Safeguarding adults and children training online in the UK

What employers look for in an online safeguarding certificate

Your employer decides what safeguarding training your role needs, based on its own policies and the work you do. Employers look for a certificate with:

• The course name, showing it covers children and adults.
• The hours of learning and the completion date.
• A refresh date.
• A way to verify it, such as a unique certificate number.
• Content that follows current UK law and statutory guidance, for both children and adults.

The Lift College certificate does each of these. It records Safeguarding Adults and Children Training, 4 hours of learning, your completion date and a recommended refresh date 3 years later. It is a PDF issued the same day you pass, with a unique certificate number and a verification link, and the hours count towards your CPD.

What the Lift College course covers

You learn the main types of abuse and neglect, the signs to look for, and how to respond when someone tells you something. You also learn how to record and report a concern, and where Prevent fits in. There are 6 modules, each with a knowledge check:

1. Safeguarding is everyone's job. What safeguarding means, who it protects, and why the person who notices is often not a specialist.
2. Abuse and neglect: children. Physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect, with the signs you might see in a child or young person.
3. Abuse and neglect: adults. Who counts as an adult at risk, and the types of abuse named in Care Act guidance, from financial abuse to self-neglect.
4. Exploitation, online harm and Prevent. Criminal and sexual exploitation, harm that happens online, and how the Prevent duty treats radicalisation as a safeguarding concern.
5. When someone tells you. How to listen, what to say and what not to promise, and why you never investigate yourself.
6. Recording and reporting a concern. Writing down facts, not opinions, and passing your concern to your safeguarding lead, children's or adult social care, or the police.

By the end you know how to respond when a child or adult discloses abuse, and when to call 999. The final test is multiple choice, 80% to pass, with unlimited free retakes.

The law and guidance it is written around

The course page lists the law and guidance the course supports:

• Care Act 2014, section 42. In England, the council must make enquiries when it suspects an adult with care needs is at risk of abuse or neglect and cannot protect themselves.
• Children Act 1989, section 47. The local authority must make enquiries when it has reasonable cause to suspect a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm.
• Children Act 2004, section 11. Councils, the NHS, the police and other named bodies in England must carry out their work with regard to safeguarding and promoting children's welfare.
• Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026. Statutory guidance for England on how agencies work together to protect children, published in March 2026.
• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026. Statutory guidance for schools and colleges in England, in force from 1 September 2026. All staff must read part one and report concerns to the designated safeguarding lead without delay.
• Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, section 26. The Prevent duty for specified bodies such as schools, councils and the NHS.

The aim is the same for children and adults: keep people safe from abuse and neglect. The law differs, which is why the course covers both the Children Acts and the Care Act 2014.

This course, level 2 or level 3?

This course is a broad introduction for anyone. If you work regularly with children or adults at risk, Level 2 goes deeper; Level 3 is for people who help assess and act on concerns. Check with your employer, then see our guides:

• Safeguarding children level 2 and safeguarding children level 3
• Safeguarding adults level 2 and safeguarding adults level 3

How online safeguarding adults and children courses compare

These are providers AI assistants often cite for this question. Each competitor detail comes from that provider's own course page, checked 11 October 2026. "Check provider" means the page did not state it. Where a provider's course covers children only, the course name says so.

Who it suits

The Lift College course is for you if:

• You work in a school, nursery or college in a support role, such as admin, catering or site staff
• You are a care worker, support worker or personal assistant
• You work on reception, in transport or in a shop or venue that serves families
• You volunteer with a charity, sports club or faith group
• Your employer asks for basic safeguarding training covering both children and adults
• You want a short, clear starting point before Level 2 or Level 3 safeguarding

It costs £19.99, pay once, for one learner, with nothing added at checkout and a 14-day money back promise. Buying for a team? Ask about team enrolment. You must be 16 or over. Start Safeguarding Adults and Children Training, or browse all safeguarding and care courses and CPD courses.