Parents and Carers

Whilst we strive to provide a safe environment with a welcoming and supportive culture, we recognise that students can sometimes behave in a way that does not meet expectations. Students will be made aware of the core expectations during induction, and reminded of these if they do not meet them.

Behaviours that negatively impact others, including bullying, discrimination and threatening behaviour, will not be tolerated. By this we mean that action will be taken to repair harm, and provide students with the support to make positive changes so that these behaviours are not repeated.

The college does not tolerate sexual harassment and sexual violence, and takes reports of this behaviour very seriously. It must never be ignored, and the victim will be offered support. It is the responsibility of all staff to create a culture of inclusivity, challenge and safety. We will use restorative approaches and mediation wherever appropriate.

We have a clear process for dealing with sexual harassment outlined in our ‘Promoting Positive Relationships and Supporting Behaviour’ Policy. It will be dealt with by curriculum and safeguarding teams collaboratively, and may involve liaison with external agencies such as the Police or Children’s Social Work Services where appropriate. The college will take a victim-led approach, taking into consideration the alleged victim’s wishes and feelings. Children and young people who abuse others will be responded to in a way that meets their needs as well as protecting others within the college community through a multi-agency risk assessment.

Students are encouraged to report any incidents of sexual harassment and violence, and can do so using the ‘report it’ button on the Student Safeguarding Page, or by speaking directly to a member of staff or the safeguarding team.

We recognise that anyone can experience sexual harassment or violence. Females are more likely to experience sexual harassment and violence than males, but we must remember that males can still be victims. People from the LGBTQ+ community are significantly more likely to experience it than others, and people with disabilities are also disproportionately affected.

If parents/carers have questions or concerns, they are welcome to contact the safeguarding team by email: safeguarding@leedscitycollege.ac.uk

You can find more information about sexual harassment and violence in education settings in this government guidance.

You can also find information and advice on Disrespect NoBody.

Leeds City College is a safe environment and we have procedures in place to ensure students have an enjoyable learning experience.

The Stay Safe team is available to support students with any concerns. We take all concerns seriously, act upon them, and offer support through specialist services.

How we are safeguarding our students

Safeguarding covers anything that may pose a risk to the safety and wellbeing of an individual, this includes but is not limited to the following:

• Physical abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Financial abuse
• Neglect
• Bullying (including cyber bullying)
• Children missing education
• Child sexual and criminal exploitation
• Domestic abuse and violence
• Drugs
• Faith abuse
• Honour based abuse
• Gangs and youth violence
• Self harm
• Suicidal thoughts
• Radicalisation
• Online abuse

As a college, we take measures to ensure that our safeguarding duty is being met. These measures include:

• Having a clear policy and procedures in place
• Having a team of specialist stay safe officers
• Carrying out background checks on all employees
• Encouraging staff and students to raise concerns
• Taking all concerns seriously and acting upon them
• Training all staff in safeguarding
• Delivering tutorial sessions covering safeguarding topics

You can view our safeguarding policy here: Luminate Safeguarding Children and Adults Policy 2023 – 2024

If your child has concerns about themselves or a peer, please encourage them to contact the Stay Safe team or any staff member in person. Alternatively, they can report issues and concerns via the REPORT IT form here.

If you have any safeguarding concerns about your child, don’t hesitate to contact one of the Stay Safe Officers via our confidential inbox: safeguarding@leedscitycollege.ac.uk

If you need to report concerns about a staff member in relation to misconduct against your child, please contact zena.johnson-cawdron@luminate.ac.uk.

Here at Leeds City College, safeguarding your children and looking after their wellbeing is our number one priority. In order for us to do this, it is important that we ensure your child’s emergency contact details are up to date, just in case we can’t get hold of them directly. If you have changed telephone numbers recently, or wish for another contact number to be added to your child’s record, please get in touch with the college by emailing contact@leedscitycollege.ac.uk so we can update the record.

There is support available for several safeguarding issues through the agencies below:

Children’s Social Work Services
Leeds – 0113 222 4403
Bradford – 01274 437 500
North Yorkshire – 01609 780 780

Emergency Out of Hours Duty Team
Leeds – 0113 535 0600
Bradford – 01274 431 010
North Yorkshire – 01609 780 780

Crisis Line
Leeds – 0113 378 3645
Bradford – 01274 221 181
North Yorkshire – 0800 561 0076

Samaritans (depression/suicidal thoughts)
Telephone – 116 123
Email – jo@samaritans.org

Forward Leeds (alcohol/drugs)
Telephone – 0113 887 2477
Email – info@forwardleeds.co.uk

Childline (free and confidential helpline)
Telephone – 0800 1111
Website – www.childline.org.uk

Karma Nirvana (honour-based abuse/forced marriage)
Telephone – 0800 5999 247
Email – info@karmanirvana.org.uk

Leeds Domestic Violence Service
Telephone – 0113 246 0401
Email – hello@ldvs.uk

CEOP: To report concerns around online abuse and exploitation
Website – ceop.police.uk/safety-centre

Report-it: Online service for reporting hate crimes
Website – report-it.org.uk/your_police_force

Black Minds Matter (free therapy access to mental health services for black individuals and families)
Website – https://www.blackmindsmatteruk.com

Mermaids UK (support for trans and gender-diverse youth)
Website – https://mermaidsuk.org.uk

Barnardos services (national LGBTQ+-friendly services across homelessness, mental health, abuse and more)
Website – https://www.barnardos.org.uk/get-help

Sane (national mental health charity with 24hr free emotional support)
Telephone – 0300 304 7000
Website – www.sane.org.uk

North Yorkshire Mental Health Crisis Support
Telephone – 0800 0516 171

Hear to Help (emotional wellbeing support)
Telephone – 01423 856 799

Harrogate and Ripon Mind
Telephone – 01423 503 335

IDAS (domestic abuse services for North Yorkshire, York and Barnsley)
Telephone – 03000 110 110
Email – info@idas.org.uk
Website – https://www.idas.org.uk

You can view our safeguarding policy here: Luminate Safeguarding Children and Adults Policy 2021 – 2022

Together we can make sure it’s safe for every child to go online. We want to support parents and carers with online safety advice.

The NSPCC have some useful guides to support parents and carers in keeping children safe online here.

CEOP helps any child or young people under the age of 18 who is being pressured, forced or tricked into part in sexual activity of any kind. This can be something that has taken place either online or in ‘the real world’, or both. The CEOP Safety Centre has clear information and advice on what can be reported to CEOP, the reporting process and what will happen if you do decide to make a report. You can visit the CEOP Safety Centre and make a report directly to CEOP.

For more information and support, visit the Parent Zone website here.

We understand that picking a subject to study post-16 can be a daunting decision.

We recommend that students apply for subjects that they have an interest in. If your young person requires any guidance, they can use the National Careers Service website to take a quiz and research careers.

Following submission of a completed application, a member of our Admissions Team will invite the candidate to interview at the relevant campus. All invitations and information regarding bookings are sent via the email address on the application.

Our interviews are an opportunity for candidates to meet members of our Curriculum Team, discuss the course they have applied for, their career aspirations and if successful, receive an offer.

Candidates do not need to wear a suit to interview, however, we advise that they wear comfortable, smart dress appropriate for an educational setting.

We ask that your young person bring along either a recent school report or a copy of their qualifications, if applicable. Some course areas such as art may require candidates to bring a portfolio of work. Full details of what candidates should bring with them will be advised via email.

Yes! They can apply for as many courses as they want up until enrolment, as well as attend multiple interviews in order to make their decision. They can, however, only enrol onto one course.

Yes! They can accept more than one offer. Accepting an offer tells us that they accept the conditions of their offer and that they are still interested in being considered for a place on the course.

When your young person attends their interview, the curriculum team will discuss the course that they applied for. Through this discussion, the curriculum tutor may decide that there may be a more suitable Level or course for your young person’s academic level or interests.

We will invite your young person to enrol in person to complete their journey in joining us. They will need to bring their exam results, National Insurance number and a form of ID. The Level of the course offered at interview will be reviewed at enrolment based on exam results and curriculum will enrol accordingly, if conditions are met. Your young person will then receive their start date and ID badge.

We are here to help and if you students want to change course they should discuss this with their tutor who will give them the best advice as to how to proceed.

Speak to us, we are here to help! When we made our offer we will have invited your young person to book an enrolment time. They should attend their enrolment slot and one of our curriculum team will help discuss their options and help them find the right course at the right level. It may be that they can take the course at a lower level, or study maths and English GCSEs alongside their offered course.

Timetables vary depending upon the course – these are finalised during enrolment.

Once enrolled, students will receive a bursary form to complete and will be required to provide evidence of the household income to their School Admin team. Further information can be found on our website under Financial Support.

The UCAS points students can receive depend on a variety of factors including the
maximum available for a specific course, and the overall grade achieved at the end
of that course.

UCAS have a Points Calculator available on their website at www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator. You can use this online tool to check. The number of points that may be available for any course you are interested in.

Some awarding bodies also publish UCAS points breakdowns on their websites, so you can check online or contact the organisation directly for more information. The full title of a course on our website or in our prospectus will usually include the name
of the awarding body.