Best online safeguarding courses UK, compared

Lift College safeguarding courses at a glance

Every course ends with a final test, 80% to pass with unlimited free retakes, for learners aged 16 or over. The children's courses reflect Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 and Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026; the adults' courses follow the Care Act 2014 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Prevent is not a safeguarding level. Each course above covers Prevent in one module, and Prevent Duty Training (1 hour, 4 modules) is a separate course.

Which safeguarding level do you need?

The numbered levels come from the two intercollegiate documents for health care staff; other sectors use their own guidance. Your employer decides which level your role needs.

The children's document (RCPCH, 5th edition, 2025) recommends a yearly update at Levels 1 and 2 and asks Level 3 staff to "actively participate in individual and team reflective practice". The adults' document (RCN, 2nd edition, 2024) gives the suggested hours above and calls Level 3 "the minimum level required for all registered health care staff". It asks for 50% of Level 3 learning to be participatory, and for staff new to a Level 3 post to complete at least 8 hours of tailored education within 12 months. Lift College's Level 3 courses cover the knowledge, and your employer decides how the rest is met.

Outside health care, the rules are set differently:

• Adult social care. Skills for Care's statutory and mandatory training guide (December 2025) lists adult safeguarding and child safeguarding as training for all workers, depending on their role, with a minimum refresher period of three years. It does not use numbered levels.
• Schools and colleges in England. Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 says all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection training at induction, regularly updated, with updates at least annually.

For a fuller explanation, read our guide to safeguarding training levels.

Comparison table: safeguarding children Level 2 online

Details are as each provider shows them on its own course page; "Check provider" means the page did not state it.

Lift College is the lowest priced course in this table and the only one whose page states a free refresher. NSPCC Learning also sells a Safeguarding refresher training course at £25 (1.5 hours). For more Level 2 providers, see our guide to safeguarding children Level 2 training online, and for the combined course, safeguarding adults and children training online.

Which online safeguarding training do employers accept?

No law names one provider. Your employer decides the training each role needs, and Skills for Care's guide says employers must check and evidence that workers are competent. So choose a certificate that shows:

• The right course and level for the job. Children, adults or both; Level 2 for most staff in contact, Level 3 for staff who assess and act on concerns.
• The hours of learning and the completion date.
• A refresh date. Updates at least yearly for school staff and at Levels 1 and 2 in health care; at least every three years in adult social care.
• A way to check it. A certificate number or link that a manager can verify.

Lift College's certificate records each of these, with a unique certificate number and a verification link.

Safeguarding training is not a DBS check

A DBS check is not a course. GOV.UK describes a DBS check as a way to check the criminal record of someone applying for a role, requested by an employer, a voluntary organisation or a third party acting for them. Checks run from basic, which shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions, to enhanced with barred lists, which also shows whether the applicant is barred from the role. From 5 October 2026 the fees are £20 for a basic or standard check and £41 for an enhanced check.

Safeguarding training teaches you to recognise abuse and neglect and to respond and report.

Buying safeguarding training for a team

A free Lift College organisation account takes 15% off every course for every person, so each safeguarding course is £16.99 a learner, with no account fee and no minimum. Pay by card, or by invoice on 30 day terms with your own PO number. You follow each learner's progress and can download a progress report that opens in Excel. Organisations can also enrol staff on regulated TQUK safeguarding awards on the account. Put support staff on Safeguarding Adults and Children Training, staff who work with children on Level 2 and leads on Level 3, from the safeguarding and care courses or the full list of CPD courses.

Open a free organisation account to enrol your team.