Safeguarding is about keeping children, young people and vulnerable adults safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
Children and vulnerable people are not always able to tell us when this is happening to them, so it is up to the adults around them to make sure we can spot the signs and know what to do if we have concerns.
Voluntary and community groups who work with children and young people and/or vulnerable adults can struggle to keep up to date and to find the right resources.
The Safeguarding Boards in Bedfordshire have a programme of training which includes:
- Free eLearning for staff and volunteers in voluntary and community organisations.
For most organisations, a good first course is Safeguarding Children Level 1 for groups working with children, and Safeguarding Adults Level 1 if your group only works with people over the age of 18. There is also a Safer Recruitment module that may be useful for those responsible for recruiting and managing staff and volunteers and there are “refresher” courses for those that need to update their knowledge.
- A range of open training courses in a “virtual classroom” online.
For further information and costs, please view this leaflet.
To book on to this training you will first need to register at Safeguarding Bedfordshire training.
There’s a user guide to help you through the registration process.
Groups who are in the early stages of thinking about safeguarding and working with children, and those who already have some experience of working with children and keeping them safe, will find this guide from NSPCC useful. A wide range of voluntary and community groups can use the 9 steps, which walk you through developing a safeguarding plan and implementing it. It contains information about what safeguarding is, explains why voluntary and community groups need safeguards, and provides links to further information that will help you work through each step.
Organisations with more safeguarding experience can use the NSPCC self-assessment tool to find out if their group is doing all it can to safeguard children.
The NSPCC safeguarding standards are aimed at voluntary and community organisations, as well as social enterprises and not-for-profit organisation. They help organisations to take responsibility for keeping children, young people and young adults safe; have a practical approach; and comply with legislation and national guidance. They provide useful templates, examples, and links to further information, and are designed to be used alongside our safeguarding tool.
More information on our site which you may find useful in relation to safeguarding.
Our DBS checking page has information about how to carry out Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks (formerly known as CRB checks).
Our Safeguarding and Trustees page provides a starting point for Trustees of an organisation to find out more about their responsibilities for safeguarding.
Visit the VOCypf Safeguarding Children page for additional information for groups working with children.
If it is a model safeguarding policy you are looking for, head to our Resources page where you will find one for adults and one for children.
If you are a community building that rents space to groups that work with children or vulnerable adults, download our guidance on writing a Safeguarding Statement