This online CSTF safeguarding children level 3 course is designed for clinical staff who work directly with children, young people, and/or their parents/carers, including those who might pose a risk to children. It is tailored for healthcare professionals who could contribute to assessing, planning, intervening, and evaluating the needs of children and young people at risk of harm or abuse.

The CSTF safeguarding children level 3 e-learning course delves deeply into critical areas necessary for safeguarding children effectively within healthcare settings:

Comprehensive identification techniques

• Focus on recognising signs of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse or neglect, including nuanced issues like domestic abuse and exploitation.

Impact analysis

• Understanding the profound effects of carer/parental behaviour on the well-being and development of children and young people.

Forensic approaches

• Introduction to forensic procedures in child safeguarding custom-tailored to align with various professional roles and responsibilities.

Communication skills

• Strategies for effective communication with children and young people, ensuring their active participation in decisions that affect them.

Risk and harm assessment

• Advanced techniques for conducting risk and harm assessments and formulating comprehensive management plans for maltreated children, utilising a multidisciplinary methodology.

Legal and procedural compliance

• Detailed exploration of the legal and procedural requirements for protecting looked after children and those at risk in the antenatal period.

Professional collaboration

• Emphasis on healthcare professionals' pivotal role in contributing to inter-agency assessments, engaging in serious case reviews, and effectively participating in multidisciplinary team meetings.

*This course's aims, objectives, and learning outcomes are designed to align with the rigorous standards of the UK Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF), ensuring compliance with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Care Inspectorates, and other pertinent health and social care regulations across the UK. This alignment guarantees that participants receive a well-rounded, comprehensive education that meets the highest standards for safeguarding children within the healthcare sector.

This level 3 CSTF safeguarding children e-learning course aims to provide healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills to safeguard children and young people effectively, enhancing their ability to identify, respond to, and prevent harm or abuse.

The learning objectives of this CSTF safeguarding children level 3 eLearning course are to:

• Identify various forms of child abuse and neglect, employing a child and family-focused approach for accurate detection.
• Acquire skills in conducting thorough risk and harm assessments and strategies for effective communication with children and young people impacted by these issues.
• Gain an understanding of how to navigate and implement forensic procedures within the context of safeguarding children, tailored to fit their specific professional roles.
• Develop the ability to work collaboratively in multi-agency settings, making meaningful contributions to safeguarding assessments, planning processes, and reviews, ensuring comprehensive protection and support for at-risk children and young people.

Upon completing this online CSTF safeguarding children level 3 training course, learners will be able to:

• Know potential indicators of child maltreatment in its different forms – physical, emotional and sexual abuse, neglect, grooming and exploitation to support and/or commit acts of terrorism (known as radicalisation).
• Be aware of child trafficking, female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage, modern slavery, gang and electronic media abuse, sexual exploitation, and county lines (young people involved in organised crime who are coerced to traffic drugs or other illegal items around the country).
• Understand the risks associated with the internet and online social networking.
• Be aware of the vulnerability of looking after children, children with disabilities, unaccompanied children, care leavers and young carers, and missing children.
• Understand the impact a parent/carer's physical and mental health can have on the well-being of a child or young person, including the impact of domestic abuse, violence and substance misuse.
• Understand the importance of children’s rights in the safeguarding/child protection context.
• Know what action to take if they have concerns, including to whom concerns should be reported and from whom to seek advice.
• Be aware of relevant legislation (the Children Acts 1989 and 2004, the Children and Social Work Act 2017, and the Sexual Offences Act 2003).
• Understand what constitutes child maltreatment and be able to identify signs of child abuse or neglect.
• 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 well-being of a child or young person to be able to identify a child or young person at risk.
• Identify one’s professional role, responsibilities, and boundaries and understand those of colleagues in a multidisciplinary team and multi-agency setting.
• Know how and when to refer to social care if a safeguarding/child protection concern is identified.
• Document safeguarding/child protection concerns in a format that appropriately informs the relevant staff and agencies.
• Maintain appropriate records, including being able to differentiate between fact and opinion.
• 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 the role, know who to contact if a child discloses 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: following 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.
• Identify and refer a child suspected of being a victim of trafficking and/or sexual exploitation.
• Identify, drawing on professional and clinical expertise, possible signs of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse or neglect, including domestic abuse, sexual exploitation, grooming and exploitation to support and/or commit acts of terrorism (known as radicalisation), FGM, modern slavery, gang and electronic media abuse using child and family-focused approach.
• Understand what constitutes child maltreatment, including the effects of carer/parental behaviour on children and young people.
• Have an awareness or knowledge of, dependent on role, forensic procedures in child maltreatment, with specific requirements and depth of knowledge relating to a role (e.g. where the role involves/includes forensics teams/working alongside forensics teams).
• Undertake, where appropriate, a risk and harm assessment.
• Communicate effectively with children and young people, and know how to ensure that they have the opportunity to participate in decisions affecting them as appropriate to their age and ability.
• Contribute to and make considered judgements about how to act to safeguard/protect a child or young person, including escalation as part of this process.
• Contribute to/formulate and communicate effective management plans for children and young people who have been maltreated within a multidisciplinary approach and as related to the role.
• Understand the issues surrounding misdiagnosis in safeguarding/child protection.
• Ensure that the processes and legal requirements for looked-after children, including after-care, are appropriately undertaken where relevant to the role.
• Contribute to inter-agency assessments by gathering and sharing information appropriately, documenting concerns appropriately for safeguarding/child protection and legal purposes, and seeking professional guidance in report writing where required.
• Assess training requirements and contribute to departmental updates where relevant to the role. This can be undertaken in various ways, such as through audit, case discussion, peer review, and supervision and as a component of refresher training.
• Deliver and receive supervision within effective models of supervision and/or peer review as appropriate to the role, and be able to recognise the potential personal impact of safeguarding/child protection work on professionals.
• Identify risks to the unborn child in the antenatal period as appropriate to the role.
• Apply the lessons learnt from audit and serious case reviews/case management reviews/significant case reviews to improve practice.
• Know, as per role, how to advise others on appropriate information sharing.
• Know how to (where relevant to the role) appropriately contribute to serious case reviews /domestic homicide reviews, which include children/case management reviews/significant case reviews, and child death review processes, and seek appropriate advice and guidance for this role.
• Obtain support and help in situations where there are problems requiring further expertise and experience.
• Participate in and chair peer review and multidisciplinary meetings as required.

*These comprehensive learning outcomes, along with the UK Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF), Care Quality Commission (CQC), Care Inspectorates, and other health and social care regulations across the UK, ensure learners are well-prepared to meet the complex needs of safeguarding children within healthcare settings. This alignment emphasises the course’s relevance and applicability to current professional standards and practices.

This CSTF safeguarding children level 3 course is vital for healthcare professionals directly involved with children and young people. It equips them with essential skills to recognise and respond to various forms of abuse and neglect. Emphasising thorough risk assessments, effective communication, and adherence to legal frameworks ensures comprehensive protection for vulnerable individuals.

Aligned with CSTF, CQC, and UK health regulations, this course promotes a culture of child safety and welfare within healthcare settings, enhancing professional standards and safeguarding practices. Ultimately, it plays a crucial role in upholding the well-being and rights of children and young people in healthcare environments.

CSTF Safeguarding Children (Healthcare) - Level 3 | ComplyPlus LMS™ | The Mandatory Training Group UK -