Safeguarding

Safeguarding is about protecting children, young people (under 18) and adults at risk from harm. It's ensuring they get safe, timely and effective support. In the context of UCLan, this usually means providing a safe environment for individuals to study, visit and take part in activities. We also have a responsibility to act where we become aware that a child, young person or an adult at risk is at risk outside of the university.

Everyone using our facilities or engaged in UCLan facilitated activities has an equal right to protection. This is from all types of harm or abuse and regardless of:

• Age;
• Disability;
• Gender reassignment;
• Marriage and civil partnership;
• Pregnancy and maternity;
• Race;
• Religion or belief;
• Sex; or
• Sexual orientation.

Everyone has a responsibility to report a safeguarding concern and we all need to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’. This includes staff, students, apprentices, visitors, volunteers, agency staff and contractors. It relates to any activity organised and/or delivered by UCLan representatives, regardless of where it takes place. External groups and organisations running activities on our campuses need to do so in accordance with approved risk assessments and associated safeguarding policies.

To prevent harm and promote student and learner welfare, support is available through several sources. This includes:

• Student support
• Mental health and wellbeing, including counselling
• Disability and inclusive support
• Achievement Coaches
• Personal Tutors
• Course teams

If you are a current student, you can find out more about the support available by visiting our Student Hub.

Where harm has already occurred, safeguarding is about preventing further harm and offering appropriate support. This may be provided by the university and external services.

Safeguarding children

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children includes everyone under 18. In defining our approach we draw on the definition used by the Department for Education (DfE) in Keeping Children Safe in Education:

• Protecting children from maltreatment;
• Preventing impairment of children’s mental or physical health or development;
• Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care;
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Safeguarding adults at risk

The Care Act 2014 defines an adult at risk as someone over 18 years of age who:

1. has needs for care and support; and
2. is experiencing or is at risk of abuse or neglect; and
3. as a result of those needs is unable to protect themselves against the abuse or neglect or the risk of it.

Any adult can suffer neglect or be subjected to abuse. There are many factors which can increase an individual’s vulnerability. Indicators of possible vulnerability include:

• A mental health issue
• Dementia
• A physical or learning disability
• A condition within the autistic spectrum
• A significant difficulty related to vison (requiring more than correction through spectacles and contact lenses alone)
• A significant difficulty related to hearing (requiring more than correction through hearing aids alone)
• Complications related to frailty or a serious illness

An adult at risk may be receiving support services from the local authority, the NHS or a non-statutory agency, however this may not always be the case.

For safeguarding queries, support or advice, you can email our Operational/Principal Safeguarding and Prevent Leads. Alternatively, please call +44 (0) 1772 893020.

If you have a safeguarding concern and would like to make a referral, please complete the safeguarding referral form providing as much detail as possible. 

Our Safeguarding Leads are here to offer support and advice, with staff based at each of our campuses.

Out of normal working hours, please see 'what to do in a safeguarding emergency' in the above section.

Any member of the UCLan community can report a concern using Report + Support. 

Your Students’ Union Advice Centre

The Students’ Union Advice Centre is a third-party reporting centre for hate crime and incidents. Trained advisors are able to support students and apprentices in reporting any hate crimes or incidents. This also includes any form of online harassment.

Information for colleagues

Colleagues can report their concerns to the designated safeguarding lead(s) for their school or service.

The emergency wellbeing flowchart on the intranet provides an overview of what to do should you have a safeguarding concern. This includes key contacts details. Any colleague wishing to access support should speak with their line manager or contact the People Team.

Accessing support for students and apprentices

Mental health, wellbeing and inclusive support is available to all students and apprentices. Details about what support is available and how to access it is below:

• Counselling, mental health, and wellbeing support for students and apprentices
• Disability and inclusive support for students and apprentices
• Referrals for support
• Report + Support
• Safeguarding and Prevent training
• Support to study policy

Please see our privacy notice for information on how personal information is used to provide student support.

Early help is key to safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk. As such, we need everyone to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ in relation to safeguarding concerns.

Notice, check and share

You may notice a concern, for example, a change in behaviour, appearance, academic engagement or performance. Or a student, apprentice or colleague may disclose something to you. It is important that we check this out, listen and share our concerns through the proper channels.

Please visit our webpages to find out more information about the signs of harm and abuse.

Exhibiting any of these signs, symptoms and behaviours does not always mean there are safeguarding concerns. We ask that concerns are checked out and passed onto a safeguarding lead where appropriate.

Safeguarding disclosures can be made at any time, to anyone. Knowing how to respond to these disclosures is important to ensure that appropriate support is put in place for the child, young person or adult at risk.

If a child, young person or adult at risk says or indicates that there is a possible safeguarding concern, or a member of staff receives information suggesting there may be a safeguarding concern, please follow these steps:

• Remember, you do not have an investigatory role. Your role is to listen without judgement and to refer for support.
• If there is an immediate risk to life or medical attention required see the 'in an emergency' section on this webpage.
• Ensure not to promise to keep secrets and remind the child, young person, or adult at risk of the limits to confidentiality.
• React in a calm and considered way so as not to frighten or deter the child, young person, or adult at risk.
• Reassure the child, young person, or adult at risk they are not to blame for what has happened and that they were right to share this information.
• Take what the child, young person or adult at risk says seriously, recognising the difficulties inherent in interpreting what is said by a child, young person or adult at risk. Keep any questions to the minimum required to clarify the concern and ensure a clear and accurate understanding of what has been said. 
• Only use open questions - Do not ask leading questions or make suggestions about what may have happened.
• Listen without interrupting if the child, young person, or adult at risk is recounting significant events.
• Reassure the child, young person or adult at risk and tell them what you will do next.

Where the child, young person or adult at risk has made a disclosure, a verbatim record of their account of what occurred in their own words should be recorded. It should include details of the nature of the allegation or concern, a description of any injury, times, dates, places, and any other details. You must not remove clothing to inspect any injuries or take photographs.

Do not worry if you feel you have missed something. Tell the Principal Safeguarding Leads who will pick up further questions and actions.

We understand that responding to safeguarding concerns can impact on an individual’s wellbeing. It is important to look after ourselves. As such, details of support for students and apprentices is available on the Student Hub. Details of the support available to colleagues is on the supporting colleagues webpages on the intranet.

UCLan is committed to providing a safe environment to study, work and visit, protecting children, young people and adults at risk from harm and abuse. Our safeguarding and Prevent policy and procedure outlines our approach, alongside other internal policies, procedures and guidance:

• Safeguarding and Prevent policy and procedure
• Complaints policy
• Health and safety information for contractors and visitors
• On campus events and designated events procedure (access for colleagues only) 
• Online safety guidance
• Procedure for managing on campus events and activities involving children and young persons (access for colleagues only)
• Student support, wellbeing and inclusive support privacy notice
• UCLan Pre-School Centre
• University safety, health and environment policy

The following policies can be accessed on the student policies webpage:

• Domestic abuse policy for students
• Harassment policy for students
• Code of practice to ensure freedom of speech
• IT security policy
• Procedure for reporting and responding to incidents of harassment, sexual misconduct and domestic abuse
• Regulations for the conduct of students
• Sexual misconduct policy

All colleagues will be aware of systems which support safeguarding and how to recognise and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns. All colleagues are required to undertake Safeguarding Essentials online training, renewing every year.

Find out more about the specific roles and responsibilities for safeguarding at UCLan.

• Report + Support
• Supporting your students mental health and wellbeing (for UCLan colleagues only) 
• The SafeZone App
• The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
• Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
• The Education Act (2002) Section 175
• The Sexual Offences Act 2003
• The Children Acts of 1989 and 2004
• The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 as amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
• Equality Act 2010
• The Care Act 2014
• Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015
• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022
• Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023
• What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused
• Terrorism and national emergencies