Safeguarding
The safety and wellbeing of our students and staff is a top priority at Harrogate College. All staff are trained in safeguarding and child protection and our dedicated safeguarding team is on hand for advice and support. In our last Ofsted inspection, safeguarding in the college was judged to be ‘effective’.
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:
- All forms of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual and financial)
- Neglect
- Bullying (including cyber bullying)
- Children missing education
- Child sexual exploitation
- Domestic violence
- Drugs
- Faith abuse
- Female genital mutilation (FGM)
- Forced marriage
- Gangs and youth violence
- Mental health
- Preventing radicalisation
- Relationship abuse
- Sexting
- Trafficking
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
If you are worried about yourself of someone you know in college, please speak to any member of staff. They will pass on this information to the safeguarding team who can take further action. There is also a ‘Report it’ button on the student information hub. Alternatively, please email safeguarding@harrogate.ac.uk.
Support for parents to help their children face the digital future safely, and with confidence: https://parentzone.org.uk/
You can view our safeguarding policy
Prevent
We take terrorism seriously, so we closely follow the Prevent scheme as outlined by the government. We aim to prevent people from being drawn into all forms of extremism by educating and raising awareness about issues that could endanger or cause harm.
Prevent is a government initiative aimed at stopping 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.
British Values
| Democracy | 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. |
| The rule of law | 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. |
| Individual liberty | 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. |
| Mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs | Respect for others is a core focus of Harrogate 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. |