Children's charity offers safeguarding training

A third of adults in the South West have had concerns about a child's welfare, but one in five took no action

A children's charity is offering free safeguarding training to people across south-west England and the Channel Islands as part of a nationwide campaign.

The NSPCC is offering free workshops and online training as part of its Listen Up, Speak Up campaign, which runs from Monday 25 November.

The training was available to community groups, businesses and other organisations and would help them identify if a child was being neglected or abused, organisers said.

Emma Motherwell, the NSPCC's local campaigns manager, said everyone could "play a part in keeping children safe" once they knew "what to do" if they were concerned.

Difficult conversations

"This can range from practically supporting a family, being a listening ear or letting someone know about your concerns, such as a parent, a safeguarding lead for a sports club, or even contacting the NSPCC Helpline," she said.

The training would also cover signs a child might be at risk, approaching difficult conversations, and who to contact if someone us concerned about a child or their family, the NSPCC said.

Mrs Motherwell said the workshops would "run through different scenarios, talk about the things that stop people raising concerns and give some advice about broaching these conversations, which can be difficult".

The charity said it was also offering 10-minute digital sessions which any member of the public could attend.