Introduction
- The college has a positive policy of equality and diversity and strives to support students wherever possible. The college also has a duty of care to safeguard all its stakeholders including staff, students and visitors and is committed to providing a safe environment for study and work.
- As part of an ongoing commitment to safeguard all its stakeholders the college operates a policy whereby all applicants must declare whether they have an unspent criminal conviction.
- The college will make every effort to ensure that applicants with criminal convictions are given every opportunity to study, provided it can ensure its safeguarding commitment to the whole college community.
- Those declaring such a conviction will be risk assessed to gauge their suitability for undertaking a course of study within the college. Additionally, if a current student is convicted during their course of study, it is their responsibility to inform a member of staff, who will in turn notify a Safeguarding Officer immediately.
Aims of the Policy
- To ensure that everyone who works and learns at the College achieves their full potential safely in an environment free from discrimination.
- To have procedures that take account of an individual’s right to education balanced by the risk to the college and its wider community.
Scope of Policy
- This policy applies to all students irrespective of their method of application or enrolment or their type of study including those on further education, higher education (including programmes awarded by partner institutions), school links and apprenticeship programmes, studying either full-time or part-time, whilst attending a college centre, at a College-approved placement or whilst engaging in remote learning.
- Any outcome of an assessment taken under this policy will apply to all college sites and all enrolment venues and programmes, wherever these are delivered.
- Any risks identified could relate to information / evidence arising prior to or at the time of enrolment or arising post-enrolment whilst studying at the college.
Fitness to Practise
Some qualifications require an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS). In this circumstance students must disclose any spent convictions that would appear on a DBS. The onus is on the student to establish, prior to enrolment, if they will be able to work in the type of sector connected to their chosen course. The college is available to assist with any queries which potential students may have and
are obliged to tell us about any convictions (including pending) when applying/enrolling.
Appeals Procedure
- In the event that the outcome of the risk assessment is that a student/potential student’s application and enrolment cannot proceed, then the student/potential student has 15 working days to appeal in writing to the Director of Student Support and Wellbeing.
- An appeals panel will meet within 10 working days of the receipt of the letter. The panel will consist of the relevant Head of School and the Director of Student Support and Wellbeing. A member of the safeguarding team will present the case. During periods of remote learning, this meeting may take place via telephone or video call as soon as is reasonable permissible.
- All relevant documents will be reviewed along with any new evidence. The panel may take specialist advice where necessary.
- The student/potential student will then be informed in writing of the decision. The outcome of the appeal is final.
Data Protection
The College will comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by ensuring that personal data collected in relation to this policy is:
- Collected and processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently for only specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes. Further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, research purposes or statistical purposes shall not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes.
- Adequate, updated, and relevant and not excessive for the purposes it was collected.
- Processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction, or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures. Including not being transferred to a country outside the European Economic Area unless that country has equivalent levels of protection for personal data.
- Kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed. Personal data may be stored for longer periods solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by the GDPR to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals.
Confidentiality
- The Data Protection Act and GDPR are not only restrictions on disclosure of information about the college, but they are also bound by a common law duty of confidentiality. This duty prevents the College from releasing information about students, without their consent. This duty applies to manual records as well as information held on computers.
- Information which must be treated as confidential includes the names and addresses of students and any other information about them which is not publicly known, i.e., “personal data”. Accordingly, to ensure that the College does not breach its duty, no information, even if it only exists in printed form, should be disclosed unless all the relevant procedures have been followed.
- There may be occasion where the College is obliged to disclose information, notwithstanding that the learner has refused consent:
- Where the learner’s behaviour threatens their safety or safeguarding, and that of others.
- Or where the college would be liable to civil or criminal liability for failure to disclose.
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