Safeguard-Me Blog

Creative Approaches to Safeguarding Training Reminders

2025-02-28 09:57
As a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), one of your most crucial responsibilities is ensuring your team maintains current safeguarding training. Following our recent discussions about mastering training records and selecting providers, we now explore effective strategies for encouraging completion and tracking progress.

The Challenge of Training Compliance

Every DSL has experienced the familiar scenario: despite setting clear deadlines and sending multiple reminders, some staff members still delay their mandatory training. This isn't just frustrating - it poses real risks to your organisation's safeguarding standards.

Digital vs Manual Tracking: Making Either Work

While digital solutions offer streamlined tracking of qualifications and training with automated reminders, we understand not every organisation has access to these tools yet. Here's how to manage effectively, regardless of your resources.

Digital Solution
If you're using a digital system:
  • Schedule automated reminders at strategic intervals
  • Generate completion reports weekly to share with the leadership team as well as your wider audience. (We suggest you anonymise it for the wider audience)
  • Use dashboard analytics to identify patterns of behaviour. Is it one module always being missed or it is individuals etc
  • Enable staff self-service access to their records so they can see their status

Manual Solutions
Without digital tools, create a simple but effective system:
1. **Master Spreadsheet Setup**
  • Create separate tabs for different training types
  • Include columns for:
- Staff name
- Training required
- Due date
- Completion status
- Certificate reference
- Next renewal date

2. **Visual Training Calendar**
  • Use a wall planner or shared calendar
  • Colour-code different training types
  • Mark key deadline dates clearly

Making Reminders Engaging

Rather than sending standard "Your training is due" emails, try these approaches:
1. Personal Connection
Instead of:
"Training due by Friday"

Try:
"Hi, I noticed you haven't completed your online safety module yet. Given your great work with the Year 7s' social media project, your insights would be particularly valuable. Could you complete this by Friday?"

2. Team Challenge Approach
Create friendly competition between departments or teams:
  • Monthly completion rates leaderboard
  • Recognition for teams achieving 100% compliance
  • Small rewards for early completion

3. Progress Visualisation
  • Sounds cheesy but create a simple "training thermometer" display in the staff room
  • It’s a constant visual reminder that the training needs to be complete
  • Update weekly completion percentages and celebrate milestones publicly

Tracking Progress Effectively

Digital Method
Using the system to get results:
  • Monitor real-time completion rates to track progress against targets
  • Generate automated reports on pass and fail rates so see if one specific area could do with some more support or training
  • Send targeted reminders to specific groups rather than mass emails to all
  • Track expiry dates as some new starters might have a different date.
  • Resetting everyone to the same date, without impacting your compliance, makes it easier to keep everyone up to date

Manual Method
Whilst the admin can feel painful, creating a simple weekly routine can ease the burden:
  1. **Monday**: Review master spreadsheet
  2. **Tuesday**: Send personalised reminders
  3. **Wednesday**: Update wall planner
  4. **Thursday**: Check submissions
  5. **Friday**: Report to senior leadership

Sample Reminder Schedule

Week 1:
  • Initial friendly announcement
  • Share training objectives and modules
  • Highlight personal development benefits

Week 2:
  • First gentle reminder
  • Share completion statistics
  • Offer support for any technical issues or training help

Week 3:
  • Direct reminders to outstanding staff
  • Offer one-to-one support
  • Share positive feedback from completers

Final Week:
  • Clear deadline reminder preferably from senior leadership
  • Potentially even put time in peoples diary, not as a meeting but set aside for the training – if schedules allow
  • Individual follow-up calls

Tips for Sustainable Success

  1. Keep communication positive and supportive
  2. Make training accessibility clear
  3. Address barriers promptly
  4. Recognise and reward completion
  5. Share impact and importance regularly

Conclusion

Whether using digital tools or manual systems, the key to successful training completion lies in engaging communication, clear tracking, and consistent follow-up. By combining structured reminders with positive reinforcement, DSLs can achieve high completion rates while maintaining staff motivation.

Remember, the goal isn't just compliance - it's creating a culture where safeguarding training is valued and prioritised by everyone in your organisation.

*Looking for a more efficient way to manage training records and reminders? Learn more about digital solutions in our previous articles:*
- Mastering Safeguarding Training Records
- Scheduling training across the year
- Selecting the Right Safeguarding Training Providers

*Coming Next: "Review how incidents are reported and recorded" - where we'll explore how to assess the real-world effectiveness of your safeguarding raising concerns policies and practices.*