Training Levels and Pathway
We follow the levels of safeguarding training based on those included in previous versions of the multi-agency statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children. We have also taken into account the Royal College of Nursing Intercollegiate Document, Safeguarding Children and Young People: Roles and Competencies for Healthcare Staff, Fourth Edition January 2019 and Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021.
In summary all our training is Level 3, with the exception of the Early Help Assessment course, and will meet your Level 3 safeguarding learning requirements.
What Course Should I Do?
We recommend that all staff needing to undertake Level 3 training and who have never completed any of our training previously first attend our Understanding Child Protection course. This allows us to provide a consistency of both local and national knowledge and understanding of safeguarding and child protection concepts, processes and procedures. Once completed this opens up the remainder of the programme.
We appreciate that some staff may have completed their Level 3 equivalent of our Understanding Child Protection Course elsewhere and may want to access the full range of our courses without having to attend the PSCP Understanding Child Protection session in the first instance. Please contact us on safeguardingtraining@plymouth.gov.uk if you’d like to discuss your particular situation and how we can support your needs.
Once the Understanding Child Protection course is completed we recommend staff who regularly attend or support strategy and child protection conferences/meetings also attend the Working Together to Safeguard Children course. Once you have completed the Understanding Child Protection course and, if applicable, the Working Together to Safeguard Children course, there is no need to repeat them when you are due for your next Level 3 update.
When and how do I update my Level 3 training?
You have to update your Level 3 training every 3 years unless you are a schools Designated Safeguarding Lead which is every 2 years. When you are due for your update you can attend any of our other courses/events all of which will act as your update (apart from the Early Help training as mentioned above). Remember you don’t have to repeat the Understanding Child Protection Course or Working Together to Safeguard Children course as your update. You can do our refresher course or choose another session.
Of course you don’t have to wait until your update deadline to complete our training, you are welcome to attend at any time based on your learning needs or particular area of interest. The deadline for your update will be from the last course you attend.
The training levels grid below hopefully provides further detail on the training levels to help you understand which level of training you need depending on your role.