Accrington based national safeguarding specialists, Personnel Checks have secured a contract with South Northamptonshire Council to deliver pioneering safeguarding training to hundreds of taxi drivers across the county.
This is one of many local authority contracts recently acquired by Personnel Checks to strengthen safeguarding awareness and to keep the public safe.
Taxi drivers in South Northamptonshire are to undertake specialist safeguarding training to spot signs of child sexual abuse and how to report concerns through a campaign as part of their licence application named “Trust2Ride”.
The introduction of the new initiative by South Northamptonshire Council’s licensing team will ensure that throughout May 2017 over 600 drivers will take part in practical and interactive workshops culminating in a short assessment of their learning.
Successful drivers will be awarded with a certificate and the “Trust2Ride” badge to display in their taxis, assuring passengers that they have been trained to protect the public.
The licensing team have been working with national safeguarding specialists Personnel Checks to strengthen their awareness and to keep the public safe.
The safeguarding of children and vulnerable people is not just the responsibility of the taxi drivers but of everyone who comes into contact with young people and the vulnerable in the course of their work.
Licensing officers recognized that existing drivers have received limited or no training on safeguarding issues. Taxi drivers are very well placed to help protect the public being the eyes and ears of towns and cities as they drive citizens around.
Nick Sutcliffe, licensing manager at South Northamptonshire Council (SNC), said: “We want to emphasise the important role of the taxi driver as local ambassadors with a duty of care to those who use their services.
“Introducing the ‘Trust2Ride’ safeguarding campaign will give members of the public greater confidence when using taxis knowing that they can look out for the badge which shows they are trained and equipped with the knowledge to keep people safe.”
