Safeguarding awareness
Licensing requirements changed on 1 July 2024
Find information and guidance in our notice on the new requirements (PDF 196KB).
The Department for Transport's (DfT's) Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards published in 2020 include a requirement that all licensing authorities should provide safeguarding guidance to the trade and should require taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to undertake safeguarding training.
We all have a responsibility to keep children and vulnerable adults safe from harm and abuse. Taxi and private hire licensees, particularly licensed drivers, and individuals working for private hire operators and taxi booking platforms are in a unique position to identify and help take steps to prevent the abuse, exploitation or neglect of children and vulnerable adults.
By understanding early warning signs and knowing what to do when there are concerns that a child or vulnerable adult is at risk, taxi and private hire licensees can play a significant role in preventing harm and abuse.
In line with the DfT's Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards, we have developed a Safeguarding Awareness course for taxi and private hire drivers and all other licensees.
We expect all licensees to undertake the Safeguarding Awareness course at the earliest opportunity. We also encourage staff working for PHV operators and taxi booking platforms to undertake this training. It is an important tool that will help all licensees to understand the role that they have to play in the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults.
Applicants for a new or renewal PHV driver licence are strongly recommended to undertake the Safeguarding awareness course prior to sitting the Safety, Equality and Regulatory Understanding requirement assessment, which has been mandatory for all drivers since 1 October 2021. Please visit our SERU webpage for more information on the requirement.
The course can be completed on a laptop, desktop, tablet or mobile.
It is free to access for any user and can be taken or reviewed as many times as required.
Safeguarding awareness course
Navigation tips: You can use the mouse and tab keys to hit next. Look out for pages titled in pink, as this means it's an interactive page.
We expect all applicants and licensees to undertake the course at the first available opportunity.
The course consists of 29 slides. Once you get to the end of the course, a message will be displayed stating that you have completed the course and can close your browser.
You will not receive a certificate and you do not need to inform TfL that you have completed the course.
We have made some changes to the online safeguarding course for taxi and PHV drivers first published on 1 October 2021. The course is designed to raise awareness of safeguarding and the role drivers can play.
Changes have been made to:
- Ensure the wording remains current and appropriate
- Reflect updated Government 'Working together to Safeguard Children Guidance' that can be found at Working together to safeguard children 2018
We will continue to review the course content at regular intervals.
How and where to report
If you feel like someone is in immediate danger, then please call 999. If it is not an emergency, you can call 101.
If you would like to report concerns, you have a number of options and can also do this anonymously. You can report to:
Guidance for private hire operators
Operators should ensure that any safeguarding concerns raised by licensed drivers or other employees are reported. You can report to the police by calling 101, or 999 if there is an emergency.
When a report is made, all relevant information should be recorded as it may be required as part of an investigation. This will include (but is not limited to) journey booking details, what was seen, when it was seen and when the incident(s) occurred.
Additional safeguarding resources
Additional resources on Safeguarding you may wish to review:
The DfT's Statutory Standards - published in July 2020, the Statutory Standards provide a range of recommendations to improve safety throughout the taxi and private hire trades and include a section on Safeguarding.
The DfT's online toolkit - includes useful signs about things to look out for, along with informative videos of the various different types of abuse.
NSPCC Learning - the NSPCC has an informative section on Safeguarding of children specifically and includes links to a range of resources.
Operation Makesafe - a Met police campaign developed in partnership with London's boroughs to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation in the business community.
NHS conditions - this section contains information on the abuse and neglect of vulnerable adults, including the different forms of abuse and what signs to look out for.
Further information and accessibility
If you experience any difficulty viewing the course or are unable to access the content, please email us on TPH.Enquiries@tfl.gov.uk. Please include your contact details and a brief explanation of the problem.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of the Safeguarding awareness course in a more accessible format, please email us on TPH.Enquiries@tfl.gov.uk and an accessible version will be emailed to you.