Safeguarding children
The foundation of every role at LF Pathway Solutions: recognising harm, responding without delay and recording what you have seen.
- Who receives it
- All staff
- Frequency
- Annual minimum
- Delivery
- Face-to-face / e-learning
- Evidence recorded
- Training register, certificate
Learning outcomes
- Describe the four categories of abuse and the signs associated with each
- Explain your personal duty to report, and why it cannot be delegated
- Follow the agency reporting route within the required timescales
- Write a factual, defensible safeguarding record
Module 1 of 3
Your duty and the legal framework
Safeguarding is everybody's responsibility. Working Together to Safeguard Children and the Children Act 1989 and 2004 place a shared duty on every adult working with children, not only on managers or designated leads. If you hold a concern, you own that concern until you have handed it to someone who can act on it.
Children we support have often already been let down by adults who noticed something and did nothing. The threshold for reporting is a concern, not proof. You are never expected to investigate, decide whether abuse happened, or confirm a child's account before passing it on.
Remember
- Report concerns the same working day, and immediately where a child is at risk of significant harm
- Never promise a child you will keep a disclosure secret
- Absence of a manager is not a reason to delay — use the on-call number
Module 2 of 3
Recognising the signs
Physical abuse may present as unexplained or inconsistently explained injuries, injuries in unusual places, or a child flinching from touch. Neglect shows in persistent hunger, poor hygiene, untreated medical needs and unsuitable clothing. Emotional abuse is the hardest to evidence and often appears as withdrawal, fear of making mistakes, or developmentally inappropriate behaviour.
Sexual abuse indicators include sexualised behaviour or language beyond the child's stage of development, physical symptoms, and sudden avoidance of a particular adult or place. In every category, the strongest indicator is change: a child who is different from how they usually present.
Module 3 of 3
Responding to a disclosure
Listen. Do not interrupt, do not ask leading questions, and do not repeat the account back for confirmation. Use TED prompts only if needed — Tell me, Explain to me, Describe to me. Reassure the child that they were right to tell you, and be honest that you must pass it on to keep them safe.
As soon as the conversation ends, write it down. Use the child's own words in quotation marks, record the date, time and place, and note anything you observed. Separate fact from your own opinion clearly. Sign and pass the record to the Designated Safeguarding Lead the same day.
Sign in to record your completion
You can read the course now, but you need a staff account for your completion and certificate to be saved and shared with your manager.
Staff sign inKnowledge check
Answer all 3 questions correctly to record this module against your training log.