Safeguarding in Music Education

This course provides an introduction to safeguarding and child protection and how that can relate to music education specifically. It focuses on a range of safeguarding issues, including abuse, radicalisation, online safety and other associated areas. The content will offer guidance on how to take action in relation to safeguarding and it is suitable for anyone working in music education or tutoring.

Once you have completed the course, you will:

• Have an awareness of the range of legislation and guidance surrounding safeguarding and the protection of children
• Be able to define the different types of child abuse
• Be able to demonstrate an awareness of the various indicators of abuse and neglect
• Be able to recognise vulnerabilities to radicalisation
• Understand potential online safety risks
• Be aware of the effects of personal values and attitudes towards abuse
• Understand your responsibility to report concerns
• Be aware of the importance of maintaining a child focus
• Be able to demonstrate an awareness of the actions to take in the event of suspected abuse

The content intersects with the aims of several areas of legislation and guidance, such as The Children Act (1989), The Prevent Duty (2015), Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) and other key statutory and non-statutory regulation and support.

Music education can generate a very different set of circumstances than general education, so it is important to consider child protection in relation to these environments. This short, scenario-based module is designed to help you assess your current knowledge and begin thinking about issues surrounding abuse and safeguarding that may manifest.

By the end of the module, you will have a clearer understanding of your own level of knowledge.

It is a sad truth that child abuse, radicalisation, cyberbullying and child sexual exploitation all still commonly occur in the United Kingdom. This module will introduce you to the terminology of safeguarding and define key words and concepts that will inform the rest of the course.

By the end of the module, you will have an increased awareness of those most vulnerable to abuse, on what scale abuse occurs, and the definitions of key terms such as ‘child’, ‘young person’ and ‘safeguarding’.

Over the years, a number of pieces of legislation and guidance have been implemented to help safeguard and protect children and young people in the United Kingdom. The purpose of this module is to help you understand what legislation is in place and why it is needed. You will not be expected to be able to quote the laws themselves, but it will help with good safeguarding practice if you have an overview of them. It is vital that all staff understand the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead Person (DSL).

The course takes into account:

• Working Together 2018 and Keeping Children Safe in Education (England)
• The Rights of Children and Young Persons Measure (Wales)
• Getting It Right for Every Child (Scotland)
• Co-operating to Safeguard Children and young people in Northern Ireland

By the end of the module, you will have a better understanding of the main safeguarding-related legislation and guidance. You will also consider the vital role played by the DSL in ensuring effective safeguarding takes place. The module will also look at the lone-working aspect of music education.

In this module, we'll explore what 'early help' support means and why it's so important for the well-being of children. We'll use case studies to illustrate its use. 

You'll also discover how these services fit into a ‘continuum of support’ where services are based on different thresholds of need used by the local authority. Universal services provide the basic needs for most children (Level 1), while early help support (Level 2) helps those with a low level of need. For more serious needs, there are higher levels of support, including interventions from statutory services. 

This module will support your ability to recognise those children and young people who are potentially at risk. You will look at what safeguarding is concerned with and it will help you to define the main types of child abuse. It will then move on to consider the specific categories of abuse.

By the end of the module, you will have a clearer understanding of the difference between child protection and safeguarding. You will also know more about the specific categories of safeguarding and the impact they can have.

As you will have seen in earlier modules, children often find it difficult to discuss abuse and abusers can become very skilled at covering their tracks. It is therefore vital that we can recognise the possible signs of abuse.

At the end of this module, you will have a better understanding of the signs of physical, emotional and sexual abuse, and neglect. You will also have an outline of the professional responsibilities expected of music education professionals.

This module looks at the role safeguarding should have when it comes to online safety. The content will give you an overview of the potential for risk when children are online in relation to, amongst other areas, grooming, sexting and cyberbullying.

The module will also remind you of the legal position should you be made aware of an incident, and will outline ways of empowering children and young people to be safe and report issues when online.

By the end of the module, you will have extended your knowledge of the risks associated with technology, the different aspects of online safeguarding in music education, specific risks children may be exposed to and effective online safety practice.

This module examines the best practices for using mobile devices safely and effectively in a music education setting. It covers strategies for managing pupils' data responsibly and ensuring privacy and security during lessons. The module also emphasises the importance of aligning your technology use with school-specific cybersecurity policies and safeguarding standards.

All education providers have a legal duty to protect children and young people from exposure to extremism.

This module places the Prevent strategy in the context of the music education environment and considers the way in which radicalisation can affect a child, and the groups that may attempt to induct a young person into their ideology.

By the end of the module, you will have a greater understanding of the signs of radicalisation and what to do should you feel a child or young adult is in danger under the Prevent strategy.

The focus when working on safeguarding or dealing with a potential abuse scenario must be the safety of the child. Maintaining a child focus is key to the process of identification & reporting because, statistically, it is sadly the case that children sometimes report several times before any action is taken. The learning you complete in this module will be contextualised in a realistic situation so that you can see how a ‘child focus’ can be achieved.

By the end of this module, you will have a better understanding of what it means to be child-centred in your approach. You will understand the responsibilities placed upon those who work with children and young people in relation to documenting decisions made and actions taken.

This part of the course builds on the work we did in earlier modules. Children can disclose in a number of ways, so while you want to maintain confidentiality where appropriate, you also need to know when to report and to whom. It is vital that you respond quickly and appropriately when presented with a disclosure of abuse, and this module covers the right process to follow and what to do (and what not to do) to achieve the desired outcome.

By the end of this module, you will have a better understanding of the correct procedures to follow in response to a potential abuse situation and what to do if you have concerns about the behaviour of an adult. A step-by-step guide is included, which will help you to refer any concerns you may have.

You will now take all that you have learned and apply it to an assessment of your knowledge. The final assessment is your opportunity to show how much you have absorbed and why it is so important to have child protection and safeguarding training.

Once you have passed your assessment, you will be able to download your certificate. Your pass rate will be 70% but don’t worry if you do not pass the first time, as you can take the test multiple times.