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Safeguard Disability Awareness Training Manual

The document provides training for drivers and assistants transporting vulnerable passengers in Oxfordshire. It covers disability awareness, including definitions and barriers faced by disabled people, and safeguarding training. Key areas of focus are assisting passengers with various disabilities, communication best practices, and ensuring safety for all.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
300 views16 pages

Safeguard Disability Awareness Training Manual

The document provides training for drivers and assistants transporting vulnerable passengers in Oxfordshire. It covers disability awareness, including definitions and barriers faced by disabled people, and safeguarding training. Key areas of focus are assisting passengers with various disabilities, communication best practices, and ensuring safety for all.

Uploaded by

Alks Andra
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Safeguard and

Disability !wareness
Training (D!T)

Keeping Passengers Safe

Training Manual for Drivers and Passenger


Assistants transporting Children, Young People
and Vulnerable Adults in Oxfordshire

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
1
Foreword
The Supported Transport Service at Oxfordshire County Council is pleased to provide this
package of Safeguard and Disability Awareness Training throughout our county.

We recognise that all the drivers and passenger assistants who transport children, young
people and vulnerable adults in Oxfordshire play a very important role in keeping everyone
safe and we want to train and support you in doing this.

To make sure that everyone understands what they need to do to safeguard others,
Oxfordshire County Council is offering you support in different ways: via this manual, face-
to-face training and additional assistance with reading during the training session if
required.

Our message to all the valued transport drivers and passenger assistants throughout
Oxfordshire is a simple one – everyone needs to keep passengers safe and safeguarding is
everyone͛s responsibility; we will all be better at doing it if we have increased
understanding.

This important and valuable training package will give you an awareness and better
understanding of people with disabilities whilst also enabling you to ensure that your
passengers always receive the very highest standard of safety.

Yours sincerely,

Bill Cotton (Corporate Director – Environment and Place)

Lara Patel (Deputy Director - Safeguarding)

Melanie Pearce (Service Manager Safeguarding - Adults)

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
2
What is this manual for?
The manual is for all drivers and passenger assistants who transports children, young people
and vulnerable adults in Oxfordshire. It will give you an awareness and better understanding
of people with disabilities and explains what you need to know and what you need to do to
keep all passengers safe.

Content
This manual will give you information on:

1. Disability Awareness Training:


• Definition of a disability
• Statistics on disability
• Potential barriers for people with disabilities
• Working with your passengers
• Different disabilities
• Best practices
• Fire and evacuation
• Reporting and dealing with incidents
• Practical session securing a wheelchair and mobility aids.

2. Safeguard Training:
• Picking up and dropping off passengers
• Transporting passengers
• Behaviour with passengers
• Conversations with passengers
• Physical or sexual contact
• Confidentiality
• Who to contact with concerns

This manual includes more detailed information on what we are doing countywide to keep
people safe.

What happens next?


Please read this manual with care. You will be invited to attend training and at the end of
the training, you will do a test. The test is ͚multiple choice͛ style and will include questions
relating to Safeguarding and Disability Awareness; this is to check that you have understood
what you have read and the important points from the training. During the training session,
you will be required to actively participate in group discussions, activities and practical
activities.

The main message of this training is that ‘Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility’.

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
3
1. Disability Awareness Training
Learning aims and objectives:

At the end of this course you will be able to

• Understand the meaning of a disability


• Identify a person with a disability
• Understand the requirements for assistance dogs

• Be able to assist a person with sight loss


• Be able to assist a person with a hearing impairment
• Be able to assist a person with walking difficulties
• Be able to assist a person using a wheelchair

• Demonstrate how to secure a wheelchair user into a vehicle


• Demonstrate how to push a wheelchair user up and down a curb

Q. What is your definition of disability?

A. Under the Equality Act 2010, You͛re disabled if you have a physical or mental impairment
that has a substantial and long-term negative affect on your ability to do normal daily
activities.

BUT REMEMBER: Not every disability is visible.

Q. What is life like for disabled people?

A. There are many barriers which can limit people͛s opportunities:


• Stairs and access
• Lack of understanding
• Lack of suitable transport

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
4
Working with your Passengers

• Speak directly to the person and not their helper or carer


• Don͛t make assumptions that passengers need help, ask them first
• Treat people with respect and do not speak about them as if they are not there
• Be aware of personal space and physical contact

Passengers living with Sight Loss


Conditions may include:
• Blind – sight loss
• Macular Degeneration – damaged central vision
• Cataracts – vision gets gradually foggy
• Retinitis Pigmentosa – tunnel vision
• Diabetic Retinopathy – shadows

Assistance Dogs
Assistance dogs can be for:
• Sight loss
• Hearing loss
• Therapy dogs
• Specially trained seizure or stroke awareness dogs

REMEMBER: Assistance dogs are NOT only for people with sight loss.

IMPORTANT: You can only refuse to convey an assistance dog if you have a medical
exemption certificate.

Passengers with Walking Difficulties


• Let people use their walking aids if they have one
• Don͛t hurry people as they may get flustered
• Be aware of floor surfaces/hazards they will be walking on
• If a passenger falls, do NOT try to catch them
• If they are hurt, call your office manager, the Supported Transport Hub or 999

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
5
Passengers with Learning Disabilities

• Some people with a learning disability can talk clearly and look after themselves whilst
others may not be able to communicate at all.
• A learning disability is NOT the same as a learning difficulty or mental illness.

There are different ways of communicating with passengers who have learning
disabilities:
• Communication systems e.g. Makaton
• Easy read symbols e.g. emojis
• Be patient
• Use plain speech but do not use baby talk
• Say what you mean and mean what you say to avoid confusion
• Speak with feeling
• Body language is also important when communicating with passengers

Autism

People with autism have different ways of understanding the world. Some people with
autism find it difficult to understand what we mean when we are talking, and some are
confused by rules and boundaries. Each person with autism is different with their own
preferences and needs and they can behave in unexpected ways. They may feel very
anxious moving from one place to another and when very upset they may not be able to
hear what is being said.

Common examples of behaviours associated with Autism:


• Avoiding social interaction
• Avoiding eye contact
• Taking people͛s speech literally
• Being unable to understand sarcasm
• Liking familiar routine

Epilepsy

People with epilepsy can have seizures. It is important that you have read their Passports or
other information supplied and know what to do. If a passenger has a seizure you need to
note how long this lasts and pass this message on to the relevant people.

Medical Health

You may also transport vulnerable adults who have a mental health condition such as
dementia or anxiety or someone with physical problems such as hearing or sight loss. You
will be advised on the best way to meet the passenger͛s needs by their family or care
professional.

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
6
Dementia
Additional information to consider in relation to your Passengers. One suggestion is for you
to have a checklist when you are picking up or dropping off someone who is forgetful:

Remember
• bag
• keys
• glasses
• stick
• purse/wallet
• dosette box with tablets
• coat
• hat
• lights off
• hearing aid

Also consider any additional information that you are given by a parent, carer or
establishment. For example, a carer might inform you that a child or vulnerable adult had a
very difficult evening and might be quite unsettled.

REMEMBER / you need to follow the instructions and advice you are given. Don͛t let
anyone persuade you to drop off passengers at an unplanned venue because, for example,
someone with dementia could get lost or get into difficulties and they might no longer be
safe. You may be advised not to talk with some passengers because they are too unwell to
understand clearly; please follow these instructions.

Seatbelts

• Best practice is for the driver and passenger assistant to wear their seatbelts as this
sets a good example for their passengers.
• Make sure all your passengers are wearing a seatbelt.

Practical Training

On the day of the training session, a practical demonstration will be given by video on the
following:
• Securing wheelchairs into vehicle tracking
• How to manoeuvre a wheelchair up and down a curb safely

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
7
2. Safeguard Training: Keeping Passengers Safe
Learning aim:

To develop an awareness of abuse and neglect and how we safeguard children, young

people and vulnerable adults.

Learning objectives:

At the end of this course you will be able to:

• Understand what safeguarding is


• Understand and be able to describe your role in safeguarding children, young people
and vulnerable adults
• Recognise and respond to concerns about an adult or child who is potentially in need
of safeguarding.
• Understand the procedures for making a ͚Safeguarding !lert͛

Please read these questions and answers to help you understand more about who we are
trying to protect:

Q. What do we mean by children?


A. Under the law ͚child͛ means anyone under the age of 18.

Q. What do we mean by ‘vulnerable young people and adults’?


A. Vulnerable young people or adults are those who have needs because of their mental
health, disability, age, illness or other reasons that may mean they are unable to take
care of him/herself or unable to protect him/herself against significant harm or
serious exploitation. Some people may be more likely to be abused by others because
they need help to speak, move or understand or they may have mental health
problems; this makes them vulnerable.

Q. Perhaps you are already transporting vulnerable passengers; how would you know
this?
A. They may find it hard to understand, behave in unexpected ways or have difficulty
finding their way; all of which can make them vulnerable to others treating them
badly. Other passengers may suffer from dementia, so they can͛t remember things.

Q. Who would you report to if you were a concerned about a passenger you transport?
• Speak to your manager
• Contact the Supported Transport Hub at Oxfordshire County Council
• Contact the Transport Quality Monitoring Team at Oxfordshire County Council.
• Contact Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
• Speak to the LADO

Please see page 15 for contact details

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
8
What you need to know about your passengers

Passenger Passports for Children


Oxfordshire County Council produces a ͚Passport͛ (shown below) containing important
information about each passenger. This includes:
• a photo of the passenger
• information about pick-up and drop-off points with times
• passenger likes and dislikes
• medical notes / emergency instructions
• details of their home / school contact.

These are provided for children and young people, and for some adults with learning
disability

This information will be:


• In a small plastic wallet with paper notes (see the picture above), which is carried by
the child when they travel
• Given to the passenger͛s school
• Sent by email to the passenger͛s transport provider. These can be viewed before you
go to pick up your passengers so that you are prepared.

The passports give you all the information you need to keep your passengers safe. Please

make sure you read them, understand them and act on them.

We will show you examples of these when we meet on the training course.

Passenger Passports for Adults

There will be a small minority of adults who also carry passenger passports. In contrast to

children, the passport may not be carried in a bag, but it will be accessible to the driver or

passenger assistants. The type of information on the passport will be the same as for

children.

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
9
Abuse

• An abuser can come from any background.


• Anyone can be abused; both children or adults.
• Over 80% people that are abused are abused by someone they know.

Q. What is abuse?
A. There are many types of abuse:
• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Neglect
• Self-Neglect
• Emotional abuse
• Psychological abuse
• Modern Slavery
• Domestic abuse
• Financial abuse
• Discriminatory abuse

Q. What do you think are examples of physical abuse?


A. Hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, drowning, suffocating.

Q. What do you think are examples of emotional abuse?


A. Telling someone they are worthless, unloved, inadequate, not valued for themselves,
not worth listening to, deserve to be laughed at. Calling people names, prejudice and
bullying.

Q. What do you think are examples of sexual abuse?


A. Encouraging a child or vulnerable adult to take part in or watch sexual activities. This
includes any unwanted physical contact whether inside or outside of clothing.

Neglect
Q. What is neglect?
A. Failure to meet a child or vulnerable adult͛s needs, such as:
• not providing food, clothing, medical treatment and shelter
• not protecting them from harm from others
• not responding to emotional needs

Q. What do you think are examples of self- neglect?


• Bad personal hygiene
• Malnutrition/ weight loss
• Unsuitable clothing
• Unsafe living condition

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
10
Who are the abusers?

Q. Is it always adult men who are abusers?


A. No – women can commit abuse (including sexual abuse) and so can other children.

Q. Do abusers always come from deprived backgrounds?


A. No – Abusers can come from every sort of background. Children and vulnerable adults
who are abused usually already know the person who abuses them.

There are other ways people you transport could suffer abuse:
• Forced marriage – where someone is forced to marry against their will. They can
happen in secret and can also be planned by parents, family or religious leaders. (This
is illegal, unlike arranged marriage which is legal).
• Domestic abuse – treating a partner badly. This includes humiliation, violence and
intimidation to punish or frighten them.
• Modern Slavery – when people are taken from one place to another to be exploited.
• Radicalisation – when people are encouraged to adopt radical positions on political
and social issues and when people are recruited for terrorism.
• Female genital mutilation (FGM) – the practice of removing some or all of a girl͛s
sexual parts. It is illegal in the UK and in many other countries.
• Child sexual exploitation (CSE) – a type of sexual abuse in which children are used for
sex, money, power or status. Children or young people may be tricked and think they
are being loved and that they have agreed to it. They might be invited to parties and
given drugs and alcohol.
• Grooming – when someone pretends to make friends to get someone͛s trust, so they
can eventually have sex with them. Children and young people can be groomed online
or face to face. Many children and young people don't understand that they have
been groomed, or that what is happening to them is abuse.
• County Lines – is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks
involved in exporting illegal drugs. They use dedicated mobile phone lines or the 'deal
line'. County Lines is a serious issue crossing County Council and District lines. It not
only involves drugs but also violence, criminal and sexual exploitation, modern slavery
and missing persons.

IMPORTANT STATISTICS:

• Children with disabilities are three times more likely to be abused


• Adults with disabilities are 1.5 times more likely to be abused

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
11
Safeguarding in Oxfordshire: What does all of this have to do with

transporting children, young people and vulnerable adults?

Victoria Climbie
You may have heard about the tragic death of Victoria Climbie, a young child who died
from abuse. She had been seen by many different organisations, but no-one shared their
concerns. Look at the picture below to see how many people were involved with her.
It was a taxi driver who took action to help her because he was worried about how she
looked. He ignored what her great aunt said and drove to an ambulance bay and asked
for help. Sadly, Victoria died of her injuries when admitted to hospital, but the taxi driver
had done his very best to save her.

Question:
Do you know of any examples where taxi staff have helped safeguard a child or vulnerable
adult? Or maybe where they have not helped safeguard a child or vulnerable adult?

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
12
Safeguarding Scenarios:

Lena’s story
10-year-old Lena was a child with autism who had special educational needs. Like many
children with autism she needed a clear routine and any changes in her routine needed
to be explained. If she became distressed music would always calm her down; she loved
Jessie J.
One day, her usual driver and passenger assistant were not free, and another member of
staff was sent.

Test Your Knowledge


Q. What should the replacement driver do?
A. Check details on Lena͛s passport.

Q. There are roadworks on the route and a diversion, what should the driver and
passenger assistant do?
A. Explain to Lena what has happened. Play her favourite music.

In this case study, if the driver follows the Passport instructions, Lena will travel calmly. If
not, Lena could become distressed and she could start lashing out. Not only would Lena
not be happy, but neither would her family and they may make a complaint.

THINK PASSPORT!

Ed’s story
A taxi driver was asked to pick up Ed, who had mental health problems, from the health
centre in Wantage and take him to an Oxford hospital. This was late in the evening and
the taxi driver was advised not to talk with Ed as it could upset him. The taxi driver
wanted to be friendly and chat but followed the advice and took Ed safely to hospital. By
doing so he avoided causing distress to Ed which also made it easier for the hospital staff
to help him.

Zara’s story
A taxi driver was transporting Zara, an elderly lady, from a care home to a day-care
centre and noticed she kept putting a piece of tissue on her eye behind her glasses. He
phoned the care home and they sent a care worker to the centre. Zara was taken to
hospital as she needed urgent treatment. Her family were grateful for the taxi driver͛s
prompt action.

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
13
How to keep yourself safe

If a passenger becomes violent or aggressive, remain calm and avoid shouting. Give them
space and report to your office and the transport quality monitoring team (if applicable).

It is important that you behave in ways that protect you and your passengers from risk.

You should not:


• take an unplanned detour to take a passenger home
• give a vulnerable passenger your personal mobile number for any reason
• give gifts
• befriend passengers on Facebook or other social media

You should:
• Read the guidelines provided by the council for all drivers and passenger assistants
• be professional
• avoid swearing and aggression
• always wear your ID badge
• sit lone passengers in the back seat (unless their passport says you should not)

Report any concerns you have about:


• places for drop offs
• adults paying the fares for young people
• conversations in your vehicle
• the adults meeting the young person
• the vulnerable passenger͛s behaviour or language
• A decline in a vulnerable person͛s well- being (e.g. noticeably more forgetful or tired)
• other warning signs such as bruising, drugs, self-harm

Reporting Concerns

Drivers and passenger assistants need to safeguard vulnerable passengers just like anyone
else who works with vulnerable adults, young people and children:
• If you hear or see anything which makes you think someone might be at risk you
need to tell your office, manager or one of the contact numbers on page 15.

Always remember, you are part of a team.


We never ignore reports about vulnerable passengers – safeguarding officers always

investigate.

Please remember it is your job to report information, not to investigate.

Q. What if the person you are worried about is your manager?


A. If you are worried that your manager may be abusing a child you must report this
immediately. You will not be put at risk as the result of your actions, but your
concerns will be investigated.

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
14
REPORT IT!

REMEMBER: we are all responsible for safeguarding and it is up to


everyone to help.

USEFUL NUMBERS

To report specific concerns about the abuse or neglect of an adult,


call Social and Health Care 0345 050 7666
If you are worried that your manager or any other professional in a
position of trust (e.g teacher) may be abusing a child, call the Local 01865 810603
Authority Designated Officer for Child Protection (LADO)
If you are concerned that a child may be being abused by someone
other than your manager or another professional (e.g parent). 0345 050 7666
Please contact the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
To discuss general safeguarding concerns regarding Oxfordshire
County Council contracted home to school contracted routes 01865 323500
please contact: (Mainstream Transport)

Or email your concern to the Safeguarding Team: 01865 323795


[email protected] (Special Educational Needs)

If there is an urgent risk call 999

Test your Understanding


Please use this the manual to help work out the answers.
This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.
Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
15
What should you do?
An elderly passenger does not look very well when she is picked up. You ask her next of
kin, her daughter, if she is well enough to travel. On the way to the vehicle she collapses on
the path.

Q. What do you do?


A. Ring for her to be taken to hospital.
(This is a true story. The hospital thought the elderly woman was fit to go home so
discharged her. Unfortunately, she soon became very ill and was re-admitted to hospital
and it was found that she had a blood clot in her leg. !fterwards, the passenger’s daughter
wrote to thank the taxi company for doing the right thing and acting so quickly.)

What should you do?


Q. You notice that a young person or vulnerable adult who often travels with you has
bruises on her face and arms, they look unwell but are saying very little.
A. Report your worry to your office, who will pass it on to the Multi- Agency
Safeguarding Hub (MASH) or Health and Social Care team for adults.

What should you do?


Q. A coach company was informed that one of the children usually taken home by the
coach driver was ill so would not be travelling. Should the coach driver change the
scheduling time of drop offs?

A. No - the passengers will be collected at their usual scheduled times by parents and

carers

In this scenario, the coach driver gained 5 minutes on his/her route and therefore arrived
early at the next stopping place, letting a young infant off the bus whose parent/carer had
not yet arrived to collect her. The child went home with the parent/carer of another pupil
and when the mother arrived to collect her daughter, she found that she was not at the bus
stop and panicked. What do you think the consequences of the bus driver's decision could
have been? What should he have done?

This training material was developed by Oxfordshire County Council.


Oxfordshire County Council reserve all rights in this training material (March 2022).
16

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