Report safeguarding concerns to local social services or your Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland. Call 999 if someone is in immediate danger. At work, also follow your organisation’s reporting procedure without delaying urgent help.
Knowing your workplace procedure helps you put safeguarding learning into practice. Royal Open College’s Safeguarding Training Courses Online support CPD learning about recognising concerns and reporting them. Explore the range and choose courses that match your responsibilities and your employer’s training requirements.
Report your concern to the local service responsible for safeguarding children or adults, depending on who needs help. Service names differ across the UK, so the table below shows which team to look for.
Use the service’s published reporting form or telephone number. For urgent concerns outside office hours, look for its emergency duty service.
You can contact these services directly as a relative, neighbour or member of the public. Reporting does not require employment in care or an organisation’s safeguarding lead.
Respond to a disclosure by listening calmly, taking it seriously and explaining that help may involve sharing information. Give the person space to speak without pressing them for a detailed account.
For example, a child might describe being frightened of someone who regularly looks after them. Let them explain what worries them without suggesting what that person might have done. This helps preserve their own account for the professionals handling the concern.
Include the person’s details, your specific concerns and any immediate safety needs in your safeguarding report. Provide what you know but do not delay reporting because some details are missing.
A useful report includes:
Separate your observations from information supplied by someone else. For example, distinguish an injury you saw from an explanation a colleague gave you.
At work, use your organisation’s approved recording system and keep the information secure. Record when you submitted the concern and any advice you received.
Seek the adult’s consent where safe but some circumstances justify sharing information without it. Explain your concern and ask what they would like to happen next.
If they refuse, listen to their reasons rather than assuming they do not understand the situation. They may fear retaliation or worry about losing support from someone they rely on.
Seek safeguarding advice where their refusal leaves serious concerns unresolved. Relevant considerations include risks to others, possible serious crime, coercion and capacity to make the particular decision.
Refusing help does not automatically mean someone lacks the mental capacity to make that decision. Staff should follow local information-sharing procedures and document why they share information or decide against it.
Share only information relevant to protecting the person or others. Keep the adult involved wherever possible, including explaining what will happen with their information.
Follow up with the receiving service and escalate unresolved concerns through your workplace or local safeguarding procedures. Ask whether your report arrived and who is responsible for reviewing it.
Keep a note of your follow-up conversation, including any reference number and agreed next steps. Pass on new information if the situation changes or further incidents occur.
If your manager is implicated, use an alternative reporting contact identified in your organisation’s policy. You can also contact the relevant statutory safeguarding service directly.
Limited feedback does not necessarily mean nobody has acted. Confidentiality can restrict what services tell you, particularly when you are reporting concerns about someone else.
Waiting for certainty or assuming somebody else has reported can delay a safeguarding response. Another problem is treating a concern as an ordinary complaint when someone’s safety needs attention.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Royal Open College offers Safeguarding Training Courses Online covering children, adults and safeguarding leadership responsibilities. These courses support CPD learning about recognising concerns, responding appropriately and understanding reporting procedures.
Choose the content according to the situations you encounter and decisions your role involves. Someone receiving disclosures needs different learning from someone coordinating referrals across a service.
CPD study supports knowledge development, it is separate from regulated qualifications and workplace competence assessments. Before enrolling, ask your employer which learning outcomes you need and how these relate to local procedures.
All Categories
Top Courses
Health Care
Health and Social Care
Abuse can take different forms and recognising the differences makes safeguarding concerns easier to understand. Child safeguarding commonly groups abuse into physical, emotional and sexual abuse, alongside neglect. These categories can overlap and appear in different settings. This guide explains what each type means and how to recognise important warning signs in everyday safeguarding practice.
Adult safeguarding brings together protecting people from harm and respecting their choices. In England, six principles guide how these responsibilities work together in practice. Understanding them can help you consider both someone’s safety and the support they want. This guide explains each principle with practical examples to help you connect the guidance with everyday care.
Safeguarding starts with the everyday steps we take to protect children’s safety and wellbeing.It means protecting children from harm while supporting their welfare and development. This includes noticing concerns early and helping children access support. Responsibilities vary depending on your role and setting. Explore how safeguarding works across the UK and what it means for people working with children.
Royal Open College provides high-quality online courses covering a variety of topics along with certificates issued by top organisations.
Quickly and easily check the validity of your
Royal Open College course certificates with Royal Open College’s Course Certificate Validator tool.
Payment methods possible
Copyright © 2026 Royal Open College. All Right Reserved.
Not a member yet? Register now
Are you a member? Login now
