Monday 20th November marked the first day of Safeguarding Adults Week!
Safeguarding Adults Week is an annual event that takes place across the last week of November. This year it takes place from Monday 20th November to Friday 24th November. Safeguarding Adults Week allows businesses to raise awareness for important safeguarding concerns, and celebrate the success of their safeguarding team and internal processes.
Safeguarding is the backbone of Baltic Apprenticeships. Despite some misconceptions, apprenticeships are not just for 16 – 18-year-olds, they are an accessible route into education for any age group. Therefore, protecting the rights of adults (18+) is just as important, everyone should have the right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect – especially those who are vulnerable.
We know each learner is different – so we support all our learners on an individual basis and we ensure all our teams are trained to recognise the signs of abuse and neglect and know where to record and report safeguarding concerns.
After our recent Ofsted visit in August, Ofsted inspectors concluded that our arrangements for safeguarding are effective. They concluded that our Designated Safeguarding Leads have received all appropriate training, and were impressed with our partnership with local provider networks, and regional Prevent duty coordinators.
>> Baltic Apprenticeships are Ofsted Outstanding <<
Our Safeguarding Team
Say hello to our Safeguarding and Support Manager, Debbie, and our Safeguarding and Support Officer, Laura!
Our Safeguarding team provide our apprentices with a safe space to discuss any issues and raise concerns. They work meticulously to ensure all our apprentices are supported throughout their time with us and when it is necessary, they put measures in place to provide further support.
In the 22/23 academic year, the Safeguarding team received a total of 221 learner referrals, ranging from welfare referrals that require short-term action, to support referrals where apprentices require regular check-ins and ongoing support.
As part of our processes, the team have multiple contact points, and across the 22/23 academic year, our Safeguarding team completed a total of 375 interventions. During this time, the main referral concern our team received was learners experiencing mental health issues.
>> Access our Support Centre <<
Case Studies: Safeguarding Support
Learner A
This learner didn’t feel safe around themselves after a relationship break up, so our Safeguarding team completed MHFA (Mental Health First Aid) with the learner to ensure they were safe and supported them in finding external support.
Our Safeguarding team supported them throughout their apprenticeship with check-in calls and offered signpost resources.
This learner is no longer experiencing suicidal thoughts and should they get to that point again, they know how to manage this.
This learner completed with a Distinction! 🎉
Learner B
This learner received Safeguarding support for around a year whilst they were on a Level 4 programme. This support consisted of weekly calls and signpost resources.
This learner came into Safeguarding through a Coach referral due to experiencing mental health issues and family and home life concerns.
This learner has completed their Level 3 and Level 4 apprenticeships with us and gained a distinction in both! 🎉
>> Baltic Apprenticeships are Empowering Apprentices with New Inclusive Policy <<
Case Studies: Reasonable Adjustments at EPA
Learner C
This learner left their EPA interview due to experiencing high levels of anxiety and feeling that they were unable to continue.
Our Safeguarding team supported the learner with their mental health via emails as per the request of the learner. Our Admin team and the learner’s Coach were able to contact the EPAO to organise reasonable adjustments for the learner, so they were able to resit and continue.
This learner was able to receive 25% extra time and was able to meet with their assessor the day before to ease their anxieties.
This learner completed with a Distinction! 🎉
Learner D
This learner received continuous Safeguarding support towards the end of their apprenticeship, and they also received additional support sessions from their Coach.
This learner is autistic and finds it difficult to respond to open questions, which can make a professional discussion environment stressful. This caused the learner to experience high levels of anxiety around their EPA. The assessor was made aware that they may need to be prompted for additional information and the learner received 25% extra time to help with discussion.
This learner was also worried that their mannerisms and facial expressions could come across as rude, so the assessor was made aware of this too.
This learner completed with a Distinction! 🎉
Learner E
This learner has no formal diagnosis but does experience anxiety, as well as panic attacks. This could potentially affect them during an EPA interview, so our Safeguarding team put together an additional support plan.
The support plan was submitted by our Admin team to the EPAO. This support plan requested for the learner to have a planning meeting before their interview, supervised rest breaks throughout if they feel anxious or overwhelmed, and a trusted contact to sit in with the learner while they complete their interview.
EPAO agreed to these adjustments – even without a diagnosis, which is great.
This learner is awaiting their interview date, but we know they are going to do amazing! 🎉