Adult Safeguarding Level 1 & 2
Adult Safeguarding Level 1 and 2 training delivered at your workplace or remotely. Practically grounded, legally current, and built around the adults your staff actually support.
Course Overview
During a safeguarding training session, a delegate raised something that had been troubling her for weeks. A colleague had been dismissive with a resident on several occasions: not shouting, not striking, just short-tempered, a bit rough during personal care. The kind of thing that could easily be explained away as a bad run of shifts. She had not reported it. She was not sure it was serious enough. She did not know who she would even tell.
That uncertainty is one of the most common safeguarding failures in care. Not malice. Not indifference. Just not knowing where the line is, or what to do when you think you might be near it.
Adult Safeguarding Level 1 and 2 training is built for care and support staff who need to go beyond basic awareness. It develops a genuine working understanding of what adult safeguarding means in practice: how to recognise concerns that are subtle or complex, how the legal and regulatory frameworks apply in real situations, and how to respond, record, and escalate in a way that is both defensible and person-centred. The course aligns with the Care Act 2014 and its statutory guidance, Section 42 safeguarding enquiry duties, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, CQC Regulation 13: Safeguarding Service Users from Abuse and Improper Treatment, and Care Certificate Standard 10: Adult Safeguarding, updated by Skills for Care in March 2025.
Course Details
- Duration: Level 1: half day / Level 2: full day
- Delivery: Face-to-face in-house or remote via Zoom or Teams
- Certificate: CPD-Accredited Adult Safeguarding Level 1 or Level 2 certificate
- Validity: Refresher recommended every 1 to 2 years, or sooner following legislative updates, role changes, or a safeguarding incident
- Group size: Maximum 12 learners per trainer. Larger groups available on request.
Who This Course Is For
This course is for care and support staff who work directly with adults who have care and support needs.
- Care assistants and support workers
- Senior carers and team leaders
- Domiciliary care staff
- Residential and nursing home staff
- Supported living staff
- Personal assistants working under Personal Health Budgets or Direct Payments
- Staff completing or refreshing Care Certificate Standard 10
This course sits above the awareness level. If your team needs a broader introduction covering both adults and children, our Safeguarding Adults and Children Awareness course provides that foundation. For staff taking on designated safeguarding lead responsibilities, a higher-level course is recommended. Not sure which level is right for your team? Get in touch, and we’ll help you work it out before you commit.
The Legal Requirement
The Care Act 2014 created the first statutory framework for adult safeguarding in England. Under Section 42, a local authority has a duty to make enquiries where it has reasonable cause to suspect that an adult has needs for care and support, is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect, and as a result of those needs is unable to protect themselves. That duty can be triggered by information from any source, including frontline care staff. Every care worker has a role in that process, whether they know it or not.
Under CQC Regulation 13: Safeguarding Service Users from Abuse and Improper Treatment, providers must have a zero-tolerance approach to abuse and ensure staff receive safeguarding training appropriate to their role, at induction and at regular intervals thereafter. Inspectors do not just check whether training has been completed. They assess whether staff can actually apply their safeguarding knowledge in practice.
Care Certificate Standard 10: Adult Safeguarding was updated by Skills for Care in March 2025. It now includes the legal definition of an adult at risk, expectations around restrictive practices and staff responsibilities, and the range of risks associated with technology use. Providers whose staff have not been trained against the updated standard may not be meeting current CQC expectations.
What the Day Covers
All content reflects the Care Act 2014 statutory guidance, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, CQC Regulation 13, and Care Certificate Standard 10 as updated by Skills for Care in March 2025 throughout. Topics covered include:
- The legal definition of an adult at risk and the Care Act 2014 statutory framework
- Section 42 safeguarding enquiries: the three-part test and what it means for frontline staff
- The six principles of adult safeguarding: empowerment, prevention, proportionality, protection, partnership, and accountability
- Care Certificate Standard 10: Adult Safeguarding, updated March 2025
- Types of abuse and neglect: physical, emotional, financial, sexual, psychological, discriminatory, organisational, modern slavery, domestic abuse, self-neglect, and neglect and acts of omission
- Recognising signs, patterns and indicators of harm, including subtle and cumulative concerns
- Consent, capacity and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in safeguarding contexts
- Risk, autonomy and the right to make unwise decisions
- Restrictive practices: when they may be lawful and what staff responsibilities are
- Technology risks and supporting individuals safely without being risk-averse
- Responding to concerns and disclosures
- Reporting, escalation, and record-keeping in safeguarding
- Multi-agency safeguarding processes and the role of Safeguarding Adults Boards
- Making Safeguarding Personal and the adult’s right to determine their own outcomes
- Lessons from Safeguarding Adults Reviews
Every course is also built to include your industry-specific common risks and your organisation’s incident reporting systems as standard.
How the Course Is Delivered
This course is available face-to-face at your workplace or chosen venue, or remotely via Zoom or Teams. Both formats are scenario-led and practically grounded.
Groups are capped at 12 to ensure every learner gets sufficient time for discussion and scenario work. Every session is built around your working environment, your sector’s risks, and your internal reporting procedures. We also design each course to incorporate your organisational safeguarding policy, your local Safeguarding Adults Board arrangements, and the specific adults your staff support. If you haven’t carried out a needs assessment yet, we can guide you through what’s involved during the enquiry process.
Delivery includes:
- Real-life safeguarding scenarios drawn from adult care settings, adapted to your service type
- Structured discussion of complex situations: capacity, consent, risk, and autonomy
- Practical application of reporting, escalation, and recording procedures
- Exploration of the Section 42 threshold and what it means for frontline decision-making
Level 1 or Level 2: Which Is Right for Your Team?
The two levels are not interchangeable. They serve different staff groups and different stages of safeguarding knowledge.
Level 1 (half day) is the right starting point for staff who are new to safeguarding, completing their Care Certificate, or who need a solid foundation in recognising and reporting concerns. It covers the legal framework, types of abuse and neglect, how to recognise concerns, and how to report and escalate correctly.
Level 2 (full day) builds on that foundation with more complex situations, professional judgement, and the application of the Mental Capacity Act alongside safeguarding responsibilities. It is right for senior carers, team leaders, and staff with existing safeguarding knowledge who need to deepen their understanding and apply it in more demanding situations.
We don’t make that determination for providers; the responsibility sits with you. But we do provide guidance throughout the enquiry process.
Certification and Validity
On completion, learners receive a CPD-Accredited Adult Safeguarding Level 1 or Level 2 certificate.
There is no formal expiry, but refresher training is recommended every 1 to 2 years, or sooner where legislation or guidance has been updated, a safeguarding incident has occurred, or a staff member’s role has changed. Given that Care Certificate Standard 10 was updated in March 2025, providers whose staff have not trained against the updated criteria should consider whether a refresher is now overdue.
Why Organisations Book With Prima Cura
Most training providers arrive with a course. We arrive with yours.
Before the day, we gather information about your workplace: your incident reporting forms, your internal procedures, the specific hazards your team actually faces. On the day, your trainer works that into every scenario, every discussion, every practical exercise. If your staff work in a care home, they’re not practising on hypothetical office workers. If your team are lone workers, that context shapes how the session runs.
It means the training lands. Not because it was well-delivered in a generic sense, but because it was relevant to the people in the room and the situations they’ll actually encounter.
A few other things that matter to the organisations that book with us:
- 98.9% learner satisfaction across all Prima Cura courses
- All trainers hold Enhanced DBS certificates and maintain ongoing CPD
- We advise honestly on the qualification level at the enquiry stage. If a different course is a better fit for your workforce, we’ll say so before you book, not after.
We respond to all enquiries within one working day.
Where We Deliver
We deliver in-house training at your workplace or chosen venue across Manchester, Greater Manchester, and the wider North West. We also deliver nationally across England, including North England, South England, London, and Surrey.
All sessions are led by experienced Prima Cura Training instructors. Groups are capped at 12 per trainer to protect the quality of hands-on learning.
Our associate network means we can deliver across England. You can meet the team on our Associates page
FAQs
Is adult safeguarding training a legal requirement for care providers?
Yes. Under CQC Regulation 13, registered providers must ensure staff receive safeguarding training appropriate to their role at induction and at regular intervals thereafter. The CQC assesses whether staff can apply that knowledge in practice, not just whether a training record exists. For staff completing the Care Certificate, Standard 10 is a mandatory element and must reflect the updated March 2025 criteria.
What is Making Safeguarding Personal, and why does it matter for frontline staff?
Making Safeguarding Personal is the approach embedded in the Care Act statutory guidance that requires safeguarding to be led by the adult’s own desired outcomes, not just by what professionals think is best. In practice, that means asking the adult what they want to happen, involving them meaningfully in the process and measuring success by whether their outcomes were achieved, not just whether procedures were followed. For frontline staff, it means understanding that a safeguarding response should never feel like something that is done to someone.
How does the Mental Capacity Act 2005 affect adult safeguarding decisions?
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 sits directly alongside safeguarding and creates some of its most complex situations. An adult must be presumed to have capacity unless there is evidence to the contrary, and having capacity means having the right to make decisions others consider unwise, including decisions about their own safety. This is not a gap in the law. It is a deliberate recognition of autonomy. Where an adult genuinely lacks capacity for a specific decision, any action taken must be in their best interests and represent the least restrictive option available. Staff need to understand how capacity assessments inform safeguarding responses, and what happens when an adult with capacity declines help.
Further Reading
- Care Certificate UK Guide: Everything care providers need to know about the updated Care Certificate standards
- Care Certificate Standard 10: Adult Safeguarding What the March 2025 update means for providers and staff
- Safeguarding in the Workplace: How to recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns at work
- Care Homes and Residential Care Training requirements and CQC expectations for residential care providers
- CQC Regulation 18: Staffing What CQC expects from staffing and training arrangements
Related Courses
- Safeguarding Adults and Children Awareness
- Safeguarding Children Level 2
- Mental Capacity Act 2005 and DoLS
- Duty of Care
- Reporting, Record Keeping and Information Governance in Care
- Safe Recruitment for Employers and Managers
Book or Enquire
Book your training or request a quote. Tell us your team size and your sector. We’ll come back with a quote, the right advice on qualification level, and a straight answer on whether this is the best course for your team.
We respond to all enquiries within one working day.
Our Commitment to Quality and Compliance
At Prima Cura Training, all courses reflect current UK guidance and best practice.
All trainers are experienced professionals with relevant qualifications and ongoing CPD. Because many of the organisations we support work with vulnerable individuals, all trainers hold Enhanced DBS checks.
Training is regularly reviewed against updates from the Care Quality Commission, Skills for Care, Safeguarding Adults Boards and UK legislation, including the Care Act 2014, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
You can read more on our Quality Assurance and Compliance page.
Reviewed by Stephanie Austin– Owner & Lead Trainer, Prima Cura Training | 25+ years in health and social care | 15+ years as a trainer
Last reviewed: June 2026 | Next review: June 2027
This course provides guidance on adult safeguarding in line with current UK legislation and statutory guidance. It does not replace organisational safeguarding policies, designated safeguarding lead responsibilities or legal obligations. All concerns must be managed in accordance with local Safeguarding Adults Board procedures. This page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
