In short
Safeguarding training levels come from the intercollegiate guidance Adult Safeguarding: Roles and Competencies for Health Care Staff (second edition, July 2024). Level 1 is for all staff, Level 2 for staff with regular contact with patients, clients, their families or carers, or the public, and Level 3 for staff who assess, plan, deliver or evaluate care where there are safeguarding concerns. Both it and Skills for Care give three years as the minimum refresher period.
The levels at a glance · Which level do I need? · Refreshers · Evidence for CQC · FAQs
Job adverts and training matrices mention “safeguarding Level 2” or “Level 3” without explaining them. This guide covers where the levels come from, who needs which, refreshers and CQC evidence. For the six principles, signs of abuse and raising a concern, see our practical guide to safeguarding adults.
Where the safeguarding levels come from
The levels are set out in Adult Safeguarding: Roles and Competencies for Health Care Staff, an intercollegiate document first produced in 2018 with a group of royal colleges and professional bodies. The second edition was published by the Royal College of Nursing in July 2024, with a review date of July 2027. It is non-statutory guidance, and it defines “staff” to include all health and social care staff who work or volunteer with adults who may be at risk of abuse.
The Care Act 2014 statutory guidance (paragraph 14.209) says the document details the levels of training required for different staff groups, and the CQC lists it as best practice guidance on safeguarding. The same guidance (paragraph 14.102) says employers must ensure staff, including volunteers, are trained in recognising abuse or neglect, how to respond and where to go for advice. Skills for Care’s statutory and mandatory training guide for adult social care employers (updated December 2025) lists adult safeguarding for all workers, dependent on role, without numbered levels.
Safeguarding Levels 1, 2 and 3 at a glance
Each level builds on the one below. The hours are the document’s suggested figures, which it describes as indicative.
Level 1: all staff
The minimum for all staff, including agency and voluntary staff, in any health or social care setting – its examples include reception, administrative, catering, domestic and maintenance staff. Staff should recognise potential indicators of abuse, harm and neglect, know what action to take and who to report to, and have a basic knowledge of the law. Suggested time: 2 hours over the 3-year refresher period, with Level 1 learning completed within 6 weeks of starting.
Level 2: regular contact
The minimum for staff with regular contact with patients, clients, their families or carers, or the public. It adds knowing how and when to refer to social care, documenting concerns, separating fact from opinion in records, sharing information appropriately and awareness of radicalisation risk. Suggested time: 3 hours per 3 years; staff moving into a Level 2 role should reach it within 6 weeks.
Level 3: assessing, planning and delivering care
For staff engaged in assessing, planning, delivering care and/or evaluating the needs of adults where there are safeguarding concerns, as appropriate to their role. It covers risk assessment, contributing to inter-agency assessments and safeguarding enquiries, and documenting concerns for legal processes. Suggested time: 8 hours over 3 years, half of it participatory (face to face or online virtual classrooms); e-learning should not be the primary or sole method. Staff should also show reflection on at least three different aspects of safeguarding, adult and child, over three years.
Levels 4, 5 and board level
Level 4 is for named professionals and safeguarding leads, Level 5 for designated professionals in commissioning and integrated care systems, and a board level covers chief executives and directors, including in private and charitable providers.
What level safeguarding training do I need?
The document says its staff groups are examples only, and that training should be allocated by each person’s level of contact and involvement with the people they support. Senior managers or safeguarding leads should review the allocation and include it in the training needs analysis. Read against the definitions, a care setting tends to look like this:
- Reception, admin, catering, housekeeping and maintenance staff match the Level 1 examples.
- Care and support workers with regular contact with the people they support and their families fall within Level 2 at least.
- Staff who assess, plan or review care where there are safeguarding concerns fit Level 3. The 2024 edition opened Level 3 to non-registered roles such as support workers and healthcare assistants, and it names care home managers as an example.
- Safeguarding leads sit at Level 4 and should have at least 3 years’ experience in a role requiring Level 3.
The Care Certificate standards, used to support induction, also include Standard 10 (Adult safeguarding) and Standard 11 (Safeguarding children). Mental capacity runs alongside every level: the intercollegiate document includes Mental Capacity Act and deprivation of liberty competencies – see our Mental Capacity Act guide.
How often should safeguarding training be refreshed?
The two main documents differ slightly:
- Skills for Care (adult social care): refresh adult safeguarding when people’s care and support needs change or a new risk or activity is introduced, with a “minimum refresher period” of three years. Workers who complete a recognised adult social care qualification covering the topic in that time do not need to refresh for another three years from completion.
- The intercollegiate document: staff “should receive refresher training every 3 years as a minimum”, and adult safeguarding competences should be reviewed annually as part of appraisal.
Refreshing is not repeating. Staff refresh at their own level only – a Level 2 worker completes Levels 1 and 2 but refreshes at Level 2 – building on what they already know. CQC guidance on Regulation 13 says training should be updated at appropriate intervals.
What about safeguarding children?
Children’s safeguarding has a separate intercollegiate document, so its levels are not covered here. For adult social care, Skills for Care lists child safeguarding for all workers, dependent on role, based on Care Certificate Standard 11. It should be refreshed at least every three years if the worker has not achieved the Care Certificate standards or a recognised adult social care qualification in that time.
How to evidence safeguarding training for CQC
CQC guidance on Regulation 13 says that, as part of their induction, staff must receive safeguarding training that is relevant and at a suitable level for their role. Guidance on Regulation 18 says training needs must be assessed at the start of employment and reviewed at appropriate intervals. Be ready to show:
- Who needs which level – your training policy or training needs analysis.
- Who has done it, and when – a training matrix and certificates. The intercollegiate document says records of formal training must be kept in the employee’s personal file or organisational record.
- That learning reaches practice – Skills for Care says employers are responsible for checking and evidencing competence on an ongoing basis, as part of supervision.
- Level 3 reflections – case reflections, safeguarding supervision or a course with written reflection.
For the matrix itself, see our guides to evidencing staff training for CQC and the mandatory training checklist.
Safeguarding training levels FAQs
What are the safeguarding training levels?
The intercollegiate document Adult Safeguarding: Roles and Competencies for Health Care Staff (July 2024) sets out Levels 1 to 5 plus a board level. Levels 1 to 3 cover most care staff: all staff, staff with regular contact, and staff who assess, plan, deliver or evaluate care where there are safeguarding concerns.
What level safeguarding training do I need?
Your employer decides, based on your level of contact and involvement with the people you support, and should record it in its training needs analysis. Care workers with regular contact with the people they support fall within Level 2 at least; some roles need Level 3.
What is safeguarding adults Level 2?
The minimum level for staff who have regular contact with patients, clients, their families or carers, or the public. The intercollegiate document suggests 3 hours of training per 3 years and says Levels 1 and 2 can be completed using e-learning.
Who needs safeguarding Level 3?
Staff who assess, plan, deliver or evaluate care for adults where there are safeguarding concerns, as appropriate to role. Since the 2024 edition this can include non-registered roles such as support workers, and care home managers are a named example.
How often should safeguarding training be refreshed?
Skills for Care gives a minimum refresher period of three years for adult safeguarding, sooner when care and support needs change or a new risk or activity is introduced. The intercollegiate document says every 3 years as a minimum, with competences reviewed annually at appraisal.
Key takeaways
- The levels come from non-statutory intercollegiate guidance (second edition, July 2024).
- Level 1: all staff. Level 2: regular contact. Level 3: assessing, planning, delivering or evaluating care where there are concerns.
- Your employer allocates the level by role.
- Three years is the minimum refresher period in both main documents; refresh sooner when needs or risks change.
- Keep records, competency checks and Level 3 reflections ready for the CQC.
Sources
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