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've recently completed our annual KCSIE training as a secondary school teacher. This involved watching a 90 minute video with info to read, scenarios to consider and questions to answer. You need 100% to pass. This had to be completed in my own time.The message every year is that it's everyone's responsibility to report any concerns at school. Last year the training helped me recognise and report signs of domestic abuse over the road from me which was happening with 2 young children in the house. I was thankful for the training.

I have also come across the issue in the past of people using the fact someone has has training to make it seem like they must therefore be “safe”. Same with someone having a DBS clearance. Sometimes it can lead to complacency.

i know two people who have been convicted of offences against children. Both had done “safeguarding” training, one was certainly dbs cleared too. But people ignored flags because of who it was and the training they had.

I'm not happy with the amount of time I spent doing my training last weekend but I agree that there's a lot of important and useful things which we may find useful out of as well as in school. I think the biggest thing to take away is not just that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility but that you aren't throwing families to the social services wolves if you report. A small thing recorded may be reviewed and no action taken. However, if several different people have reported small things, unbeknownst to each other further investigation will happen.

A formalised training policy seems to be a non-starter to me. But some short public information films, or longer documentary style programmes would certainly go a long way to putting the idea in people's minds that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.

It would also help people to feel more confident about key things to look out for, and the best avenues for reporting. And it could help reassure people that no child has ever been permanently removed from a family because of one inaccurate accusation.

Unfortunately, I think it's very common for abusers to have had some level of child protection training: abusers will often seek out access to children, and those roles come with child protection training.

A "clear" DBS only means that they've never been caught.

This exactly.
YABVVU OP.
I'm tired of the government, businesses etc doing less and less. pushing responsibility onto members of the public. Everyday is an 'awareness' day for something or other, lots of things left broken and not fixed unless people 'report' it even though it's in front of council buildings and the people who receive reports can see it with their own eyes!

An education campaign fair enough. but to make it a 'responsibility', like paying taxes? Nope. All children should be in school at least, fund the schools properly for a start so they can notice all this.

Does that include to 20 odd people I see drunk/begging in my city centre, or the registered paedophiles or the drug addicts that collect their methodone at 5.50pm at my local chemist every day?

Couldn't agree more with you.

I work in the voluntary sector
Everyone including volunteers had to do a level 1 online safeguarding course as part of their induction unless they can provide evidence that they have done so within last 12 months
level 2 is a full day in person course which we facilitate annually but you only have to do it as a new starter - after that you review it using online training every 3 years
level 3 is for designated safeguarding leads within the agency and must be renewed every 3 years minimum but I usually advise every 2

Perhaps something on the lines of a public information film format would work better to raise awareness with the general public

How are you persuading the 50% of parents at my school who cba coming to their own child's parents evening to engage with this?

OP, you're conflating your perceived need for widespread safeguarding training and the obligation to report it. They are two quite different things.

I'm in Victoria and still a member of the only workforce that has a 24/7 /365 all areas legal obligation to report all safeguarding issues they encounter. That's teaching, by the way. We had training followed by additional sessions annually. Some sessions live, others video.

You'd never get the whole population trained, though consciousness could be raised by a well-designed advertising campaign. The legal obligation to report might follow the lines of the obligation to report a RTA.

And the PPs sneering at the OP for daring to have an opinion based on video training, it's not rocket science you know.

The legal obligation to report might follow the lines of the obligation to report a RTA. This is simply not enforceable.

Yes it's the people involved in the accident who have to report it not random bystanders which is what OP is suggesting

Oh, I don't think it's the video training, it's the dramatic description.
'Harrowing' in the OP... in the second post morphed into a 'quick video'. Which is it? Perhaps a quick video can be harrowing but I doubt it.

Humans are naturally judgy creatures. Despite what people say on MN (and that's more of people basking in the glow of virtue-signalling) you can bet that people IRL will be quick to report report report. We saw this with Covid as PP have said people gleefully rushing to tell on their neighbours.

Also the people who can have legal action taken against them for not reporting a road traffic accident are the drivers themselves. Who were involved. Not random bystanders, yet you're suggesting legal obligations for... innocent bystanders. How would this be enforced, exactly?

Btw I had a quick Google search for 'child safeguarding tips' and a lot of it is common sense. Not sure what major training is needed if too complicated then nobody's going to bother. If you Google 'report child abuse' the NSPCC hotline comes up.

Again.. what's the issue?

That seems a very low level of reporting... We have more children than that every year with social care involvement.

I agree. That's why I said might.

And the amount of times someone mentions something and has no idea it's a potential safeguarding issue.

Some training is better than none...

How would it be provided? Who would pay for it? How could you be certain everyone would do it?

Your ideas are well intentioned but totally impractical and TBH I doubt if they would make the slightest difference.