Welcome to the latest Ann Craft Trust Safeguarding Adults Bulletin, and our first of 2026!
You can also access a printable PDF version of this bulletin here.
I’d like to start by welcoming our new Chair of Trustees, Beverley Brooks MBE. Beverley is vastly experienced in the charity sector as well as across the NHS and Central Government. Her ability to lead change in an empathetic and supportive way makes Beverley a fantastic appointment, aligning to our organisational values of Compassion, Honesty, Integrity and Professionalism. Welcome Beverley!
I have just celebrated three years of working at the Ann Craft Trust. At times I feel like I’ve done this role forever, while at other times I still feel like I’m new!
Over the last three years, we’ve continued to develop our offer, providing consultancy and training across a range of subjects, all aimed at helping organisations improve their safeguarding adults arrangements. 2026 will be no different, and you’ll see that we have a focus on training in this bulletin. In addition, we’re launching a monthly update focused on all our available training courses, which is coming soon. We can also tailor our training to suit your organisation’s needs, so do get in touch if you want to discuss your safeguarding training requirements in 2026.
There are some fascinating articles in this bulletin too. The news article titled “People tut when my son holds his girlfriend’s hand” resonates with all of us at the Ann Craft Trust. Dr Ann Craft started the charity more than 30 years ago to raise awareness and advocate for the rights of people with a learning disability to have relationships. It is sad to see that people still face stigma, but pleasing to see the brilliant work by the likes of Supported Loving to continue advocating and supporting people.
Finally from me, you’ll see in the bulletin that we’ve already set the date for National Safeguarding Adults Week 2026, including the date for our conference. Such is the popularity of our conference that we’ve already sold some places, so don’t miss out if you’re planning your conference attending diary for the year!
Happy reading,
Stuart Sale
CEO
Ann Craft Trust
Book Your 2026 Safeguarding Adults Training Today!
We are running our Safeguarding Adults at Risk Level 3 Training for Managers and Designated Safeguarding Leads throughout 2026.
This online course will explore the roles and responsibilities of managers in terms of safeguarding adults at risk.
We’ll look at the key changes within safeguarding as part of the Care Act. You’ll be encouraged to identify where the challenges are, and to seek solutions towards implementation in practice.
We’ll cover best practice, the expectations of regulators, and the lessons we learned from our safeguarding adults reviews.
This course is for people with a safeguarding responsibility, or looking to develop for a safeguarding role. It’s also suitable for people looking for personal professional development.
We’ll be running this course twice a month. Some sessions will take place over the course of a single day. Others will be split across two days. All courses will cover the same topics, whether they take place across one day or two.
These courses tend to fill up fast, so book now to avoid disappointment!
- 8 January
- 27 – 28 January
- 4 February
- 24 – 25 February
- 3 March
- 16 – 17 March
- 15 April
- 29 – 30 April
- 12 May
- 27 – 28 May
- 10 June
- 24 – 25 June
You could also arrange for a Safeguarding Adults Audit. This will help you understand where your organisation is in terms of it’s safeguarding arrangements. It will also give you a clear set of recommendations for continuous improvements.
Learn More About Our Safeguarding Adults Audits
Safeguarding Adults Week 2025: Online Seminars and Conference Workshops
Thank you for supporting Safeguarding Adults Week 2025.
We’ve put together short summaries of the various workshops we ran at our 2025 Safeguarding Adults Conference in Nottingham. Below you’ll also find links to recordings of the numerous online seminars we ran throughout the week.
Safeguarding Adults Week 2026 will run 16 – 20 November.
View All Safeguarding Adults Week 2025 Online Seminar and Conference Workshop Summaries
Introducing Beverley Brooks MBE – Our New Chair of Trustees
“I am thrilled to be a part of the Ann Craft Trust team and to take up my role as Chair of Trustees.
“As a mother and grandmother, safeguarding is more than just a policy or a set of rules. It is an extension of my natural instinct to nurture, protect, cherish, and empower my family, ensuring they live in safe and secure environments free from abuse, neglect, and harm.”
Meet our new Chair of Trustees >>
Progress Against Predatory Marriage
Daphne Franks is a Communication Skills Teacher at Leeds Medical School, and founder of the Justice for Joan initiative. In this guest blog, she discusses the progress she’s made in her fight against predatory marriage.
Podcast: How DBS is Making Safer Recruitment More Accessible
Jodi Evans talks to Joanne Wheatley, Regional Outreach Manager at The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
Joanne discusses how she uses workshops, podcasts, and other free resources to help people understand what DBS checks are for, and which sort of checks are required for each role.
Listen to this podcast here >>
Podcast: Exploitation of Adults With Cognitive Impairments
Ann Craft Trust Head of Safeguarding Adults Lisa Curtis talks to Dr Alison Gardner, a researcher at the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab, about the exploitation of adults with cognitive impairments.
Dr Alison Gardner shares findings from a two-year research project that explored how cognitive impairments can increase risks for adult exploitation. The study explored how people are targeted for exploitation. It also asked why cognitive impairments might make one more at risk of exploitation.
Listen to this podcast here >>
New Publication: Effective Personal Tutoring in Higher Education
Dave Lochtie, operations manager at The Ann Craft Trust, contributed to this book exploring effective personal tutoring in higher education.
This is a comprehensive guide for higher education professionals engaged in student support, advising or personal tutoring roles.
News and Resources Roundup
Would you like something featured in a future Roundup? Whether it’s a new resource, a job vacancy, some research findings, or something else entirely, get in touch to tell us more.
- State of Care. Annual report from the Care Quality Commission.
- “People tut when my son holds his girlfriend’s hand.” Many adults want romantic relationships, but for people with learning disabilities it is much harder and sometimes even impossible.
- Independent Family Returns Panel: Interim Annual Report 2023 to 2024. The Independent Family Returns Panel (IFRP) provides advice to the Home Office on the safeguarding and welfare needs of families with children who face an ensured return to their country of origin, as part of the family returns process.
- UK Poverty 2025. This report sets out the nature of poverty in the UK in the run-up to 2024’s General Election. It also sets out the scale of action necessary for the Government to deliver the change it has promised.
- A National Plan To End Homelessness. This strategy recognises the scale of the crisis, setting out a path towards a better future for people like us – individuals and families experiencing homelessness and at risk of homelessness.
- Safeguarding Adults, England, 2024 to 2025: Statistical Commentary. This statistical bulletin provides an overview of findings from the safeguarding adults collection (SAC) for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
- New Guidance to Protect Young People From Intimate Partner Abuse. The guidance, aimed at practitioners working with 16- to 25-year-olds, addresses a growing concern that abuse in young people’s relationships is often overlooked or misunderstood.
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