This course is for people who work or volunteer directly with children or adults at risk: school support staff, care and health workers, youth and community workers, sports coaches, and hospitality and leisure staff in contact roles. If you only meet such people now and then, a Level 1 awareness course may be enough. Level 2 goes further. It teaches you to recognise more kinds of harm, to handle a disclosure, to know the referral routes and to share information lawfully.
What this course is not
- It is not Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) training. A DSL needs much more, set by their employer and by statutory guidance.
- It is not a regulated qualification and not Care Certificate training.
- It does not replace what your employer must still do: have its own safeguarding policy, name a safeguarding lead, follow the procedures of the local safeguarding partnership, vet and induct its staff, and train them for the role.
Find out on your first day who your safeguarding lead is and where the policy is kept.
Who is covered
- A child is anyone under 18. A 16 or 17 year old is still a child for safeguarding.
- An adult at risk is, in the words of the Care Act 2014, an adult who has care and support needs, is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect, and cannot protect themselves because of those needs.
The main law and guidance in England
- Children Act 1989. The child's welfare comes first. Section 17 covers children in need. Section 47 requires the council to make enquiries when it has reason to suspect a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm.
- Children Act 2004. Councils, the police and the NHS must work together to safeguard children. Local safeguarding partners publish their arrangements. Since 30 September 2026 its section 16LA (added by the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026) also places an information sharing duty on organisations such as councils, schools, the NHS and the police (lesson 8).
- Working Together to Safeguard Children. Statutory guidance on multi-agency work. A 2026 edition was published on gov.uk in March 2026.
- Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). Statutory guidance for schools and colleges, updated most years. The 2026 edition is in force from 1 September 2026. All school and college staff must read Part 1.
- Care Act 2014. Sections 42 to 47 cover adult safeguarding: council enquiries, Safeguarding Adults Boards and Safeguarding Adults Reviews.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005. Rules for people who may not be able to make a decision for themselves.
- Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. The Prevent duty.
- Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, section 5B, inserted by the Serious Crime Act 2015. The mandatory reporting duty for FGM.
- Domestic Abuse Act 2021. A legal definition of domestic abuse.
- Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. Barring and referrals to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
- Crime and Policing Act 2026. It creates a mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse for people in regulated activity with children in England. The duty starts on a date the government sets, with guidance published first. Until then, and afterwards too, report every concern to your safeguarding lead at once.
Guidance changes. Always read the current edition on gov.uk before you rely on it.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Safeguarding is devolved. The ideas are the same, but the laws and forms differ.
- Scotland: Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007; Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014; child protection guidance for Scotland; Disclosure Scotland and the PVG scheme.
- Wales: Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the Wales Safeguarding Procedures. Wales has a duty to report that applies to relevant partners.
- Northern Ireland: Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland, and AccessNI for checks.
Follow your own employer's policy and local procedures.
Key points
- Level 2 is for staff in direct contact. It is not DSL training.
- Your employer must still give you its policy, a named lead and local procedures.
- Children are under 18. Adults at risk have care and support needs.
- Check current guidance on gov.uk, because editions change.