Safeguarding Adults & Children Awareness

Course Overview

Safeguarding does not announce itself. It rarely arrives as an obvious crisis, a clear disclosure or an undeniable incident. It arrives as something smaller: a comment that doesn’t quite fit, a change in someone’s behaviour that’s hard to put into words, a situation that feels uncomfortable but difficult to justify acting on.

Our Safeguarding Adults and Children Awareness training is built around that reality. It is designed for staff across all sectors who work with or around vulnerable adults, children or both, and who need a clear, grounded understanding of what safeguarding looks like in practice, what their responsibilities are and how to respond appropriately within their role.

This course is delivered as a combined adults and children awareness programme as standard, but we know that not every organisation needs both. If your setting works exclusively with adults, we can deliver this as a standalone safeguarding adults awareness course. If your setting works exclusively with children, we can deliver it as a standalone safeguarding children awareness. The content, legislation and scenarios are adjusted to reflect whichever population your staff actually work with.

This is awareness-level training. It gives staff the foundation they need to recognise concerns, understand the frameworks that govern safeguarding in England, and know what action to take without overstepping professional boundaries. It is suitable for staff at any level of prior safeguarding knowledge, whether they are new to the subject or refreshing an existing understanding. For staff who need to go deeper into either adult or child safeguarding, our Safeguarding Children Level 2 training and dedicated Safeguarding Adults training cover each framework in full.

Training is grounded in current UK legislation and statutory guidance, including the Care Act 2014 and its statutory guidance, the Children Act 1989, the Children Act 2004, and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026. It also reflects expectations from the Care Quality Commission and Ofsted.

Course Details

  • Duration: Half day or full day
  • Delivery: Face-to-face in-house, or remote via Zoom or Teams
  • Certificate: CPD-accredited Safeguarding Adults and Children Awareness certificate
  • Validity: Refresher recommended every 1–2 years, or in line with organisational policy or legislative updates
  • Group size: Flexible

Who the Course Is For

This course is suitable for any member of staff who works with or around vulnerable adults, children or both, and who needs a solid safeguarding foundation. That includes:

  • Care and support workers in residential, domiciliary and supported living settings
  • Healthcare staff in community, primary and secondary care
  • Early years practitioners and childcare staff
  • School and education support staff
  • Community and voluntary sector workers
  • Managers and supervisors across health, care and education
  • Administrative and non-frontline staff who have contact with service users or families

It is particularly relevant for those who:

  • Work directly with adults who have care and support needs, or with children and young people
  • May encounter or need to recognise and report a safeguarding concern
  • Are expected to understand and follow safeguarding procedures
  • Need a clear introduction to both adult and child safeguarding frameworks
  • Are new to a role or organisation, or refreshing their knowledge

This is awareness-level training. For staff who require a more in-depth understanding of child safeguarding responsibilities, our Safeguarding Children Level 2 training builds on this foundation. Separate Level 1 and Level 2 courses are also in development across both frameworks.

Why This Training Is Important

Safeguarding is a legal and professional responsibility that sits with every person who works with vulnerable individuals, not just with designated leads, managers or safeguarding specialists.

For adults, the Care Act 2014 established the statutory framework for adult safeguarding in England. Under Section 42, local authorities have a duty to make enquiries where an adult with care and support needs is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect and is unable to protect themselves as a result of those needs. The Care Act statutory guidance sets out six principles that must underpin all adult safeguarding work: empowerment, prevention, proportionality, protection, partnership and accountability. These principles reflect a fundamental shift from a purely protective approach to one that recognises the adult’s right to make decisions about their own safety, while ensuring those in greatest need receive proper support and representation.

For children, the Children Act 1989 establishes that a child’s welfare is paramount and places duties on local authorities to investigate where there is reasonable cause to suspect significant harm. The Children Act 2004 strengthened multi-agency cooperation through Section 11, placing a statutory duty on a wide range of organisations to carry out their functions with regard to the need to safeguard and promote children’s welfare. Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 is the current statutory guidance governing how agencies must work together to protect all children under 18 in England. The 2026 edition places a stronger emphasis on anti-discriminatory and inclusive practice, reinforces that safeguarding applies to all children in all circumstances, including unborn children where concerns exist, and further develops the Family Help model connecting early intervention and statutory support.

The CQC expects CQC-regulated providers to demonstrate that staff recognise safeguarding concerns, know how to respond and follow correct procedures. Ofsted expects the same across education and early years settings. The question inspectors ask is not just whether training has been completed. It is whether staff actually understand their responsibilities and can apply them when it matters.

When safeguarding concerns are missed, delayed or mishandled, people are harmed. Serious case reviews across both adults and children consistently show that the warning signs were often present and visible to someone who did not know what they were looking at, or did not feel confident enough to act. This course addresses that gap directly.

What You Will Learn

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

  • Understand the legal and regulatory framework for safeguarding adults and children in England
  • Recognise the different types of abuse and neglect applicable to both adults and children
  • Identify early signs, indicators and patterns that may suggest someone is at risk or being harmed
  • Understand the key differences and similarities between adult and child safeguarding frameworks
  • Understand risk factors and what makes individuals more vulnerable in particular contexts
  • Know how to respond appropriately to a concern or disclosure
  • Follow correct reporting and escalation procedures within their organisation
  • Understand the importance of multi-agency working and how their role fits within it
  • Maintain appropriate professional boundaries
  • Record concerns accurately, clearly and without delay
  • Understand when and how information can be shared in a safeguarding context

Course Content

  • Introduction to safeguarding: what it is, why it matters and who it applies to
  • Legal framework: Care Act 2014, Children Act 1989, Children Act 2004, Children and Social Work Act 2017
  • Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 and the Care Act statutory guidance
  • The six principles of adult safeguarding
  • Types of abuse and neglect: adults and children
  • Recognising signs, indicators and patterns of harm
  • Contextual safeguarding: exploitation, online harm, domestic abuse, coercion and control
  • Risk factors, vulnerability and what increases risk
  • Responding to concerns and disclosures: what to do and what not to do
  • Reporting and escalation procedures
  • The difference between adult and child safeguarding frameworks in practice
  • Information sharing, confidentiality and the legal basis for sharing
  • Multi-agency safeguarding: how it works and where your role fits
  • Professional boundaries
  • Record keeping and documentation
  • Lessons from serious case reviews and safeguarding adult reviews

How the Course Is Delivered

Training is delivered face-to-face at your workplace or chosen venue, or remotely via Zoom or Teams.

Sessions are practical and grounded in real situations across both adult and child safeguarding contexts. Learners are encouraged to think through genuine scenarios rather than abstract theory, connecting what they learn directly to the people and settings they work with.

Training includes:

  • Real safeguarding scenarios drawn from adult and child safeguarding practice
  • Structured discussion around uncertainty, decision-making and escalation
  • Reflection on individual roles within wider safeguarding systems
  • Application of reporting procedures in realistic situations

Where appropriate, we can incorporate your:

  • Organisational safeguarding policy and reporting procedures
  • Local safeguarding partnership arrangements and contacts
  • Setting-specific risks and the adults or children your service supports
  • Any relevant inspection feedback or previous safeguarding learning

Training that connects to your actual context is training that holds when it matters.

Certification and Validity

Learners receive a CPD-accredited Safeguarding Adults and Children Awareness certificate on completion.

Refresher training is recommended every 1–2 years, or sooner, where:

  • Statutory guidance has been updated
  • A safeguarding incident or concern has occurred within the organisation
  • A staff member’s role changes and brings new or different contact with vulnerable individuals
  • Inspection feedback identifies gaps in safeguarding knowledge or confidence

In-House and Bespoke Training

All training is delivered in-house or remotely and built around your organisation and setting. We can:

  • Align training with your safeguarding policy and reporting procedures
  • Incorporate your local safeguarding partnership’s processes and contacts
  • Tailor delivery to your specific setting: care, healthcare, education, community or voluntary
  • Support staff at different levels of experience and prior knowledge

We do not deliver a one-size-fits-all course with your name on the delegate list. What we deliver is safeguarding training that reflects the real situations your staff will face and the specific systems they are expected to follow.

Course Location and Service Areas

We deliver in-house training at your workplace or chosen venue, which means staff learn in the environment they actually work in, with examples and discussion relevant to the people they support.

Our trainers work across Manchester and Greater Manchester, with regular delivery throughout the North West. We also deliver nationwide, covering the North East, Midlands, London, Surrey and across South England via our experienced associate network.

Every session, wherever it’s delivered, is held to the same Prima Cura standard.

FAQs

What is safeguarding adults and children awareness training?

It is foundation-level safeguarding training for staff who work with or around vulnerable adults, children or both. It covers what safeguarding means in practice, the legal frameworks that apply, the types of abuse and neglect staff need to recognise, how to respond to a concern or disclosure, and how to follow reporting and escalation procedures within their role. Awareness training is not specialist or level-specific. It is the baseline that every member of staff in contact with vulnerable people should have. It is relevant whether someone is new to their role or refreshing existing knowledge, and whether they work in care, health, education, the community or the voluntary sector.

What is the difference between safeguarding adults and safeguarding children?

The legal frameworks and the principles behind them differ in important ways. Adult safeguarding under the Care Act 2014 is built around six principles: empowerment, prevention, proportionality, protection, partnership and accountability. Adults with capacity have the right to make their own decisions, including decisions about their own safety, and the safeguarding response must respect that. Child safeguarding under the Children Act 1989 and Children Act 2004 operates from the principle that a child’s welfare is paramount. Thresholds and intervention powers are generally more prescriptive for children. This course explains both frameworks and how they apply differently in practice.

Is safeguarding training a legal requirement?

Not in the sense that a single law names a specific course. But the duty to safeguard is statutory across both adult and child frameworks, and organisations must be able to demonstrate that their staff are trained and competent to recognise and respond to concerns. For CQC-regulated providers, the CQC expects evidence of safeguarding competence across the workforce. For education settings, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 sets out clear training expectations. For local authority functions and partner agencies, the duty under Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 requires organisations to carry out their functions with regard to the need to safeguard and promote children’s welfare. Training is how organisations build evidence of competence.

How does this relate to CQC and Ofsted inspection expectations?

Both the CQC and Ofsted assess whether safeguarding is genuinely embedded in practice, not just documented in a policy. Inspectors look at whether staff understand their responsibilities, can recognise a concern and know how to respond. For CQC-regulated providers, safeguarding competence links to Regulation 13: Safeguarding Service Users from Abuse and Improper Treatment, and to the Safe key question in the Single Assessment Framework. Awareness-level training for all staff is a foundational part of evidencing that standard.

How does this awareness course differ from Level 1 and Level 2 training?

Awareness training provides the foundation: legal context, types of abuse and neglect, recognition, response and reporting. It is appropriate for all staff who have contact with vulnerable people, regardless of prior knowledge. Level 1 training builds on that foundation with more detail, scenario practice and setting-specific application. Level 2 training adds depth in role-specific responsibilities, thresholds, complex situations and contributions to multi-agency processes. Separate Level 1 and Level 2 courses for both adults and children are in development.

Related Courses

Book or Enquire

If your organisation wants all staff to have a clear, current and confident understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities, get in touch, and we’ll build a session around your setting and workforce.

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 statutory updates, including Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025, and UK legislation, including the Care Act 2014, the Children Act 1989, the Children Act 2004 and the Children and Social Work Act 2017.

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: April 2026 | Next review: April 2027

This course provides guidance on safeguarding adults and children in line with current UK legislation and statutory guidance, including Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 and the Care Act 2014. It does not replace organisational safeguarding policies, designated safeguarding lead responsibilities or legal obligations. All concerns must be managed in accordance with local safeguarding partnership procedures. This page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

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