Information for Workers

Swindon LSCB Training Levels

LEVEL 1: Provides fundamental statutory guidance into the Safeguarding and promotion of the welfare of children). This would involve all staff who work with children and young people to ensure they have the skills as outlined in the Common Core, Skills and Knowledge of the Children’s Workforce (2005) or work regularly with children and young people outlined in Working Together( 2006).

LEVEL 2: Provides advanced research based guidance of safeguarding topics to increase skills, and knowledge for practice. This would involve those staff who not only work regularly with children and young people, but have a particular responsibility for safeguarding or are responsible for managing staff who care for children, young people and their families. It also includes those staff in a position to make child protection referrals or work collaboratively on a Multi Agency perspective.

LEVEL 3: Provides training on specific requirements eg Section 11 (Children Act 2004) to meet organisational responsibilities. This involves staff who have specific responsibilities such as delivering or commissioning services, for children, young people and families. Those who supervise in child protection or those involved in conducting Serious Case Reviews. It will also involve those managers responsible in delivering Section 11 requirements.

Working Together Target Audiences

The LSCB Training Programme is targeted at the following practitioner groups from voluntary, statutory and independent agencies:

It is important to ensure that the training involves and is available to all relevant partners. Some agencies involved in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children may not be part of a local children’s trust. LSCBs should ensure that the needs of those partners are included when setting up training arrangements .  Training and development for inter- and Multi Agency work should be targeted at the following practitioner groups from voluntary, statutory and independent agencies:

Staff in contact with children and young people and with adults who are parent/s or carers. These will be people who are in a position to identify concerns about maltreatment, including those which may arise from use of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF), and who, as a minimum, need introductory training on how to work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This includes housing and hospital staff, youth workers, child minders, private foster carers, those working with children in residential and day care settings and those working in sport and leisure settings in both a paid and unpaid capacity.
LSCB Training Levels: 1 Essential

Staff who work regularly with children and young people, and with adults who are carers, and who may be asked to contribute to assessments of children in need. This includes GPs, hospital and community health staff, family centre workers, teachers, education welfare officers, social workers, mental health and learning disability staff, probation officers. This group should have a higher minimum level of expertise: a fuller understanding of how to work together to identify and assess concerns, to plan, undertake and review interventions.
LSCB Training Levels: 1 Essential, 2 Essential/Desirable

Staff with a particular responsibility for safeguarding children, such as designated or named health and education professionals, police, social workers, and other professionals undertaking section 47 enquiries or working with complex cases, including fabricated and induced illness. Those in this group need to have a thorough understanding of Working Together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, including complex and/or serious cases.
LSCB Training Levels: 1 Essential; 2 Essential/Desirable; 3 Desirable

Operational Managers at all levels – within organisations employing staff to work with children and families, or with responsibility for commissioning or delivering services – benefit from specific training on inter- and Multi Agency practice to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Practice supervisors, professional advisers/designated child protection specialists and service managers need not only a foundation level of training, but may also need training on joint planning and commissioning; managing joint services and teams; chairing multi-disciplinary meetings; negotiating joint protocols and mediating where there is conflict and difference. Specific training on the conduct of serious case reviews will be relevant to some.
LSCB Training Levels: 1 Essential, 2 Desirable, 3 Essential

Staff who have a strategic and managerial responsibility for commissioning and delivering services for children and families may also benefit from training/development. They include those in each of the agencies listed in s11 of the Children Act 2004, any other members of LSCBs, school governors and trustees. In order to be effective, LSCBs and other local bodies such as Children and Young People Strategic Partnerships should consider their own collective development needs as a group. There are significant benefits to be derived from periodically undertaking facilitated development work in order to improve effectiveness. Provision should also be made for the induction and development of members, as necessary, so that they have the required understanding, up-to-date knowledge and skills to fulfil their roles.
LSCB Training Levels: 1 Essential, 2 Desirable, 3 Essential