Promoting the wellbeing and welfare of our students is at the heart of what we do at Leeds City College. We are committed to ensuring that all our students and staff are kept safe and protected from harm, both within and outside of the college environment. To achieve this, we emphasise the importance of safeguarding, the Prevent Duty and adherence to British Values.
At Leeds City College we are committed to doing everything we can to make sure all of our students and staff are kept safe and protected from harm. This is what safeguarding is all about. It is important to us that all our students are treated with respect and dignity and feel safe and listened to.
All our staff are trained to be alert to any possible causes for concern. We also have a wider team of Stay Safe Officers and Designated Safeguarding Officers, who complete ongoing specialist safeguarding training.
There are some examples below of issues that would come under safeguarding:
As a college, we take measures to ensure that our safeguarding duty is being met. These measures include:
You can view our safeguarding policy here:
If you are worried about yourself or someone you know in College, please speak to any member of staff. They will ensure you get the help and support you need from a specialist member of staff. You can also use this ‘Report It’ form, or email safeguarding@leedscitycollege.ac.uk. Find out more information about safeguarding on the Student Information Hub.
Andrew Ottey is the Designated Safeguarding Lead for Luminate Education Group, which includes Leeds City College. The Designated Safeguarding Lead has overarching responsibilities regarding safeguarding in the Group. He has in-depth knowledge of safeguarding statutory guidance and legislation that the organisation must follow. He will apply this knowledge to help implement and maintain safeguarding procedures and policies, as well as be alert to safeguarding issues on a day-to-day basis. This includes ensuring that staff have received appropriate training, that their own training is up to date, safe recruitment practices are sufficient, and all actions are within the best interest of safeguarding our students.
Supporting the Designated Safeguarding Lead is a central safeguarding team of safeguarding managers and Stay Safe Officers. Each campus has a dedicated Stay Safe Officer who provides safeguarding support to students, staff and parents.
The Stay Safe Officers are supported by a wider team of Designated Safeguarding Officers (DSO’s) who are based in each department. The DSOs are part of the curriculum and pastoral services and will see the students on a daily basis.
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Safeguarding Team Leader
Safeguarding Manager
Stay Safe Officer Park Lane: 14-16 Skills Programme & 14+ Academies
Stay Safe Officer Park Lane, Beeston, Vine, University Centre
Stay Safe Officer Park Lane, Leeds Sixth Form: Academics, Sports & Science, Applied Science
Stay Safe Officer Quarry Hill, Quarry Hill Annexe, East Gate
Stay Safe Officer Printworks, Rothwell
Stay Safe Officer Printworks, Quarry Hill, Temple Newsam, Enfield, North Street
Stay Safe Officer Mabgate
Stay Safe Officer Somerville House
Across the campuses, we have a team of dedicated police officers who offer support and advice to students. Students, parents and carers can contact the police officers by emailing safeguarding@leedscitycollege.ac.uk for advice and support.
Prevent is a government initiative aimed to stop people getting involved with or supporting violent extremism. Part of our safeguarding duty is to protect vulnerable individuals from the risk of radicalism and extremism. To do this, we follow government guidance which is known as the Prevent duty.
At Leeds City College, everyone has a responsibility to Prevent our students becoming radicalised. All our staff have completed the DfE’s Prevent General Awareness training. Our Safeguarding Officers have completed more in-depth training around Prevent and recognising the signs that someone is becoming radicalised.
Students are delivered messages about Prevent, radicalisation and extremism at the point of induction and then regularly throughout the year during tutorials.
If you think someone is involved in radicalisation and there is an immediate risk of harm, call 999. If it isn’t an emergency, follow the college safeguarding procedure and report it to any staff member.
All staff and students are expected to uphold and promote the fundamental principles of British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. We believe that students should be given the opportunity to explore diversity and understand Britain as a multi-cultural society; everyone should be treated with respect whatever their race, gender, sexuality, religious belief, special need, or disability.
This includes a belief in freedom and equality and ensuring that each and every voice in the college is heard. Democracy influences our decision-making through democratic processes. An example of this is how our students’ union officers are elected by the student body.
This involves understanding the importance of laws and why we follow them. We explore the laws that govern and protect us while understanding the consequences if these rules are broken. We also understand that these may be different from religious laws.
At the college, students are encouraged to make independent choices and exercise their freedom. We provide boundaries and education for students to be able to make informed choices and take responsibility for those choices.
Respect for others is a core focus of Leeds City College which is why our brand values include being respectful and ensuring we celebrate individuality. We encourage students to challenge prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour and understand how their behaviour has an effect on the rights of others.
