Off-the-job training

326 hrs

About 6 hours a week — in work time, not your own.

Cost to you

£0

Funded through the levy. You keep earning.

Skills England standard ST1030 · Level 3

You already spot it.
Now lead the response.

You’re the one who notices when something isn’t right. This Level 3 apprenticeship turns that instinct into a recognised qualification — and makes you the trained first point of contact your team turns to.

Register your interest Plan your time

Level 3

ST1030 v1.0

12 + 3 mo

Programme + EPA

£7,000

Levy funding band

326 hrs

Min. off-the-job training

Your career

You already do this work.
Now get recognised for it.

None of this is new to you. You already notice, you already raise it, you already care. What changes is where you stand when it matters — and what it says on your record afterwards.

Where you are now

  • You spot that something isn’t right.
  • You raise it — and hand it on.
  • Someone else decides what happens next.
  • Someone else writes it up.
  • Your judgement is trusted, but it’s nowhere on paper.

Where this puts you

  • You take the concern and triage it.
  • You decide what reaches the safeguarding lead, and how fast.
  • You document it to a standard that holds up under scrutiny.
  • You sit in multi-agency conversations as the person who knows the case.
  • You are the named first point of contact — certified, Level 3.
Support Worker Where most people start
Safeguarding Support Officer Level 3 · this apprenticeship
Safeguarding Lead With further study

Plan it

What would this actually
look like for you?

Pick when you’d start and how much time you can realistically give it each week. We’ll show you the dates — and whether your 326 hours fit.

When would you start?
Hours a week you can give it 6 hrs
3 hrs14 hrs

What your week could look like

About one day a week of real safeguarding learning — logged as off-the-job hours, all in paid work time.

  • Shadowing the Designated Safeguarding Lead during a case review
  • Being coached through a complex concern form, with feedback
  • Reviewing a safeguarding or Prevent policy and its referral thresholds
  • Sitting in on a multi-agency meeting with social care, police or health

The standard sets a minimum of 326 off-the-job training hours — in work time, not your own — logged across the 48 working weeks of the 12-month practical period, at about six hours a week. Fewer hours is fine; the programme simply runs longer. All weeks and months shown here are estimates — in practice TLC and Avenues agree a plan with you that works around leave and rotas.

What counts as “off-the-job” training?

It’s learning that happens in your paid working hours but away from your normal day-to-day duties, and it has to be directly relevant to the apprenticeship. A lot of it is learning through real work — shadowing your safeguarding lead, being coached through a live referral, observing a multi-agency meeting, structured reflection on a case you’ve handled, and mentoring — alongside e-learning, workshops and time spent on assignments.

It does not include training you’d do for your job anyway, or anything you do in your own time.

That works

On track to be certified byDecember 2027

12 months on programme, then end-point assessment — an estimated 15 months in total.

Enrol

Sept 2026

On programme

12 months

Gateway

Sept 2027

Certified

Dec 2027

Month 1326 hrsMonth 12

47 weeks

to log all 326 hours

5 weeks

of annual leave

Indicative only. These dates assume every off-the-job hour is completed to plan and the standard’s requirements are met first time. Your actual completion date depends on the hours you’re able to commit and on your own progress, dedication and readiness for assessment — so it isn’t a guarantee of being certified by a specific date. TLC and Avenues agree and review your plan with you throughout.

The standard

The operational backbone of a safeguarding response.

Safeguarding Support Officers are the trained first point of contact for concerns within their organisation. The role is designed to support qualified safeguarding leads and practitioners — not replace them. It’s a nationally recognised Level 3 qualification — the same standard wherever you go on to work.

An Avenues support worker with a man they support, in the garden

Triage

Receive, triage and prioritise safeguarding concerns so the right issues reach the right people, fast.

Signpost

Advise colleagues, signpost to the correct pathway and escalate through local referral routes.

Document

Keep secure, accurate records, logs and registers that stand up to inspection, audit and review.

Multi-agency

Support multi-agency working and referrals, keeping partner organisations connected and informed.

The programme

The milestones — and everything you’ll master.

The full route from enrolment to certified, and the knowledge, skills and behaviours assessed along the way — all in one place.

  1. 1

    Enrol & induction

    Expression of interest, eligibility checks and induction — your plan agreed with Avenues before learning begins.

    Getting started
  2. 2

    On-programme learning

    Building the knowledge, skills and behaviours, with a minimum of 326 off-the-job training hours woven into the working week.

    12 months
  3. 3

    Gateway

    Avenues and TLC review the evidence together and confirm you’re ready for independent assessment.

    Readiness check
  4. 4

    End-point assessment

    An independent assessor confirms your occupational competence against the ST1030 standard. Certified.

    EPA · ~3 months

What you’re assessed on — the KSBs

Knowledge 6 The legal and procedural foundations of the role
  • Safeguarding legislation, policies and codes of conduct
  • Multi-agency referral pathways and local escalation routes
  • Triage and prioritisation of concerns
  • Whistleblowing procedures and allegations against staff
  • Secure record-keeping and data sharing
  • Inspection, audit and review requirements
Skills 7 What you can do, applied day to day in the workplace
  • Identify and respond to safeguarding concerns within role
  • Use person-centred communication
  • Triage and prioritise concerns
  • Advise colleagues on safeguarding matters
  • Maintain accurate logs and registers
  • Support multi-agency working and referrals
  • Deliver safeguarding training to colleagues
Behaviours 5 The professional values the standard expects
  • Professional curiosity
  • Person-centred, rights-based approach
  • Reflective practice
  • Compassionate, non-judgemental communication
  • Awareness of own wellbeing and supervision needs

The 13 learning milestones

  1. Introduction to Safeguarding
  2. Legislation & Policy
  3. Recognising & Prioritising Concerns
  4. Communication & Trauma-Informed Practice
  5. Allegations Against Staff
  6. Record-Keeping & Data Protection
  7. Using Data & Escalation
  8. Referrals & Wellbeing
  9. From Theory to Practice
  10. Learning from Case Reviews
  11. Educating & Supporting Others
  12. Quality, Assurance & Inspection
  13. Reflection, Supervision & Self-Care

How it compares

A specialism — not another induction tick-box.

Every care worker already covers safeguarding at induction — the Care Certificate’s Standard 10. This is a different order of thing: a dedicated, externally assessed specialism, not one topic on an induction checklist.

Induction baseline

Care Certificate · Standard 10

  • A few hours of self-assessed learning
  • No external assessment
  • One topic among 15 induction standards
  • No defined ongoing safeguarding role
  • The baseline every care worker gets
Nationally recognised role

L3 Safeguarding Support Officer

  • 12 months of work-based training + EPA
  • Externally assessed and credentialed
  • A dedicated specialism, not one topic among many
  • The trained first point of contact for concerns
  • Fully funded — staff train while they earn

Everyone starts with the induction basics. The Safeguarding Support Officer takes it much further — a full, externally assessed specialism that turns baseline awareness into a trained, named first point of contact for safeguarding concerns.

Who it’s built for

Built for the workforce around qualified leads.

For the people who already hold the safeguarding role day to day — now with the training, structure and recognition to match.

This is a national standard, developed by a trailblazer group including NHS England, Mencap, multiple local authorities, ICBs, NHS foundation trusts, fire and rescue services, police support, housing providers, charities, religious organisations and education providers — specifically for the workforce around qualified safeguarding leads: the people who already hold the role in practice, not just on paper.

At Avenues, that means the people already supporting autistic people, people with learning disabilities and people with acquired brain injuries — now formally trained in the safeguarding role they hold.

An Avenues support worker with a young woman they support, on a day out

Typical job roles

How it fits

It complements qualified social work — never overlaps it.

Four ways the Safeguarding Support Officer role sits apart from — and strengthens — qualified social work.

Different

Workforce

Trains non-practitioner staff — administrators, support workers and coordinators — rather than qualified social workers.

Different

Role

Focuses on triage, signposting, documentation, escalation and multi-agency support — not statutory decision-making.

Different

Funding route

Levy-funded through the apprenticeship route — entirely separate from DfE social work programme funding.

Different

Outcome

Strengthens the workforce around qualified practitioners — reducing the burden on social workers by ensuring the operational and administrative side of safeguarding is handled by competent, trained staff.

A partnership, not a package

Brighter futures start with safer foundations.

This programme was built with Avenues, not sold to them — shaped around how their teams really work and the people they support. It’s fully funded, completed in your work time, and leads to a nationally recognised Level 3 qualification for the safeguarding role you already hold. Registering takes a couple of minutes, with no commitment.

Register your interest