Interview: Safeguarding Awareness Training with In-Trac

TEY spoke to student Jessica Robinson about her experiences of In-Trac Training & Consultancy’s safeguarding awareness course…

What course are you currently studying, and what are your plans for the future?

JR: At the moment I’m a full-time student at Alton College in Hampshire, studying early years education and childcare learning and development. I started it in September last year and am due to finish it next July. As part of the two-year course, I’m spending 800 hours working in settings – at the moment I’m currently working two days in a primary school, but before that I was working in a preschool.

Once I’ve completed the course I will have a professional licence to practise, but after I’ve finished I’m planning to go to university to do a teaching degree, with a specialism in early years so I can teach children up to the Year 2 age-group.

Why did you decide to take In-Trac’s safeguarding awareness training, and what did it involve?

JR: The safeguarding awareness course I took with In-Trac wasn’t part of my course at Alton, but I found out about it via leaflets that were being handed out at the college. A friend and I thought it would be a great opportunity to get something else to put on our CVs, so we decided to sign up.

It was a full-day course, covering the different categories of abuse, the national and local legal frameworks in place to protect children from abuse, and highlighting the roles and responsibilities of those working with children. It was a workshop, so it involved group work and there were lecturers who spoke to us about the different issues.

The trainer, Colin Walke, was an ex police officer and teacher who has done a lot of training with In-Trac on safeguarding and supervision. He was really knowledgeable and helpful, and was able to answer everybody’s questions, which was really good.

What did you find particularly useful about the course, and how has it benefited your study at Alton College?

JR: The course was really useful in helping me to understand how safeguarding policies apply in practice, and it helped me to get the highest grades on my college course, which was obviously very useful – so there was a definite link back to what I was doing at Alton. The issues were ones we had touched upon before, but they were covered in a lot more detail, which helped me to understand them better.

One thing I found particularly useful was the way in which In-Trac’s course explained the importance of professional boundaries, and the need for good supervision for children.

You also attended a ‘Safeguarding – Early Years Settings’ conference, organised by In-Trac. What did that involve?

JR: The conference took place over a single day. There were speakers from the NSPCC and several other foundations and charities that work with children, and their input built on what I’d learned about the importance of good supervision, and keeping children safe in early years settings.

I’d definitely recommend the course, and the conference, to other people in my position – it really helped me to understand the policies and procedures that are in place to safeguard children, and how they can be linked to early years settings.

For more information on courses available from In-Trac Training & Consultancy, visit in-trac.co.uk