Trainees need Level 3 training in both child and adult safeguarding.
At the start of the training programme in the trainee’s first post in ST1 all trainees need to receive training on both child and adult safeguarding and in particular have the knowledge of the appropriate action to take if there are any concerns. This can be done through local training or online resources and documented by the trainee in their ePortfolio.
This learning then needs to be applied throughout training. Information on both child and adult safeguarding needs to be documented within the trainee’s ePortfolio within each training year and made available to the ARCP panels.
It is recommended that demonstration of on-going learning come from participatory and non-participatory training activities.
Participatory
- Attending face to face training
- Group case discussion
- Reflection on the learning from a case the professional has been involved in and how this applied to their practice
- Webinars
- Attendance at safeguarding practice meetings
- Demonstrating how learning gained from reading the RCGP Child Safeguarding and Adult Safeguarding toolkits has been applied to clinical practice
Non-participatory
- E-Learning
- Reading the RCGP Child Safeguarding and Adult Safeguarding toolkits
- Relevant safeguarding guidelines of journal articles
Both participatory and non-participatory learning which supports safeguarding needs to be linked in the ePortfolio to the clinical experience group,‘People with health disadvantages and vulnerabilities’.
Minimum requirements
All trainees require a knowledge update, which includes adult and child safeguarding at the start or early part of each training year, i.e. ST1, ST2 and ST3. This includes key safeguarding information and appropriate action to take if there are any concerns. This evidence must be documented in the trainee’s ePortfolio
All trainees require a minimum of one participatory piece of learning and reflection for both adult and child safeguarding in each training year. This needs to be added into the ePortfolio during the training year and not just before the trainee’s ESR*.
*It is recognised that if the trainee does not have any posts within a specific training year which include children then although it would be still recommended for these trainees to understand and document their learning about child safeguarding this would not be mandatory.
As with all areas of the curriculum the ES will be asked if the trainee is competent in safeguarding in their final review. However, if in any post the supervisor has concerns about the trainee they will need close supervision and support when dealing with cases that may have safeguarding implications.
The Intercollegiate Documents and RCGP supplementary guidance on safeguarding
Nationally recognised frameworks have been designed to guide all health professionals and their teams to identify the competencies they need in order to safeguard children and adults. These include:
The Intercollegiate Documents (ICDs)
RCGP supplementary guide
The ICDs and the RCGP supplementary guide refer to a minimum number of hours required for safeguarding training. GP trainees are not expected to reference ‘number of hours’ within their learning log. If a trainee demonstrates within each training year a range of participatory and non-participatory learning in both child and adult safeguarding as documented above, this will be considered equivalent.
Transition arrangements
All trainees need to be made aware of the updated requirements for Child and Adult Safeguarding.
For trainees who are having ARCP panels in or after June 2020 then the new requirements need to have been completed and visible in the trainee’s ePortfolio. Trainees will be given an Outcome 5 if this information is not present.
Trainee’s who have ARCP panels before June 2020 need to comply with the current Child safeguarding requirements. They should equally be encouraged to complete the adult safeguarding requirements but should not be given an Outcome 5 if these are absent.