To believe that every adult in the country should undergo safeguarding training?

[TheOutlaws]

I’m a teacher in a secondary school.

Every year, my colleagues and I undergo (harrowing) safeguarding training. Every week, I report children to our safeguarding lead. Mumsnet threads are full of people recommending that adults keep secrets, which is antithetical to safeguarding.

If you see something untoward, or are party to a disclosure, you MUST report it. Victoria Climbié only reached hospital because a taxi driver disobeyed her ‘aunt’s’ instructions to drive her elsewhere. He took her to A&E instead, where she died of her injuries.

We all have a responsibility to report incidents, because they might be part of a bigger picture.

I don't disagree in principle but without adding resources to deal with the inevitable influx in referrals (and inevitable increase in inappropriate referrals) it will do more harm than good.

I think that more general awareness of what safeguarding is and what it means is a reasonable idea, although making everyone do a course isn’t the right course of action. But you are making an incorrect assumption. I don’t have children of my own and until relatively recently did not “come into contact with kids most days”

No. What we need is far better support systems and increased spending.

I feel the current safeguarding arrangements are a sticking plaster over the huge gap left since the government started cutting back all the proper support services - midwifery/health visitors, GP services, social work, Sure Start, youth work, police - all cut back.

Serious investment in preventative services would help reduce the serious cases. Me watching a video won't.

It's something that we should all be thinking about and watching a video is better than not watching a video.

It's not competely unrealistic to roll something out to a larger number of adults, for example through midwife appointments or something like that.

Raising the issue is important and I'm glad OP started this thread. So many people lack awareness or say 'mind your own business' and it's worrying.

The more we talk about safeguarding, in any format, the better.

I disagree.

OP is clearly talking about alerter training and a video is a fine medium for that. She's not suggesting we are all trained to triage or make enquiries.

It seems as a GP receptionist we do more safeguarding than you. 5 hours course and test at the end every year. Then a 30 min refresher and test 6 months after the main training.

But I agree with you on some levels. In theory it would make the country safer for all

In that case, they should also be adding resources.

This is important.

You seem to be suggesting we bury our heads in the sand and say 'we don't want to know about all the children being abused because we don't have the resources to deal with it'.

Nonsense.

The way to make change is to uncover the problem and then put pressure on the government.

I’m not a safeguarding lead or expert, and I’m party to the ‘layman’ training. That’s precisely why I’m recommending that every adult does it. We all have a responsibility to report.

Because it's absolutely impossible to enforce.

I think creating a nationwide army of badly trained busybodies would result in absolute chaos.

We need to invest in proper services.

I'm not suggesting anything of the sort.

What a horribly bad faith reading of my post.

We already know the problem. The news is full of under resourced CSC departments, lack of social workers, lack of resources.

The problem isn't a secret it doesn't need uncovering.

There are so many people who see things happening to children and are worried to report it because it's 'not their business'.

A video simply letting people know that the official stance is that safeguarding is everyone's business would be a very good thing.

It could even just run it as an awareness campaign to report things if you're concerned (which I have actually seen but not for quite a while now).

Your idea of 'a nationwide army of badly trained busybodies' is frankly ridiculous. People just need a little nudge to let them know it's OK to report concerns.

Rolling out training via midwives will cement the idea that safeguarding is the responsibility of women, specifically mothers.
How would you reach men, and people who have no children, or older children?

Instead of training, why not a government awareness campaign, like the ones about drink driving that appear every Christmas.

This…

The masses can use common sense, and proper training should be reserved for people with enough intelligence to know how to make decisions based on critical thinking and nuance

Please spend a day on Facebook local/Nextdoor and then tell me the majority of the population can handle training designed for teaching professionals

Where I am it's known colloquially as alerter training and its absolutely fine for a layman. In fact it would be detrimental to give more detailed training as you risk people doing their own enquiries/making their own decisions.

Absolutely you only have to look at the level of false reporting done for believed rule breaking during Covid.

All you will be doing is getting a lot more people reporting stuff that doesn't need reporting and will need more manpower to sift through the crap.

Like the tv ads the NSPCC ran on and off for decades.?

I don’t have kids; I don’t have any contact regularly with kids or adults who are parents. There’s plenty of people with no contact or interest in kids; that’s why it’s excessive

Yes, exactly - and I haven't seen them for about a decade either.

Do you not understand what is needed if someone is reported?

How much extra funding are you putting in for all the extra reports? Which social workers are doing the visits?

Honestly, the naivety.

What happens after the increase in reports? Who does the threshold checking for starters? Who checks the reporting person is honest and not vindictive?

If you're an adult living in the world then there is a possibility you will come into contact with a child who needs you to take some action. Doesn't matter if you don't have your own or work with them.

Victoria Climbie was taken to hospital by a taxi driver - I don't know if he had his own kids or not. He might have also thought he had no need for any safeguarding awareness.

This is an interesting discussion, btw, and I take people’s point about the Facebook busybodies (without conceding my main point).

The nspcc still advertise. On TV, on social media, in print media.

Actually I work in the field and understand very well that this would be a big issue.

There might well be a flood of referrals and turmoil for a while because of course services are stretched. There has to be a change in the system and extra funding, and it could trigger the government to take action.

The fact is that children are in danger and is it being missed every day. You can't simply say 'let's not bother because referrals will increase'. That's not a valid argument.

Of course inappropriate referrals increase as referrals generally increase. But so do appropriate ones. One of those referrals could be a child who would otherwise die.

I actually think the problem here is 'safeguarding training' and I've undertaken this myself. Does everyone have a responsibility to look after and out for societies most vulnerable? Yes!