SAFE (Safeguarding Associates for Excellence) is a UK-based training provider specialising in child and adult safeguarding. From child protection and exploitation, to managing allegations, adult safeguarding, safer recruitment, and sexual harassment awareness, SAFE equips professionals with the tools they need to respond confidently and appropriately in high-stakes situations.
Founded by former police safeguarding specialists Simon and Jill Snell, SAFE is built on the belief that safeguarding should be led by people who’ve lived it. Their courses are designed and delivered by trainers with frontline experience – including former detectives, social workers, and frontline practitioners.
SAFE trains a wide range of sectors including education, healthcare, housing, sport, and the voluntary sector. From safeguarding leads in schools, to nurses in primary care trusts, to managers in multi-agency partnerships, their goal is the same: equip professionals to protect others, and do so with care, empathy, and legal precision.
Reducing admin to deliver more
As SAFE’s reputation grew, so did the demand for its courses. What started as a small operation in the southwest of England began expanding into other regions, and then internationally.
But the manual systems that had worked in the beginning were now holding the business back – spreadsheet bookings, individual email confirmations, back-and-forth scheduling. The admin burden was growing, and the team was spending more time chasing paperwork than planning impactful courses. They knew they needed a way to manage growth, streamline operations, and deliver consistently high-quality learning at scale.
“We needed a way to scale,” says Jill, “but without losing what makes our training different. It still had to feel personal. Still had to be high quality.”
After exploring a range of options, SAFE chose Arlo to help manage the operation side of the business which in turn allowed the team time to grow their training operation.
With Arlo, SAFE has been able to streamline its back office and make space for what matters most: delivering high quality training at scale.
With Arlo’s course templates, the SAFE team can now create and publish courses in minutes. Key information like learning outcomes, trainer assignments, and delivery formats are pre-set, meaning they only need to update details like the date or location. Scheduling tools, and automated communications have removed hours of manual admin from the team’s week. Registrations are now handled smoothly online, and learners automatically receive the information they need.
SAFE can now run multiple concurrent sessions across different formats and audiences, with full visibility of who’s booked in, who’s attended, and who’s completed the course. It’s also made it easy for the team to manage trainers and venues.
“Arlo has helped us grow, without losing the soul of what we do,” says Simon. “It’s professional, efficient, and gives learners a modern, seamless experience, right from the first moment they visit our website.”
Insightful blended learning
With demand coming from both the UK and overseas, a key requirement for SAFE was a training system that could handle different delivery formats, time zones, and compliance requirements.
By combining live sessions with elearning modules, quizzes and pre-course reading, they’re able to reinforce learning while offering greater flexibility. Arlo gives the team the flexibility to run live, instructor-led sessions, blended learning, and sector-specific programs with ease. Whether it’s a safeguarding refresher for a school in London or a bespoke course for a sports federation abroad, SAFE can manage everything in one place with Arlo’s in-built elearning tools.
Behind the scenes, Arlo’s reporting tools enable real-time insights into course performance, attendance, and learner engagement. This visibility into course trends and performance helps SAFE evaluate what’s working, make informed decisions about where to invest next, and share meaningful updates with partners and stakeholders. And, ultimately, prioritise courses with the highest impact.
“In safeguarding, the difference between someone speaking up and staying silent can change a life,” says Simon. “We’re constantly asking ourselves: what’s making the biggest difference? Arlo’s reporting gives us the visibility to answer that. We can focus on the courses that are driving real change, and bring them to more people.”
SAFE’s core value is empowering others to act. Whether it’s a teaching assistant spotting a pattern of neglect, a nurse recognising a sign of abuse, or a manager handling a disclosure with care, these moments are delicate and deeply human. The training SAFE provides helps people respond with clarity, not panic.
For Simon and Jill, it’s simple. More training delivered means more people are empowered. And more people empowered means more lives protected. With Arlo, they’re able to deliver that training more efficiently, and at scale.
“Arlo has streamlined our processes behind the scenes fantastically and the team have seen the benefit of having data stored in one platform” says Jill. “This has freed up our time to concentrate on the important things such as updating content, building relationships and pushing the business to new levels.”
The team is now exploring further automation, expanding its blended learning, and continuing to build partnerships that bring life-saving training to more people in more places.
“We’ve built SAFE around real experience and real care,” says Simon. “Arlo gives us the support to deliver that.”
