Guardian handbook

I am delighted to welcome you to the role of Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, and – as the National Guardian for the NHS – it is my privilege to lead the network of Freedom to Speak Up guardians. 

In your role you are supporting a culture of belonging and trust in all its forms, in addition to providing that valuable, additional route for workers to speak up. Your role is vitally important in providing that listening ear and to encourage a culture of making speaking up business as usual.

You are joining a passionate network of guardians who, like you, are committed to supporting Speak Up, Listen Up, and Follow Up across the country and supporting patients and colleagues, through promoting a culture of learning and improvement.   

Please use the peer-to-peer support available to you through your Freedom to Speak Up Guardian networks and stay connected to the work of the National Guardian’s Office, keeping up to date with our bulletins.

Speaking Up protects patient safety and worker wellbeing, but to work, leaders at all levels must Listen Up and Follow Up. Leaders and guardians need to work together to identify and reduce barriers to speaking up.  

I would like to encourage you all to regularly meet with your executive and non-executive Freedom to Speak Up leads, to discuss any emerging themes or topics of interest. You can also sign them up to our newsletter via the link on our website and ask them to complete Follow Up training.   

I hope you find the content of this handbook helpful. 

Dr Jayne Chidgey-Clark,  

National Guardian for the NHS 

As a registered guardian, you will receive our Freedom to Speak Up Guardian bulletin by email. This contains important news and updates for Freedom to Speak Up guardians.

It is important you read the bulletin, so you do not miss announcements and learning. If you aren’t receiving the bulletin, please check your junk folder and add us to your safe senders list. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, contact us to check your email address.

We hold regular webinars for guardians on a variety of topics – these will be promoted in our bulletin, which will also contain information on how to register.

Previous webinars are available on YouTube. 

As a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, there are two areas of the National Guardian’s Office website that you have access to. One area is open to everyone interested in the work of the National Guardian’s Office and includes a page on how to find your guardian. 

Once registered, your details will appear on this page, therefore it is important your contact details are correct. Please contact [email protected] if you have any amendments.

The second area is password protected for Freedom to Speak Up guardians only, and can be accessed from the menu bar: 

You are required to log in each time you use this area and to enable access to the links within this handbook.

Once you are logged in, you can access many resources including: 

• Mentor contacts
• Network chair contacts
• National Guardian’s Office guidance 
• Data Submission Dates

Please note: You can only access these links when logged in to the password protected area. Saving the web address to your favourites will make it easier to find in the future.   

Forgotten passwords, please contact [email protected] 

Congratulations on completing your training. Should you need to review any of the modules, please log back into your ME Learning account and you can review as often as you wish, alternatively there is a downloadable booklet within ME Learning that you can print or save for future reference.  

Within three months of completing foundation training part 1, you are required to have made an appointment with a guardian mentor for a reflective conversation. If you are unable to access a guardian mentor, please contact [email protected] and we will assist you.

See Annex 1 for instructions on how to find a mentor and what your reflective conversation will entail. This is a mandatory requirement to complete your training. Once complete, please update your training record on the portal with the completion date and your mentor’s name. 

Your mentor is there to facilitate your reflective conversation, for further ongoing support it is important your join your regional/national networks and find a guardian buddy. 

Annual refresher training supports your learning and development needs within the fast paced, ever improving Freedom to Speak Up agenda. 

It is your responsibility to comply with training requirements and milestones and to inform the National Guardian’s Office of anything that is likely to impact on completing those milestones in order that we can help support and explore solutions. If, despite support, requirements are still not met, or the guardian disengages with the National Guardian’s Office, you will be removed from the directory and your organisation informed as well as NHS England and CQC. 

All organisations subject to the NHS Standard contract must ensure their Freedom to Speak Up guardians meet the training requirements of the National Guardian’s Office and are given to time and resource to do so. 

Refresher training will be advertised on the website and in the National Guardian’s Office bulletin. You can locate the training via your ME Learning account.

Please note you are not required to complete refresher training in your first year of registration, however, should you wish to undertake additional training, we encourage additional learning, and the modules are available to you. 

The development guide is an important resource and has been produced to help you build upon what you learnt from Foundation Training and to identify future skills and/or experience required in fulfilling the proactive and reactive elements of your role. The guide includes an online self-assessment tool which will support you in identifying ongoing learning and areas for development and facilitate conversations with your mentor, line managers and leaders. 

To see the development steps required in your role as a new Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, please access the guardian journey. This also includes the key considerations for when you may be absent from the role or when stepping down.  

Freedom to Speak Up Guardian networks are a vital source of support for guardians and a safe space to discuss role specific queries. Attending your network is a vital part of your role and will ensure you have regular opportunities for networking with fellow guardians. These might also provide an opportunity to find a guardian buddy who you will be able to provide mutual support. 

There are 7 regional networks: 

• East of England 
• South West 
• North East and Yorkshire 
• London 
• Midlands 
• South East 
• North West 

In addition, there are 5 National Networks:

• Hospice
• National ambulance
• National non-provider
• Primary medical services
• Integrated care board

Please contact the network chair for your network who will introduce you to your group and put you in touch with other Freedom to Speak Up guardians in your region. They will send you dates of meetings and other any other relevant information. 

The National Guardian’s Office guardian policy and support team are available to take support calls with guardians who may need support for either themselves or in relation to a complex case. 

Please note support calls will focus on supporting you and exploring the issues raised and routes to resolution available.

To arrange a support call, contact [email protected] 

Being a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian is a challenging, rewarding and sometimes isolating role. It is crucial that you know what wellbeing support is available to you. 

In addition to your regional support, mentor and support calls, Freedom to Speak Up guardians also have access to PAM Assist which is a 24/7 wellbeing support phone line.

Log-in details: 

• Username: CQCEAP
• Password: CQCEAP1

If you are expected to support several provider organisations in this role (e.g. GP practices, dental practices, pharmacies), please email [email protected] with the name and address of each provider, and we will ensure you are linked on our directory as their guardian. 

The portal enables you to check that your personal details on the guardian profile are correct and has the functionality for you to update your training log. It is vital you keep your training log up to date to remain on the National Guardian’s Office portal.  Please see portal user guide instructions on how to use the portal. We would suggest that you save the portal web address to your favourites, to make it easier to find in the future. Please note that the password for the portal is for registered guardians only and you must not share your log-in details with anyone else, this is an IT security breach.  

The National Guardian’s Office portal is for Freedom to Speak Up guardians to use and submit speaking up data. We collect quarterly data about the speaking up cases brought to Freedom to Speak Up guardians. The information is collected at an organisational level (e.g. an NHS trust or national body). Where several Freedom to Speak Up guardians support a single organisation only one data return will be needed each quarter. Arrangements for ensuring multiple returns are not submitted and that the relevant high-level anonymised information is exchanged between guardians to facilitate this should be made locally.

Freedom to Speak Up guardians supporting multiple organisations should discuss their data reporting requirements with the National Guardian’s Office.

See our website for the dates for upcoming data collection exercises. Further information can be found in the Guidance on Recording and Reporting Data. 

Please note: The portal does permit a password reset; however, some organisations’ IT systems prevent you receiving a response. If you don’t receive a password reset within 30 minutes, please contact [email protected] and we can reset for you. 

The Freedom to Speak Up Guardian job description sets out the expectations of this important and far-reaching role. 

Our detriment guidance has been designed in collaboration with the Freedom to Speak Up networks. It aims to support Freedom to Speak Up guardians, their organisations, and their leadership, to ensure workers who speak up are supported and to remove the barrier, ‘fear of detriment’ that may prevent a worker speaking up. 

We have produced an employment tribunal fact sheet for Freedom to Speak Up guardians about how to respond when they are approached, usually through their organisation’s legal team, for information or attendance as a witness in connection with employment tribunal claims or similar proceedings 

Protect, the whistleblowing charity, has produced a guide, which can be purchased and identifies some tools that employers can use to develop best practice. Within this guide is an example Detriment Risk Assessment which they have made available free of charge for Freedom to Speak Up guardians to download. 

Our stepping out and stepping down guidance includes information and guidance for when guardians start in their role, during periods of absence, and when they step down and will help you ensure that you set your systems up appropriately as a new guardian. You will also find a helpful Template letter that you may wish to use as an opening letter or for wording when you have an initial conversation to explain to workers speaking up, the role and remit of the guardian and how their information will be stored. 

This guidance on recording cases and reporting data is designed to help Freedom to Speak Up Guardians record cases and report case data to the National Guardian’s Office consistently. There is a Q & A in annex 2 to support any questions you may have.  

The portal is for Freedom to Speak Up guardians to use and enables you to register with the National Guardian’s Office, provide and update contact details; submit speaking up data for the organisation and log training dates and upload training certificates.  

If you plan to recruit and lead a network of Freedom to Speak Up champions/ambassadors, please ensure you read this guidance and so that you can understand the boundaries associated with this role. By having a diverse network of champions, it will also help the proactive side of the role.

Part of your role as a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian is to raise awareness of speaking up and Freedom to Speak Up messages and details of Freedom to Speak Up and your role. We have developed a number of promotional materials that you may find helpful.

Is for all workers including volunteers, students, and those in training, regardless of their contract terms. It covers what speaking up is and why it matters. It will help learners understand how to speak up and what to expect when they do. 

This training for all line and middle managers and is focused more on listening up and the barriers that can get in the way of speaking up. 

This training is aimed at all senior leaders including executive board members (and equivalents), Non-Executive Directors, and Governors to help them understand their role in setting the tone for a good speaking up culture and how speaking up can promote organisational learning and improvement. 

Information governance (IG) is all about how to manage and share information safely and securely. We want to make sure that IG guidance is clear and consistent for everyone working in health and care organisations. This portal brings together national guidance on information governance to help you understand how to use information appropriately to support care. 

The National Speak Up policy provides the minimum standard for local freedom to speak up policies across the NHS, so those who work in the NHS know how to speak up and what will happen when they do. It is designed to be inclusive and support resolution by managers wherever possible. Organisations should adopt this policy and add their own local information in the sections highlighted in yellow

A guide for leaders is designed to be used by any senior team, owner or board in any organisation that delivers NHS commissioned services. This includes all aspects of primary care; secondary care; and independent providers. This guide provides ideas how your organisation might adhere with the principles for leaders and managers and is to be used alongside the reflection and planning tool below. The documents are designed to help your organisation leadership teams identify strengths and any gaps needing additional work. 

The senior lead for Freedom to Speak Up in the organisation should take responsibility for completing this reflection tool, at least every 2 years. This improvement tool is designed to help identify and any gaps that need work. If you have any questions about how to use the tool, please contact the national freedom to speak up team via [email protected]. 

The model health system offers guidance and regular webinars to support in registering and navigating its features.  You can use the Model Health System to deep dive into your data and compare with peers to understand what good looks like and identify areas for improvement.  All NHS staff can access Model Health System. Staff in NHS trusts and commissioning organisations can view and download their own organisation’s data, compared to other trusts, national averages, and peer groups. They can also be contacted via [email protected].

To be considered a fully trained Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, you are required to have a reflective conversation with your mentor within four months of your appointment to the role. You will find the list of Mentors on the Guardian only pages of the National Guardian’s Office website. Please note you do not need to choose a mentor in your geographical region as the calls can be virtual. We hope that you can secure your first-choice mentor but if not, please select an alternative.  

If you are unable to arrange a conversation, please contact [email protected] and a member of the team will assist you. 

Your reflective conversation will help you explore your understanding of the proactive and reactive elements of the role and that you have the support you need to perform it effectively. ​Your conversation can be virtual or face to face, whichever is mutually convenient and may last up to an hour. The following areas will be part of the discussion:  

• Questions arising following completion of the e-learning about training or aspects of the role and its expectations. 

• How guardians are meeting the proactive and reactive expectations of the role including recording cases and submitting quarterly data 

• Support being received including ring-fenced time, having a space to see people and a case management system, health and wellbeing support and assurance they understand the various options of ‘external’ support on offer.  

• Are receiving (and reading) the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian bulletin and other important communications to keep up with the regional and national Freedom to Speak Up agenda.  

• Connection with a buddy, network(s) and network chair(s) and attendance and active participation in Freedom to Speak Up Guardian networks locally and/or nationally. 

• Cases received (maintaining confidentiality) and feedback from workers and response to any personal learning and development identified.   

• Freedom to Speak Up Guardian values.  

• Discussion around competencies within the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian Development Guide   

  You should document an overview of the conversation for your own records and log the date and name of your Guardian Mentor on your Freedom to Speak Up Guardian profile page which is accessed via the Portal. We will periodically review information on our systems and contact Mentors and Freedom to Speak Up Guardians for verification purposes. 

Please note it is your responsibility to note and comply with training requirements and deadlines, however, please tell us if anything is likely to impact on this and we can help you explore solutions. Once you have completed your mentor conversation, please complete our Freedom to Speak Up Guardian Foundation Training survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/NXC3Q58    

Please download Annex 2 – New Guardian Checklist (pdf)