Dr. Rosemary Godbold, Dr. Lisa Whiting, Honey-Anne Greco, Dr. Anthony Herbland
This week’s blog comes from a group
from Hertfordshire who have been working to develop a greater understanding of the efficacy of online safeguarding training.
Safeguarding training has always underpinned health and social care practices and has been mandatory for those working with at risk people in all health, care, and education environments1. The safeguarding of children is a legal requirement (section 11, Children Act, 2004)2. Safeguarding training aims to develop a workforce who feel empowered to take the appropriate action when concerns are raised so that at risk people, across the life course, are protected and receive the support that they need. Safeguarding training is offered at different levels to reflect the diversity of the health and social care workforce as well as their differing roles and responsibilities.
Within the United Kingdom [UK], safeguarding training has historically been conducted face-to-face, but the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as changes to the organisation and commissioning of services, meant that the majority was moved to online. Whilst there are undoubtedly several advantages to online learning, not least the flexibility that it offers attendees, full engagement and learning is only possible if the appropriate resources, including good internet access, are available3,4,5.
Within a UK context, the effectiveness of wholly online safeguarding training (in particular, its applicability to practice) had not previously been formally evaluated, yet Evidence-Based Practice [EBP] demands that “decisions about health care are based on the best available, current, valid and relevant evidence” 6. With this in mind, in 2023, we were commissioned to evaluate online safeguarding training that was delivered between 01.04.2021 and 31.03.2022 to a range of frontline staff within the south-east of England. During this time period, 190 safeguarding adult and safeguarding children training sessions were accessed by 5,271 delegates from statutory and non-statutory agencies.
The evaluative study
A mixed method evaluative approach was adopted; this involved the descriptive statistical analysis of 2,415 evaluation questionnaires as well as semi-structured interviews and mini focus groups with 13 employees who had undertaken safeguarding training.
Overall, both the quantitative and qualitative findings revealed that the training sessions met their aims with the attendees feeling that they had not only increased their knowledge but, most importantly, they had the confidence and ability to apply this to their practice. However, for online learning to be maximised, it was felt that the role and skill of the facilitator was crucial. Our research participants reported the need for the training sessions to incorporate engaging activities that had relevance to practice (for example illustrative case studies). Whilst some participants preferred face-to-face sessions, primarily because of the enhanced communication, overall, the online delivery was favored as it was convenient and time effective; despite this, suggestions for further enhancement of the training were made (Figure 1).
In conclusion,
Our participants were very positive about their online learning; of note is that they felt more able to respond to safeguarding issues within their working role. The flexibility that the online approach offered was very much appreciated and has been reported elsewhere, especially within a Higher Education context7. Although some participants missed having face-to-face discussions with colleagues, they felt that this could be mitigated if the facilitator used appropriate engagement techniques and if the trainees made every effort to focus on the training (rather than also, for example, attending to emails).
In summary, our evaluative mixed methods approach provided clear evidence of the positive impact of online safeguarding training with participants explaining how it had informed “practice and then it just helps you feel more confident in dealing with what you’re dealing with”. Whilst online training may not be appropriate for all circumstances, evidence of its effectiveness means that a choice of delivery that is appropriate for the subject matter, the trainees, as well as the facilitators, can be undertaken with confidence.
Ethical approval for the evaluation was granted by the University of Hertfordshire Health, Science, Engineering and Technology Ethics Committee with Delegated Authority [protocol number: HSK/SF/UH/05377].
References
- Skills for Health (2023) Why is safeguarding so important in health care? Available at https://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/news/why-is-safeguarding-so-important-in-health-care/ Accessed on 12th October 2024
- Children Act (2004) Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/31/contents Accessed on 12th October 2024
- Cullinan, J., Flannery, D., Harold, J., Lyons, S., & Palcic, D. (2021) The disconnected: COVID-19 and disparities in access to quality broadband for higher education students. International Journal of Education Technology. 18(1) 26. doi: 10.1186/s41239-021-00262-1. Epub 2021 May 21. PMID: 34778524; PMCID: PMC8137268
- Graves, J. M., Abshire, D. A., Amiri, S., Mackelprang, J. L. (2021) Disparities in Technology and Broadband Internet Access Across Rurality: Implications for Health and Education. Family Community Health. 44(4) 257-265. doi:10.1097/FCH.0000000000000306
- Ives, B. (2021) University students experience the COVID-19 induced shift to remote instruction. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. 18(1) 59. doi:10.1186/s41239-021-00296-5
- Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (2024) What is Evidence-Based Practice? Available from: https://casp-uk.net/news/what-is-evidence-based-practice/ Accessed on 12th October 2024
- Barber, M. (2021) Gravity assist: propelling higher education towards a brighter future. Available from https://blobofsproduks.blob.core.windows.net/files/Gravity%20assist/Gravity-assist-DTL-finalforweb.pdf Accessed on 12th October 2024