At University of Staffordshire, we are committed to providing a safe, secure and supportive environment for all staff, students and visitors who access our services, grounds and facilities. Each year, we admit and welcome students who are under the age of 18 at entry. We engage with thousands of children through our community and outreach programmes and our students gain valuable work experience, working with young people and children in educational and health settings. As a University community, we consider the safety and wellbeing of our students and vistors to be of paramount importance. We want to ensure as far as possible that students are able to learn and achieve safely, free from abuse and neglect.
What is Safeguarding in Higher Education (HE)?
Safeguarding is about protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from abuse or neglect.
What is abuse?
Abuse means physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, or financial abuse and includes abuse taking place in any setting, whether in a private dwelling, an institution, or any other place. Abuse involves the mistreatment of a child or adult at risk. Abuse can be caused by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm and can be perpetrated by adults and/or children.
What is neglect?
Neglect means a failure to meet a person’s basic physical, emotional, social, or psychological needs, which is likely to result in an impairment of the person’s well-being (for example, an impairment of the person’s health or, in the case of a child, an impairment of the child’s development). Neglect is likely to result in the serious impairment of an individual’s health or development.
What does 'adult at risk' mean?
An adult at risk is defined as an adult who:
1) is experiencing or is at risk of abuse or neglect
2) has needs for care and support due to a vulnerability
3) as a result of those needs, is unable to protect themselves against the abuse or neglect or risk of it
It is important to note that the use of the term ‘at risk’ means that actual abuse or neglect does not need to occur, rather that early interventions to protect an Adult at Risk should be considered to prevent actual harm, abuse, and neglect.
Who is responsible for Safeguarding?
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Staff and students alike have a role to play in keeping each other and themselves safe. We all have a duty to take action if we have a cause for concern about the safety and wellbeing of others.
As an organisation we have a general duty of care under common law to take reasonable steps to ensure that children, young people and adults who may be at risk are safe and that foreseeable harm does not occur as a result of careless acts or omissions of the university.
In response to this duty of care, we have in place established Safeguarding policies and procedures and Designated Officers responsible for receiving and acting upon reports of safeguarding concerns. These officers are trained to respond appropriately to reports and to support anyone who makes a report.
In these pages you will find information, advice and guidance to help staff and students understand what safeguarding means and how you can help ensure that the Staffordshire University is a safe place to work, study and succeed.
Why is safeguarding relevant to Staffordshire University?
- Some of our students are under 18
- Some University departments undertake outreach activity with children and young people
- Many placements may involve children, young people and adults at risk, particularly in clinical and education disciplines
- Research projects may involve children, young people and adults at risk. The safeguarding of children, young people and adults at risk who are involved in research is the responsibility of the Research Ethics Committee
- The University hosts work experience students and engages with young people on apprenticeships
- Students may be at risk of radicalisation
- Disabled students and those with long term medical conditions may be considered adults at risk
- Students or staff may have children or siblings under 18 about who we have cause for concern.