keeping with their role.

Our Training Offer – the MSP provides access to free face to face and online learning to multi-agency professionals who work with children and families in Manchester.

The MSP does not deliver training to individual organisations/schools/agencies, as our duty is to provide multi-agency training.

Please note we cannot recommend any private training organisation; nor do we hold a list of recommended trainers.