The College believes that safeguarding students is our paramount concern and therefore safeguarding issues take priority in relation to any other policies and/or procedures.

The College recognises its responsibilities and duties under the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015 requirements, which defines safeguarding as:

•protecting children from maltreatment;

•preventing impairment of children’s health or development;

•ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and

•taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

The College works in line with the Statement of Government Policy on Adult Safeguarding; Safeguarding Adults Principles to safeguard and prevent abuse of vulnerable adults.

Empowerment- Presumption of person led decisions and informed consent.

Prevention- It is better to take action before harm occurs.

Proportionality- Proportionate and least intrusive response appropriate to the risk presented.

Protection- Support and representation for those in greatest need

Partnership-Local solutions through services working with their communities. Communities have a part to play in preventing, detecting and reporting neglect and abuse.

Accountability- Accountability and transparency in delivering safeguarding.

[Department of Health 2013]

Doncaster College recognises its responsibilities and duties under the Health and Safetyat Work Act 1974, to provide a healthy and safe working and learning environment so far as is reasonably practicable. This duty extends to cover employees, students, contractors, visitors and members of the public and covers all its related activities and undertakings.

Doncaster College strives to promote an ethos and image that positively reflects its commitment to advancing equality of opportunity and celebrating diversity. The College does not tolerate any prejudicial behaviour by any member of its community and has a zero-tolerance policy to bullying, harassment and victimisation. Every step is taken to eliminate unlawful discrimination and foster good relations among all social groups. The College is committed to ensuring that it does not discriminate either directly or indirectly against individuals on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex/gender, sexual orientation or marriage and civil partnership.

Key College Policies are:

  • Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy
  • Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Policy
  • Student Anti-Harassment and Anti Bullying Policy
  • Staff Anti-Harassment and Anti Bullying Policy
  • Health, Safety and Welfare Policy
  • e-Safety Policy
  • Acceptable Use and Misuse of IT Policy
  • Whistleblowing Policy.

Key College Procedures are:

  • Safeguarding Concern Form (SC1)
  • Reasonable Adjustments Procedure
  • Learning and Behaviour Procedure
  • Inclusive Risk Assessment Procedure.

The above policies can be found on the Staff Intranet under College Policies-

Doncaster College has a responsibility to report all cases of suspected or actual abuse for:

  • Children in a nursery
  • Students under 18 years
  • Students with learning difficulties- up to any age
  • Vulnerable adults.

College’s Safeguarding Designated Officers

  • Diane Bailey (Senior Designated Safeguarding Manager)
  • Diane Lawson(Deputy Designated Safeguarding Manager)
  • Sally Macdonald
  • Sally Senior
  • Linda Metcalfe
  • Emma Whittaker
  • Bert Jackson
  • Maria Lowry.

For any safeguarding concerns or to speak with a Safeguarding Designated Officer, please contact Paula Kelly; (Welfare Administrator) on 01302 553741 or in her absence, Emma Davies (Diane Bailey’s PA) on 01302 553509. Please email , which is monitored at all times. The complete process for raising a safeguarding concern is shown in the Serious Concern Procedure Flowchart. (Appendix A)

Safeguarding Scope and Definitions

Many parents, relatives, friends, tutors or support staff can be concerned about the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This guide will provide information which will help if you are uncertain of what or if anything needs to be done to protect such people. Although you may understandably, feel reluctant to become involved everybody in the College is responsible for keeping children, young people and vulnerable adultssafe.

Abuse can happen to any child, young person or vulnerable adult. It can happen in affluent families or care settings; it can happen within any ethnic or cultural background; it can happen to people with or without disabilities. It can be deliberate or unintentional.

Abuse falls into six categories:

1)Physical abuse

2)Sexual abuse

3)Emotional abuse

4)Neglect

5)Institutional abuse

6)Financial abuse.

1)Physical Abuse

This is when someone physically hurts or harms a child, young person or vulnerable adult. This includes hitting, squeezing, biting or burning. Poisoning an individual by giving them alcohol or drugs, deliberately making them ill, is also physical abuse.

2)Sexual Abuse

This involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (e.g. rape or buggery) or non-penetrative acts. They may include involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

3)Emotional Abuse

When a person’s basic needs of love, security, praise and recognition are left unmet it may result in them becoming withdrawn, nervous, unhappy or lacking in confidence. This includes bullying, rejection or scapegoating.

4)Neglect

This can result when there is a failure to meet the physical and emotional needs of the child, young person or vulnerable adult.

5)Institutional Abuse

Institutional abuse occurs when practices and routines force residents or service users to sacrifice their own needs, wishes or preferred lifestyles to the needs of the institutions.

6)Financial Abuse

This may include theft, fraud or misuse of possessions or benefits of a young person or vulnerable adult.

Some other concerns may also include:

7)Forced Marriage

A forced marriage is one in which either or both parties are subject to any degree of duress, in order to enter into a formal relationship.

8)Cyber Bullying

Cyber Bullying is an aggressive intentional act, carried out by a group or individual using electronic forms of conduct repeatedly over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself.

Cyber Bullying is the use of IT, particularly mobile phones and the internet, deliberately to upset someone else.

Examples include:

Text message bullying

Sexting

Picture/video-clip bullying via mobile phone camera

Email bullying

Chat room bullying

Instant messaging bullying

Using Social Networkingsites to bully others

Prejudice based on line bullying.

9)Bullying and Harassment

Bullying may manifest itself as persistent, offensive, abusive, intimidating or insulting behaviour, abuse of power or unfair sanctions which make the recipient feel upset, threatened, humiliated or vulnerable, which undermine them and may cause them to feel stress. Harassment can be verbal, non-verbal or physical.

The College has a zero tolerance approach towards all forms of bullying and harassment including hate crimes. Whether isolated incidents or repeated occurrences and all forms of bullying, harassment or hate crimes are taken very seriously in line with national legislation and College policies and procedures. Where significant safeguarding risks are identified, the College’s Safeguarding Team must be informed to ensure that the appropriate support mechanisms are implemented.

By working together we can continue to ensure the health, wellbeing and safety of our College community and thereby ensure that our students are effectively safeguarded.

10)Sexual Exploitation/ Trafficking

Child sexual exploitation is an illegal activity by people who have power over young people and use it to sexually abuse them.

This can involve a broad range of exploitative activity, from seemingly ‘consensual’ relationships and informal exchanges of sex for attention, accommodation, gifts or cigarettes, through to very serious organised crime.

Human Trafficking occurs when a person is induced by force, fraud or coercion to:

Work under the total or near-total control of another person or organisation (slavery or involuntary servitude)

Forced to pay off a loan by working instead of paying money, for an agreed-upon or unclear period of time (debt bondage) or even without an agreement as to the timeframe (peonage)

Perform a sex act for money or anything of value.

11)Radicalisation (Prevent Agenda)

Is one of the few elements of the Counter Terrorism Strategy developed in 2013, which aims ‘To reduce the risk to the country and its interests overseas from terrorism, so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence’.

The UK Counter Terrorism Strategy defines extremism in the Prevent Strategy as:

‘Vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also include in our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our armed forces’.

Consequently, safeguarding responsibilities have been extended to include the recognition, education and prevention of radicalisation.

Radicalisation is a form of grooming. It is the process where someone has their vulnerabilities or susceptibilities exploited toward crime or terrorism- more often by a third party, who have their own agenda.

If you have any concerns that an individual is being radicalised please follow the College’s Safeguarding Procedures outlined in Appendix A or seek advice and support from a Safeguarding Designated Officer, details of which are on page 3.

The Prevent Duty is not about discouraging students from having political and religious views and concerns but rather it is about supporting them to express them in non-extremism ways.

Safeguarding Procedure

Our responsibility:

  1. A studentmay want to tell you about being abused. (This is a disclosure)
  2. There may be observable signs of abuse. (This is cause for concern)
  3. There may be unexplained changes in behaviour. (This is cause for concern).

If a studentdiscloses that they are being abused, the member of staff should listen carefully and not ‘lead’ the person.

Confidentiality should not be promised, the person has chosen you to share the disclosure; it is really important that the person feels ‘listened to’ and supported.

  • Listen carefully and do not ‘lead’ the person
  • Tell the person that confidentiality cannot be promised
  • Inform the person that staff are obliged to follow it up and seek help.

Non-leading questions must not

  • Contain the answer
  • Contain a choice of answers
  • Name the suspected offender before the vulnerable person has identified them
  • Contain explicit details of the alleged offence
  • Contain the interviewer’s assumptions.

Take care to record the discussion at the earliest opportunity on the SC1form. The SC1 is available on the staff intranet under College Policies. Once the SC1 has been completed, the form should be sent electronically to .

If you have any cause for concern or require any further support please contact the safeguarding team on ext. 3741.

Confidentiality

A confidential relationship implies that the person who is offering confidentiality will not disclose details of information shared with them. However, as employees of Doncaster College, we have a duty of care to children, young people and vulnerable adults. Promises of confidentiality should not be given as the matter may develop in such a way that these cannot be honoured. In certain circumstances information may be shared with other agencies e.g. Social Care or the Police. Therefore if a student disclosures that they or others are at risk of harm this information should be given as a matter of professional practice.

Guidance on Professional Conduct

It is paramount that all member of Doncaster College behave in a professional responsible manner. It is acknowledged that staff can sometimes have challenging situations presented in relation to boundaries and student expectations. The following guidance offers information to ensure staff can set and keep boundaries whilst providing students with a consistent professional service.

Staff contact with students

All staff when communicating with enrolled students must only use their College provided facilities for example; email, mobile phones or social media. Use of personal emails, mobile phones, social media/messaging and student personal email is prohibited.

Staff found to be breaching this may be subject to disciplinary procedures.

Staff should not establish or seek to establish social contact with students for the purpose of securing a friendship or pursue or strengthen a relationship. Staff should also be aware that social contact instigated by a studentmay be misconstrued. Staff should seek management approval of any planned social events or advise senior staff if they have regular social contact with a studentwhich may give rise to concern.

Physical Contact

In a vocational setting, it is entirely appropriate in some teaching and learning activities for staff to have physical contact with students, e.g. beauty treatments, sporting activity. Staff must be aware that even well-intentioned physical contact may be misconstrued by the students, others or to someone to whom the action is described. Staff must not indulge in horseplay, play fighting, tickling or cuddling students and should always be aware of the need to explain their actions accept that physical contact may be open to scrutiny. Staff must also be aware of the implications of physical contact when they are alone with a student. There are genuine reasons for staff to speak to students in a 1:1 setting but staff should exercise caution. If a member of staff feels that an incident or behaviour may be misconstrued or misinterpreted, they should record the incident and discuss it immediately with their line manager or aSafeguarding Designated Officer.

Infatuation

Staff should be aware that some students may develop infatuation with staff and any indications of this should be reported to line managers or a Safeguarding Designated Officer.

Social Networking Sites

The following advice is offered in a positive precautionary spirit and all staff are requested to read and consider it carefully.

The growth of the internet and the popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace have raised new challenges for professional staff working with young people in education and other fields. For the first time, through the use of such websites, individuals are encouraged to post information of a personal and, sometimes, intimate nature which previously would have been considered private and only accessible to close confidants.

Anyone tempted to expose details of their private life in a way that is accessible to all must accept that this information will become public and will be available to the widest range of possible interested parties, including (in the case of colleagues working with young people) College students. It is no longer valid to hold that, because this activity takes place outside the place of work, it is personal and private and nothing to do with third parties such as employers or authorities.

Furthermore, many of those accessing this information will be naïve and may, should they see those they consider as role models in a different light through this exposure, act appropriately. The consequences will, of course, depend upon the nature of the material posted. However, it is likely that where the information is potential compromising, for example when it touches upon aspects of a person’s private life in the areas of sexual behaviour, alcohol or drug misuse, activity that be construed as being violent or illegal etc. there is a real danger that it will become common knowledge and, as a result, seriously impact upon that colleague’s professional standing. Should such information become common knowledge, the essential characteristics of the professional relationship with students (those of mutual respect, professional distance, acting as a role model etc.) will be compromised.

It is also possible that the publicity that ensues will be deemed to have bought the profession and/or the college into disrepute and, as a serious disciplinary offence, threaten that colleague’s continued employment at the College or even in profession itself. All staff (whether or not their role involves direct contact with students) must be aware that, should inappropriate personal material posted on social networking sites or in other public domains in such a way that it is accessible by the general public (rather than just by invited guests) come to light, it will be considered within the terms of the College’s disciplinary procedures and, should it be deemed to have brought the College disrepute, may result in disciplinary sanctions being imposed.

It may be considered that, for people working as we do in front-line of public service, the best advice would be not to use such social networking sites at all. However, it is felt that this would be harsh advice given that we are all responsible professionals. Those who choose to do so should understand the potential ramifications and should ensure that they are highly circumspect in deciding upon the nature and detail of any information about themselves that they post in public view.

Staff who do maintain social networking profiles are advised that they should not invite students to be a ‘friend’ on such a site or to visit their profile. You are also advised that use of social networking sites is not allowed by the Websense system and the Websense monitors your use of the internet and individual reports are sent to senior managers.

General Safeguarding

Safeguarding and Risk Assessments

Safeguarding must be considered as part of the Generic Risk Assessment Procedure and where appropriate recorded within the risk assessment undertaken for all studentactivities, processes and environments in line with College policy and procedures. Where significant safeguarding risks are identified the College Safeguarding Team must be informed to ensure where appropriate, that adequate controls are implemented to reduce the risks to acceptable levels.

Safeguarding and Educational Visits

Safeguarding is particularly important where students are involved in Educational Visits as the activities undertaken are outside the controls and restrictions of the College environment. Please ensure all Educational Visits documentation is completed and authorised before any visit takes place.