Why DSL Training Is Beneficial For Your Staff Members And Your School

The Statutory guidance 2018, requires every school to have a designated safeguarding lead so that safeguarding can be a priority. DSL training is designed for staff working within a safeguarding role and is put together to ensure that those who deal with safeguarding issues, are fully equipped with the knowledge to cater for and meet the needs of children and families
A secondary school student walking towards the school building.
Share Post:

An introduction into DSL training

DSL stands for โ€˜designated safeguarding leadโ€™ whose role it is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the pupils and families within your school. The Statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2018 requires every school to have a DSL (2) so that safeguarding can be a priority. DSL training is designed for staff working within a safeguarding role and is put together to ensure that those who deal with safeguarding issues, are fully equipped with the knowledge to cater for and meet the needs of children and families.

Who is DSL training suitable for?

DSL training is ideal for numerous roles within the school, such as the head teacher, deputy head, family liaison officer, pastoral staff or any other position that is related to child protection and safeguarding within your school. DSL training is suitable for new members of staff as well as experienced staff who may want to receive the training to either further their knowledge or to update their training. We here at One Education offer DSL training and it is recommended that you update your DSL training every 2 years (1).

Why is DSL training important?

Safeguarding your pupilโ€™s top-trumps anything that is going on within your school, the safety and wellbeing of your pupils is always the most paramount thing, and that is why DSL training is important. When a child, parent, teacher discloses something to you, you need to have the knowledge and skills of how to deal with and report this effectively and efficiently. DSL training will provide you with the information to do this, how to meet your schools safeguarding duties as well as how to protect yourself as a member of staff.

What the training will teach you:

The training is very in-depth and consists of a full days training โ€“ it is broken down into practical training, legislations and numerous activities to involve the room and spark discussions. Here is a brief breakdown or what the training will cover:

  • What safeguarding a child entitles and why itโ€™s important
  • The role of the DSL in the school
  • How to create a safer school environment
  • How to identify risks or causes for concern
  • How to report, record and refer
  • How to learn from past mistakes – the training will look at previous case studies and serious case reviews to see what went wrong, so that we can learn from them and improve our future practice
  • What the legislation says
  • Challenges that schools may come across and face
  • Different types of abuse and detrimental factors that children may face
  • How early help assessments work
  • How to deal with disclosures and allegations

How will this DSL training benefit yourself and/or your school?

The training will leave staff members feeling confident and aware of how to deal with safeguarding issues as well as equip them with the tools to effectively contribute towards child protection. In addition to this, the training will also make you aware of the current statistics and prevalence of safeguarding issues.

Here is what some of our previous attendees have had to sayโ€ฆ

โ€œHighly informative training, very up to date and a good mix of informationโ€

โ€œA very thorough and well organised courseโ€

โ€œVery knowledgeable and approachable traineesโ€

โ€œAll aspects of the course were useful and it was well organisedโ€

Come and join us at our next DSL training!

If you have any queries, you can contact us via email at: safeguarding@oneeducation.co.uk

If you would like to book your place to refresh your training or attend your first DSL training, then we are next delivering our DSL training on the 14th of June and you can book your place online.


References:

1 – Kidscape Training FAQs

2 – Gov: Keeping Children Safe in Education


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sophie has a degree in Child Health and Wellbeing and has worked in a voluntary capacity with RDA and as a Group Leader for NCS. This has given her experience of working with special needs students as well as those with challenging behaviour.

Please get in touch or visit our safeguarding page for more information.

In other news

Login to your account

Search our website

Request a brochure

Please fill in your details below to receive our free brochure.

Sign up to our Newsletter

Please fill in your details below to sign up to our newsletter.

Request a call back

Please fill in your details below to receive a call back from a member of our team.