Safeguarding training levels explained: who needs what

No. Frameworks use different labels, and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) says the meaning of a level varies by sector and by UK nation. Its course list shows a split by role: school staff, designated safeguarding leads, governors, and a strategic safeguarding course.

England's statutory guidance, Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE), uses no numbered levels. It sets training by role instead. Council of International Schools (CIS) workshops follow a similar step, from Foundation to Deep Dive.

This article uses three working levels: awareness (Level 1), enhanced (Level 2) and specialist (Level 3). Treat them as a planning tool. Check them against your accreditation body and your local law.

Level 1 is for every adult who works at your school or for it. That means teachers and assistants, and also drivers, guards, cleaners, kitchen staff, nurses, coaches and volunteers.

KCSIE says all staff should get safeguarding and child protection training, including online safety, at induction. It adds that the training should be regularly updated. For temporary staff, volunteers and contractors, it asks schools to take a proportionate, risk-based approach.

Run it in the first week, as part of safeguarding induction. Non-teaching staff need the same core, with examples from their own work.

Good Level 1 training is short and concrete. By the end, a new staff member can do these things.

• Name the DSL and deputies, and say how to reach them
• Describe what abuse, neglect and exploitation can look like
• Respond to a child who tells them something, without promising secrecy
• Write down what they saw or heard in plain words
• Tell the DSL the same day
• Know what to do when the concern is about an adult, including a colleague
• Follow the staff code of conduct, including online contact with pupils

Level 2 is for people who make safeguarding decisions or supervise others closely. That usually means the Head, senior leaders, heads of year, pastoral and boarding staff, and board members.

Board members need their own track. KCSIE says governors and trustees should get safeguarding training at induction. The International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) governance pack adds a training checklist and a designated safeguarding board member who takes advanced training on allegations against staff.

Anyone who hires staff needs safer recruitment training too. KCSIE asks that people involved in recruitment have appropriate training. The board's safeguarding responsibilities have their own guide.

After Level 2, a leader should be able to do the following.

• Explain the school's safeguarding duties to the board in plain words
• Handle an allegation against a member of staff, step by step
• Read a termly safeguarding report and ask useful questions
• Spot patterns, such as one class or one place on campus
• Decide when to involve the police or a local authority
• Check that hiring steps and records match the policy

Level 3 is for the DSL and every deputy. KCSIE says deputies should be trained to the same standard as the DSL. It says that training should be updated at least every two years.

KCSIE lists what DSL training should give you. Several items rest on England's local authority system, so swap in your own local route. These areas travel well to other countries.

• How referrals work and who receives them where you are
• Information sharing inside the school and with outside agencies
• The lasting effect of trauma on behaviour and learning
• Extra risks for children with special educational needs and disabilities
• Online harms, including filtering and monitoring
• Radicalisation and extremism, using Prevent training in England or your local equivalent
• How to support and advise staff who raise concerns

KCSIE also asks DSLs to refresh their knowledge at least once a year between formal courses. It names e-bulletins, meetings with other DSLs and time to read as ways to do it.

A DSL abroad has one extra job. Find out which local body takes a report, what the law says you must report and by when, then train yourself and your deputy on that route. If you are unsure, ask local counsel.

The DSL role in an international school covers the wider job.

Use these intervals as a starting point. The staff, DSL and hiring points come from KCSIE, the board point from the ITFCP governance pack, and the lodging point from the British Schools Overseas (BSO) standards. Your accreditation body or local law may ask for more.

• All staff: training at induction, then an update at least once a year
• DSL and deputies: formal training updated at least every two years, plus a refresh each year
• Board members: induction training, then regular training
• Adults who host boarders in lodgings: safeguarding training at least every three years (BSO standard 23.5)
• Anyone involved in hiring: safer recruitment training before they take part

Work from your full staff list and follow these steps. Include contractors, volunteers and agency staff.

• Mark who is alone with children, who supervises adults and who makes decisions
• Give everyone Level 1, then add Level 2 or 3 where the role needs it
• Add extras for boarding, trips, hiring and online safety
• Write a due date next to every name

Tell people their level in plain words. For a new driver you might say: "This week you do the Level 1 session. It covers who to tell and what to write down."

For the Head, you might say: "The board needs Level 2 before the next meeting. I will bring two scenarios to practise."

If a new volunteer sees something before their training is done, they do not wait. They call local emergency services if a child is in immediate danger. In every other case they follow the school's child protection procedure and tell the DSL the same day.

A visiting team will ask who was trained, on what, and when. Keep the record where the DSL can see overdue names at a glance.

Include volunteers and contractors. A record that covers only teachers leaves out people who spend time with children.

• Name, role and level
• Date completed and date due next
• Trainer or provider, and the language used
• The policy version the training used
• Who approved the content
• Any extras, such as safer recruitment