Student safety has never been a higher priority for colleges. We work with the Association of Colleges and West Midlands Police to affirm our commitment to student safety and deliver our Colleges West Midlands Safer Students Charter.
Safer Students Group
Lead: Rose Urkovskis, City of Wolverhampton College
The group is comprised of Safeguarding lead colleagues from all the colleges who meet periodically to:
- access relevant national and regional updates
- share good practice and solutions to common issues
- link with partner organisations such as AoC, Saltley Trust, DfE Prevent Co-ordinator, Violence Prevention Unit, WMCA Mental Health Commission
- plan and deliver themed events across all colleges. Cross college events have included: Safer Internet Day, Sexual Harassment Awareness Week, Mental Health Week.
The mental health of students and staff continues to be a growing concern and we are embarking on a specific strand of work to address mental health needs in colleges, accessing support from AoC and WMCA.
College Commitment to Student Safety
As a group of colleges and partners, we work together to:
- Encourage all member colleges to adopt and promote the Charter to shape student safety
- Develop a simple tracking system to measure our progress and ensure we are enhancing student safety
- Develop a plan for student activities and to promote shared resources
- Work with other partners to share information where it supports students’ safety and well- being
- Work around key themes, which we will keep continually under review.
- Online safety
- Prevention of radicalization and extremism
- Risky behaviours and unsafe activities
- Personal safety
- Crime and fear of crime
- Equality and respect
- Mental and physical health
- Peer-on-peer sexual harassment and sexual violence
- Exploitation
- Domestic and other forms of abuse
- Honour based abuse and harmful traditional practices
- Financial security and safety
Policies: