Double Safeguarding accolade for NTW NHS Trust
The national Safeguarding Children e-Academy, a leading UK provider of online child protection training, has achieved a major milestone after signing up the 100,000th learner for one of its signature online courses.
The landmark learner for the Awareness of Child Abuse and Neglect module - the first course to be launched by the Safeguarding Children e-Academy following its launch in 2006 - was Andrea Embleton, from Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.
To mark the accomplishment, Andrea, a community psychiatric nurse, was rewarded with an iPod by the e-Academy, presented on its behalf by Hilary Dawson, the Trust’s Associate Director of Training.
Andrea, said: “E-learning was a totally new experience to me and at the outset I was a little apprehensive as I did not see myself as being very computer literate.
“However, I found the course was very easy to follow and the format made learning a pleasure. It was great to be able to fit the course around my diary and I would recommend it to anyone who is undertaking online training of this kind for the first time.”
Gosforth-based Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust also had double reason to celebrate after learning that its success in training 2,174 members of staff via e-learning in a single month represented a record high among Safeguarding Children e-Academy members nationwide.
The Trust’s Training & Development Administration Manager, Fiona Kettle, said: “Delivering child protection training is extremely high on our list of current priorities and we are working hard to push all staff through the programme.
“Adopting e-learning has helped us train a lot of people very quickly and to a high standard. It has also meant that our face-to-face trainers have been freed to concentrate on the front-line professionals who require specialist training.”
The Safeguarding Children e-Academy, which is a standalone division of online training pioneer Virtual College, based in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, has seen its UK-wide network of predominantly Local Safeguarding Children Board members grow to 55-strong.
e-Academy manager Abby Dacres said: “The Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust team has worked extremely hard to get vast numbers of e-learners both on board and qualified from a standing start.
“In September alone, we saw 5,750 learners passing the Awareness of Child Abuse and Neglect course and with over 110,000 learners currently studying, there are real signs that our members are fully recognising the value of e-learning and driving its adoption throughout their organisations.
“e-learning is extremely flexible and can help train everyone who comes into contact with children across any number of different geographical locations and job descriptions quickly and simply.
“Our prime focus is to use online solutions to help enhance the traditional approach to education and training – to embed e-learning as best practice in the children’s workforce and help create a safer, more future for our children and young people.
“Our members are achieving real benefits from their investment, which is reflected not only in increased learner numbers, but also in the enquiries we are receiving from potential new members. We anticipate having a major share of the Safeguarding Boards in the country on board with us.”