Safeguarding Children – Level 2

Safeguarding children is a shared responsibility across society, with healthcare staff, alongside police, teachers and social workers, having certain statutory responsibilities. This Safeguarding Children Level 2 course is designed for healthcare workers who regularly interact with children or their parents/carers, providing a more detailed understanding of safeguarding and child protection. Building on Level 1, this course delves deeper into specific risks and harm children may face, as well as exploring additional concepts such as levels of need, effective advocacy, multi-agency collaboration, effective reporting and appropriate documentation.

Upon completion of this course, the learner will be able to:

• Identify subtle signs of child maltreatment and understand the appropriate levels of intervention based on severity and need.
• Explain the impact of contextual factors, such as substance misuse, domestic violence and parental health, on children’s well-being.
• Apply effective advocacy strategies to ensure children’s voices are heard and their best interests are prioritised.
• Demonstrate an understanding of professional roles, responsibilities and boundaries in multidisciplinary and multi-agency safeguarding.
• Follow correct procedures for reporting, documenting and maintaining accurate, factual records.
• Identify and respond appropriately to safeguarding risks like FGM, radicalisation, grooming, trafficking and sexual exploitation.

This course meets the outcomes for Core Skills Training Framework subject 9 Safeguarding Children, Level 2.

Subject 9: Safeguarding Children, Level 2

The learner will:

• understand what constitutes child maltreatment and be able to identify signs of child abuse or neglect
• be able to act as an effective advocate for the child or young person
• understand the potential impact of a parent’s/carer’s physical and mental health on the wellbeing of a child or young person in order to be able to identify a child or young person at risk
• be able to identify one’s own professional role, responsibilities, and professional boundaries, and understand those of colleagues in a multidisciplinary team and in multi-agency setting
• know how and when to refer to social care if a safeguarding/child protection concern is identified
• be able to document safeguarding/child protection concerns in a format that informs the relevant staff and agencies appropriately
• know how to maintain appropriate records including being able to differentiate between fact and opinion
• be able to identify the appropriate and relevant information and how to share it with other teams
• be aware of the risk of FGM in certain communities, be willing to ask about FGM in the course of taking a routine history where appropriate to role, know who to contact if a child makes a disclosure of impending or completed mutilation, be aware of the signs and symptoms and be able to refer appropriately for further care and support, including the FGM mandatory reporting duties to the police: in accordance with current legislation
• be aware of the risk factors for grooming and exploitation to support and/or commit acts of terrorism (known as radicalisation) and know who to contact regarding preventive action and supporting those vulnerable young persons who may be at risk of, or are being drawn into, terrorist related activity
• be able to identify and refer a child suspected of being a victim of trafficking and/or sexual exploitation.