SAFEGUARDING IN HEALTHCARE - 2025/6

Module Overview

The module provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the complexities surrounding safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults. Students will be empowered to play a pro-active role in the protection of vulnerable people.
In addition to interprofessional learning, there will be opportunities for students from different professional disciplines to develop professional identity through facilitated sessions focusing on their professional background.

Module provider

School of Health Sciences

Module Leader

ROBERTS Sarah (Health Sci.)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

Actively working with families or clients that require safeguarding.

Module content

Safeguarding in context; to include legislation and the historical and political drivers of current policy in order to share lessons learnt and drive and influence own field of practice.
Recognising and responding to abuse across the life course using leadership skills and professional judgement.
The importance of interdisciplinary and interagency communication and working in relation to safeguarding.
Holistic assessments and the assessment of risk in relation to the area of practice.
The impact of abuse on children and young people and their families, including adult survivors of abuse.
Consideration of the impact of attitudes, values, beliefs, expectations, faiths and cultures on safeguarding practice.
Legal and ethical issues including consent, confidentiality, information sharing and the voice of the child.
Specific issues relating to practice, i.e. domestic abuse, fabricated or induced illness, adverse childhood experiences.
Communicating with children, young people and vulnerable adults and their families and carers.
Strategies for working with complex families.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to: provide the students with an opportunity to critically analyse and evaluate a safeguarding scenario from their area of professional practice. They will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the complexities surrounding people who are at risk and apply the evidence, policy and legislation to their field of practice. It will enable them to critically reflect on the skills required to lead and collaborate with interagency professionals to protect vulnerable people from harm.

Formative assessment Scenario based profession specific workshops will be used during the module to enable students to reflect on the evidence based knowledge they have gained and assist them in developing a clear rationale on how this may be applied in practice.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

A digital, academic poster supported by a verbal presentation analysing an actual or potential safeguarding issue for a child, young person or vulnerable adult. The poster will include:  key historical and current drivers that influence practice, policy and legislation in relation to safeguarding, Issues relating to equality, diversity and inclusion in relation to safeguarding practice and partnership working to support the development of cultural competence, Ethical issues relating to safeguarding practice including confidentiality and consent, Relevant categories of abuse, Presenting signs and symptoms and the possible long-term effects of abuse, Analysis and evaluation of a variety of assessment and risk assessment models and application of these to practice, Critical evaluation of safeguarding practice, including partnership working, related to the issue identified in the scenario, Critical reflection of own accountability and practice and service delivery, Appraisal and application of relevant concepts from literature and research. Students will upload their academic poster and a 15-minute audio presentation using their own voice which critically discusses the key issues. Students will also upload a reference list to support their work (addresses learning outcomes 1-8).

In line with Professional and Regulatory body, Codes of Practice/Standards of Proficiency, if there is evidence of unsafe practice or any breach of confidentiality, the assessment will not meet the criteria to achieve a pass.

Feedback: Continuous feedback from lecturers within module to support learning. Peer feedback within module and group work to support interprofessional learning and development. Online feedback to support learning throughout the module ¿ Tutorials to support development of academic writing

Module aims

• To critically analyse evidence-based knowledge related to safeguarding vulnerable people
• To critically apply evidence, policy and legislation to the student¿s professional field of practice
• To develop and demonstrate skills and understanding of the complexities surrounding people who are at risk and be empowered to develop professional capacity in order to play a pro-active role in their protection
• To develop skills in leading and collaborating with interagency professionals to protect vulnerable people from harm

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:  Provide students with opportunities to apply the current theoretical and methodological approaches to build a sound knowledge base, utilise interprofessional learning within a non-threatening environment to support the development of individual professional attributes and abilities within the context of shared experiential learning. This allows students to develop capacities required for successful collaborative working which is essential within safeguarding, prepare students to have a critically inquiring attitude and empower them with an ongoing professional curiosity regarding new and emerging research and policy that informs their safeguarding practice,  equip students with the skills to build upon previous expertise, challenge values, beliefs and assumptions in relation to safeguarding.

The learning and teaching methods include: Lectures, Online learning materials/ discussion board, Classroom discussions, Student-led workshops, Problem based learning, Profession led case studies/ scenarios, Group work to include scenario-based workshops.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: HCRM052

Other information

The school of Health Sciences is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas: Digital capabilities: Students will develop their digital capabilities by the production of a digital poster which will develop a good understanding of key technologies and digital tools which can be used in the context of their professional role. Employability: Students are registered healthcare professionals and will be developing skills and knowledge that can be applied to their role and will enhance their future employability. Students will develop a critically inquiring attitude and professional curiosity regarding their safeguarding practice and network with other professionals. Global and cultural capabilities: Module content incorporates perspectives and practices from a range of cultures; through conversations around culture, faith and religion, students are encouraged to diversify their knowledge and reflect on different experiences. This will support the development of cultural competence to support the diverse range of communities engaging with services. Students will reflect on cultural practices and the impact of judgements in relation to this on safeguarding practice. Resourcefulness and Resilience: Students are guided to develop the ability to reflect, evaluate, adapt, and respond flexibly to safeguarding events throughout the module and in the practice environment. This pillar is fundamental to the development of effective and safe health professionals. Scenario based examples are used to develop students¿ ability to respond effectively to situations within their professional field.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.