Safeguarding roles and responsibilities

The Board of Governors has overall responsibility for ensuring that university safeguarding policies and procedures are effective and meet statutory requirements and all relevant national guidance.
The Board has ultimate responsibility and accountability. It does so by:

• Ensuring we have an institution wide safeguarding culture, where it is understood that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and that UCLan is a safe place to study, work, visit and undertake activities;
• Ensuring appropriate mechanisms are in place to meet statutory safeguarding and Prevent responsibilities;
• Undertaking relevant training and receiving assurance that staff are trained to the appropriate levels;
• Receiving and considering annual reviews and reports; and
• Ensuring processes are in place for dealing with allegations of abuse against a member of staff.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Group (VCG) supports the Board in delivery of its safeguarding agenda, with strategic responsibility delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive as UCLan’s Safeguarding Champion (Strategic).

The VCG are responsible for: 

• Providing assurances to the Board that all safeguarding requirements are fully met;
• Recommending the safeguarding and Prevent policy and procedure to Board of Governors for approval;
• Ensuring the proper implementation and embedding of this policy and procedure across the University, holding people to account in relation to their roles and responsibilities
• Submission of reports to the Office for Students (OfS), if deemed to be a reportable event; and
• Ensuring adequate resources are in place to enact the requirements of this policy and procedure.

The Deputy Chief Executive is the strategic lead for safeguarding, and is responsible for:

• Ensuring safeguarding is afforded the highest priority and sufficiently resourced at the most senior level in the University;
• Ensuring a robust safeguarding governance structure is in place across the institution, holding regular meetings with the named governor(s) to update on safeguarding matters;
• Meeting with the Operational/Principal Safeguarding and Prevent Lead(s) monthly, receiving relevant and timely updates in relation to significant activity to ensure effective strategic oversight and informed decision making;
• Undertaking any necessary training required for the role of Strategic Safeguarding and Prevent Lead.

Our Operational Safeguarding and Prevent Lead:

• Acts as the main contact and source of support and guidance within the University for safeguarding, liaising with internal and external support services, as appropriate;
• Promotes, implements, monitors and reviews the safeguarding and Prevent policy and procedure;
• Oversees the framework and acts as the lead for making external safeguarding referrals, including to the local authority, Channel programme, Police and DBS Barring Service;
• Maintains detailed, accurate and secure safeguarding records centrally, and shares information appropriately and in line with relevant data protection legislation and regulations;
• Attends and plays key roles in relevant committees, providing information and data as required and chairing the Safeguarding sub-committee;
• Has a sound knowledge of the local, regional and national safeguarding and prevent context;
• Shares data, reports, briefings and updates with relevant committees, the safeguarding network and the wider university in relation to safeguarding and Prevent;
• Ensures that appropriate and relevant information, advice, training support is readily accessible and compliance with mandatory training;
• Establishes and maintain internal and external safeguarding networks, to include LADO, Police, Social Services and local authorities;
• Liaises with partner college Designated Safeguarding Leads in relation to any safeguarding or Prevent concerns relating to apprentices on UCLan directly and indirectly funded courses; and
• Undertakes training to provide them with the knowledge and skills required to carry out the role effectively.

Our Principal Safeguarding and Prevent Leads are trained to the same standard of the Operational Safeguarding and Prevent Lead, working alongside and with them in relation to all the responsibilities detailed above. They reside centrally within the Student Services team and oversee the safeguarding framework.

Between the Operational and Principal Safeguarding and Prevent Leads and supported by a wider Student Services on call rota, access to a Safeguarding Lead is available at all times, be that in person, via Teams or telephone.

Designated Safeguarding Officers are made up of Deans of School and Directors of Services. They have responsibility for:

• Ensuring that our safeguarding and Prevent policy and procedure is implemented across their areas of work.

The DSO’s:

• Providing a source of advice, support and communication and act as the safeguarding contact within their area;
• Embedding a strong safeguarding reporting culture;
• Representing schools and services on the safeguarding related committees and groups and provide advice and leadership on signposting within their area, making referrals to the Operational/Principal Safeguarding and Prevent Leads;
• Ensuring that all staff in their teams complete mandatory training. They also identify which roles need Enhanced Safeguarding and Prevent training (Level 2), ensuring that Safeguarding Leads are appointed within their area and complete the required; and
• Making sure colleagues in their teams understand the safeguarding and Prevent policy and procedure and have the knowledge, skills and confidence to follow it, promoting on school or service agendas that we all have a duty to act if we have cause for concern about the safety and wellbeing of others.

Each school and service have nominated Safeguarding Leads whose role is to:

• Act as a source of support and advice when colleagues in the school or service have a safeguarding concern. They facilitate referrals to the Operational and Principal Safeguarding Leads. They are a point of contact for ongoing cases, keeping detailed and accurate records which are stored securely;
• Ensure any safeguarding concerns which emerge as a result of any University procedures are shared with the Operational and Principal Safeguarding Leads as soon as they become known. For example, fitness to practice, student disciplinary and admissions. This is particularly important to ensure any external referrals, are made by UCLan, as required. This includes DBS and professional body referrals;
• Work with Deans and Associate Deans to produce course risk assessments for the safe admission to study of students under the age of 18;
• Be particularly alert to the needs of under 18 students and adults who may be potentially at risk, thereby ensuring that colleagues know how to refer for early help; and
• Undertake appropriate training, which includes; safeguarding essentials, safeguarding enhanced, Prevent, suicide prevention and contextual safeguarding courses.

Please refer to Appendix 9 of the safeguarding and Prevent policy and procedure for full details of other roles and responsibilities related to safeguarding, including:

• The People Team
• Colleagues and volunteers
• UCLan students and apprentices
• Employers
• UK partner institutions
• Schools and services that work with children or adults at risk
• Admission and engagement of Under 18’s
• Schools offering apprenticeship programmes
• Organisers of activities and events