Safeguarding & Duty of Care

TISCUK provides a vital service to organisations that work with children, young people and vulnerable adults. As a leading organisation in trauma informed training and consultancy we strive to ensure the very best in quality training and support for our delegates.

Before embarking on the application process, we ask you to note that our trauma-informed trainings are an emotionally powerful experience and can be experienced at times as emotionally challenging. Please be aware of this before applying. Unless delegates have sufficiently addressed their painful life experiences leading to personal awareness, insight, and robustness, it is not possible to be truly emotionally available to the distress of others.

As part of our duty of care to applicants, on the application form for our longer courses, we ask about traumatic life experiences. This is never from a judgemental position but to support you. People who have experienced trauma and processed it with an emotionally available adult tend to be superb practitioners as they are not afraid of a child’s pain or distress and know about empathy and the power of telling your story to someone who is trained to listen. We also ask about any medication you are taking to ensure we can support you effectively. If you indicate that you have experienced significant trauma, our Wales Safeguarding Lead will contact you to:
- Explore whether past trauma has been sufficiently processed.
- Ensure sufficient support is available to you.
- Offer additional supports if needed.

In some cases, it is extremely beneficial for delegates to share their information with their Home Group Tutor (HGT). The HGT is a TISCUK colleague whose role is to support small groups of delegates to develop the skills taught on the course and to support reflection and self-awareness. If they have some insight into areas you may need support in, this can be invaluable. In some cases, we may recommend seeking support before or during the course. We may also defer your application or parts of the course until adequate emotional support is in place.

Your information will be kept confidentially and securely in line with GDPR and our Data Retention Policy for 6 years, after which it will be destroyed. Any questions can be directed to the lead trainer for your course.

For more information about the application process and trauma history, please see this clip from Dr. Margot Sunderland [here].

Housekeeping for Online Courses

Many of our TISCUK courses are delivered online via Zoom or have at least some elements of online delivery. If you are accessing an online course:

• You must have a working microphone and camera (non-negotiable) so we advise you check out your device before you start your first training session. From a learning perspective, it is vital that you can engage with the group and your trainers, but also from a safety perspective, it is imperative that our trainers are in regular visual contact with you. If you need to contact your trainer at any time, please do remember to make contact via the ‘chat function’, email or phone.
• Ensure you are in a secure, safe space where the content cannot be overheard. Although headphones can go some way to protecting those around you, when working in small groups you will have to hold confidentiality for the participants in your group and for yourself, so having people coming in and out of your room is not ok as they will be able to hear what you are saying even if they can’t hear the group responses. 
• Your safety is important and if we believe you have logged into the session whilst for example walking to collect your children from school or from the car on your way to work, we will remove you from the session for your own safety.

Important:
- Do not access sessions via mobile while en route (e.g., driving or walking).
- If you are unable to attend or running late, please contact your trainers or Lindsay (lindsay@traumainformedschools.co.uk).
- Protect confidentiality: avoid disturbances and people overhearing the training and group discussions.

Safeguarding

Although TISCUK does not work directly with children, we follow government guidance in relation to the safeguarding of children and young people, appropriate to the nation within which we are working.

• We have due regard to all national statutory guidance and ensure our trainers access regular safeguarding training appropriate for their role.
• If a trainer becomes concerned about a child, young person, or vulnerable adult, they will share concerns with the TISCUK Safeguarding Lead.
• Concerns about adult practice on courses will also be reported.
• For delegates joining us from outside the UK/ROI, safeguarding laws in your country take precedence, and you should also be aware of your local referral routes. We apply UK safeguarding principles as a baseline standard.
• We want delegates to feel safe enough to share thoughts and reflections on the course. Although your HGT will share ongoing themes and reflections on your learning with the leader trainer, anything you share in small group discussions will be treated with respect and confidentiality, unless a safeguarding concern arises in relation to you or someone else, or there is a concern about your practice or learning on the course.
• If delegates have any concerns about TISCUK staff or training practice, please discuss these with your lead trainer if you feel able to do so, otherwise, delegates can raise concerns via our safeguarding leader and/or our whistleblowing policy.

Our Safeguarding Policy is available upon request.

TISCUK Code of Ethics

We also have our Code of Ethics for our practitioners. Professional conduct when working as a Trauma Informed Practitioner with children and young people is an important part of
our work.
You can find the Code of Ethics here.

Self Care During Training

We know that our training can be emotionally powerful and sometimes challenging. To help you feel supported, here are some ideas you may find useful:

• Take breaks when you need them
  Delegates are welcome to take a short break if course content feels overwhelming. Please let your trainer know in the chat or privately so we can check in with you.
• Create a safe space
  Make your training environment as calm and private as possible. Consider having water, tissues, or a comfort item nearby.
• Use grounding strategies
  Breathing exercises, stretching, or a short walk after the session can help you process strong feelings.
• Talk it through
  You may find it helpful to share your reflections with a trusted friend, colleague, or supervisor after a training day. It is also helpful to plan some calming activities after training days.
• Journal or note-take
  Writing down thoughts, feelings, and key learnings can help you integrate the material in a safe and reflective way.
• Know who to reach out to
  Remember, you can check in with trainers, request a debrief with one of our psychotherapists, or contact our Safeguarding Lead at any time. External helplines and support services are also available — see our Urgent Help and Support page for details.

Ongoing Support

Our training can be emotionally challenging. To support you, we offer:

• Check-ins with trainers before or after training days.
• One-off debriefs with Psychotherapists for challenging content.
• Signposts and further information on external support (see Urgent Help and Support tab on the TISCUK website here).
• Access to the TISCUK Safeguarding Lead: katie@traumainformedschools.co.uk.
• Supervision sessions can also be contracted by delegates who wish to have an ongoing reflective space with a supervisor approved by TISCUK