Bespoke eLearning helping create a safer, brighter future for children

Setting the Scene

Children First is Scotland’s national children’s charity, working to ensure every child has a safe and happy childhood. The charity amplifies children’s voices, advocates for their rights in policy and law, and campaigns for lasting change. They strive to build a safer, brighter future for every child. Part of their work involves giving training to Safeguarders, volunteers who work to protect the rights and wellbeing of children going through legal decision-making processes. Helping them to understand what’s happening and making sure their voices are heard.

At a glance

Children First support not only their own staff and volunteers, but also many other volunteers and professionals who work to support children’s rights and needs. To help all of them and especially Safeguarders to have the knowledge they need to work confidently and effectively, Children First and eCom created two practical, interactive eLearning modules.

Results:

More confident decision making: Staff and Safeguarders now have clear understanding on child health inequalities and development.
Stronger safeguarding practice: Practical, scenario-based learning helps volunteers feel confident in applying their knowledge.
Consistent, accessible learning: The new modules offer a repeatable, easy to access way to build skills across Scotland’s child protection network.

The Challenge

Working with children and families isn’t always simple. Staff and Safeguarders often face situations where health, development, and family life overlap.

Common hurdles include:

Understanding health inequalities and their impact.
Spotting early signs of developmental delays.
Knowing how to talk confidently about child development, disability, or support.
Avoiding assumptions about children or families, especially where poverty or neglect is involved.

The Solution

As part of the ongoing partnership between Children First and eCom, eLearning was chosen as the most suitable approach because it ensures that staff and Safeguarders have easy access to clear, consistent information that supports their understanding and builds confidence in their roles. It allows individuals to engage with the training at a time that suits their own schedules, which is particularly important for Safeguarders who volunteer their time. Additionally, eLearning makes it possible to reach a geographically dispersed audience efficiently while keeping organisational costs to a minimum.

Two eLearning modules were created to teach important knowledge and practical skills;

Child Health Inequalities in Scotland: Exploring how inequalities affect children’s health and development and how to discuss this with professionals.
Child Development: Explaining typical development, spotting delays, using current disability language, and support families without raising false expectations.

The modules focus on real-life skills:

Seeing each child as an individual.
Asking smart questions about family support.
Collaborating with professionals when extra help is needed.
Applying learning to reports, recommendations, and advocacy.

Building on the trust of multiple years of partnership eCom took on the instructional and design strategy for creating the two modules. Utilising our expertise in digital learning design, learning theory, accessibility design, and our experience creating engaging and informative eLearning. eCom created interactive, scenario-based modules that easily integrate into learners’ busy schedules.

The Benefits

The eLearning modules created by eCom and Children First ensure staff and Safeguarders have the knowledge, tools, and confidence to support children effectively. These modules show that accessible, practical learning can make a real difference, strengthening Scotland’s child protection and support system, one child at a time.

Staff and Safeguarders now have a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of child health inequalities and child development. This stronger foundation enables them to make more informed and confident decisions when assessing cases, identifying risk, and determining the best advice to give for children and families.

The new eLearning modules provide a reliable and easy-to-access training experience that can be revisited as needed. This ensures that everyone—regardless of location or schedule—has access to the same high-quality information. As a result, skills and understanding are strengthened across Scotland’s child protection network, supporting a more unified and consistent approach.

The introduction of practical, scenario-based learning gives opportunities to apply their knowledge in realistic situations. By practising how to respond to challenges they may face in real situations, Staff and Safeguarders feel better prepared, more capable, and more confident in carrying out their responsibilities.