Our council is first in Scotland to train teams in safeguarding scheme

We've become the first council in Scotland to train our teams and partners in Ask for Angela, a simple and effective safeguarding scheme. 

Easy and discrete alert

Ask for Angela offers people an easy and discrete way of letting staff know they feel unsafe without further explanation. It’s advertised using posters and promotional materials (as pictured, right) within participating venues; staff can help visitors to safely leave the premises, call a taxi or contact a friend, alert security or contact police if required.

While Ask for Angela is known for being used in pubs and entertainment spaces, we believe the principles of being able to quietly signal that you need help are really important. That’s why we’ll be rolling out Ask for Angela amongst our own East Lothian Council services delivering frontline services such as our community centres and libraries, housing and social work teams, as well as helping other partners in East Lothian to do the same.

Wide range of partners 

Our Licensing Standards Officer Karen Harling worked with Ask for Angela to deliver a ‘train the trainer’ session with 40 people attending from a wide range of departments, enjoyLeisure, Volunteer Centre East Lothian, Substance Support Scotland, East and Midlothian Public Protection and licensed premises. Feedback after the event showed that the majority of people attending would feel very confident responding to issues in their venue and very knowledgeable about the Ask for Angela scheme.

They will now start to roll out what they have learned and raise awareness in their areas as part of a coordinated approach. Further training and development of Ask for Angela will also take place across East Lothian’s licensed premises to compliment a safer night time economy.

Positive response 

Iwona Kossek, Director of Ask for Angela said: "It was a real pleasure to deliver this training and see such a positive response from everyone who attended. The level of engagement throughout the session was fantastic, with attendees demonstrating a genuine commitment to learning how they can play their part in creating safer, more welcoming environments for everyone.”

Find out more

Find out more about Ask for Angela from their website or contact Karen Harling to find out more about East Lothian’s roll-out.