Safeguarding & Welfare

At Hopwood Hall College everybody is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment, where we put your safety and well-being first. We have a dedicated Safeguarding and Wellbeing Team who work closely with all staff and all our students to keep you safe and ensure that you have the very best experience and really get the most out of your time at college.

It’s their job to make sure you are kept safe from abuse or neglect or harm of any sort and to provide effective safeguarding care, guidance and support.

Part of the college’s safeguarding duty includes protecting vulnerable individuals from the risk of radicalisation and extremism. This is called the ‘Prevent Duty’. Prevent is a government initiative aimed at stopping people becoming involved with, or supporting violent extremism.

The government has defined extremism as: “vocal or active opposition to British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”.

The college shares and promotes these values across our community. We share the belief that safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility and foster this culture across the college.

All staff are responsible for safeguarding students. There are, however, key staff within the college with specific responsibility and skills to provide interventions and ensure the safeguarding policy and process are followed.

Staying Safe in College

The College operates a secure gate system and students, staff and visitors all wear badges and lanyards to identify them and give them access through the entrance barriers. It is vital that everyone follows the college rules and behaves in a positive way so that everyone at college feels safe.

Staying Safe Online

The College actively encourages safe practice online, through PACE tutorials, on our Virtual Learning platform, along with presentations and events linked to online and cyber security. We regularly share best practice and guidance.

Meet the Safeguarding Team:

What we do:

We have a legal and moral responsibility to provide all our learners with a safe learning environment. Robust Safeguarding, Child protection and Prevent policies are in place and we adhere to strict guidelines for the safer recruitment of staff, including carrying out enhanced DBS with barred listings checks for all staff and volunteers engaged in regulated activity.
We have a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and a Prevent Lead
We have a dedicated team of Safeguarding Officers
We actively encourage students to raise any concerns they have via several reporting methods
We take all concerns seriously and act upon them and offer full support through our wellbeing staff.
We have a Counselling service, a Social prescriber and staff dedicated to students’ wellbeing.
All staff, irrespective of status, undertake mandatory safeguarding training. All staff are trained in Safeguarding and Prevent (counter terrorism).
Deliver tutorial sessions through our PACE program on a range of subjects covering safeguarding and safety including online safety and local issues and concerns.
We promote and reinforce shared values: providing a learning environment which offers a safe place for learners to explore views and we consistently promote our College Values.
The college adopts a zero tolerance approach to any form of sexual harassment and sexual violence and encourages all concerns to be reported to a member of the Safeguarding Team.
When there are concerns about the welfare of young people and vulnerable adults, we take all appropriate actions to address those concerns, working to agreed local policies and procedures in full partnership with other local agencies.
We are committed to ensuring student safety and to providing a College environment that is free from bullying, harassment (including sexual harassment) and we will not tolerate any form of discrimination.