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Safeguarding

Derby College Group places the highest importance on safeguarding and the safety and well-being of students.

Safeguarding is the action we take to promote the welfare of young people and protect them from harm.

At DCG, safeguarding means:

  • protecting young people from abuse and maltreatment
  • preventing harm to young people’s health or development
  • ensuring young people are cared for in a safe environment
  • taking action to enable all young people have the best outcomes

The Government legislation that applies specifically to schools and colleges with regard to safeguarding young people and safer recruitment, is called Keeping children safe in education 2023 In order to comply with the duty of care DCG has for all students, safeguarding policies, processes and procedures are in place to ensure that matters of safeguarding can be dealt with effectively.

Whenever necessary, the safeguarding team at DCG liaise with external agencies such as Social Care, Health Services, Police, Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and many others to help and support students at risk of harm or facing difficult or challenging circumstances.

Key Safeguarding Contacts at Derby College

If you need any advice or support you can contact our Safeguarding Team for a chat email:  safeguarding@derby-college.ac.uk, or speak to them, or a Pastoral coach, in person whilst at College.:

Robert Bamford

Director of Health and Safety

Designated Safeguarding Lead

Telephone: 07395 600 045

Guy Hodgkinson

Safeguarding Team Manager

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Telephone: 07740 423 971

Kate Cox

Little Explorer Nursery Manager

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (for the nursery only)

Telephone: 07718 235 647 Ext 6620

Charlotte Dunn

Safeguarding Coordinator

Telephone: 07701294515

Emma Webb

Safeguarding Coordinator

Telephone: 07725483341

Out of College hours support

If you have any Safeguarding concerns when the college is closed, you should contact either your Local Authority Out of Hours Social Care number for any concerns relating to a child (under 18), which you can find by putting in the postcode of where you’re reporting from at https://www.gov.uk/report-child-abuse-to-local-council.

Alternatively, if you feel that a child or any other student is at immediate risk and in need of protection you should contact the Police immediately (999 emergency, 101 non-emergency).

Further support and advice

Keeping you Safe

Keeping Safe Online

Online Safety is being aware of the nature of the possible threats that you could encounter whilst engaging in activity through the Internet, these could be security threats, protecting and managing your personal data, online reputation management, and avoiding harmful or illegal content

More on Keeping Safe Online

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Mental Health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. If you are finding it difficult to manage how you think, feel and act with respect to daily stresses, it could be a sign of poor mental health. Mental illnesses are conditions that affect a person’s thinking, feeling, mood or behaviour

More on Mental Health and Wellbeing

Domestic Abuse and Violence

Domestic abuse encompasses any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality

More on Domestic Abuse and Violence

Peer on Peer Abuse (also known as Child-on-Child Abuse)

Peer-on-peer abuse is a term used to describe young people abusing other young people

More on Peer on Peer Abuse

Modern Day Slavery

Modern slavery exists in many forms in the UK, including trafficking into criminal activities like cannabis farming, sexual exploitation, domestic slavery or forced labour on farms, in construction, shops, bars, nail bars, car washes or manufacturing

More on Modern Day Slavery

FGM

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is an illegal, harmful practice and a form of child abuse and violence against women and girls. It is defined as ‘the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons.

More on FGM

Prevent

Prevent is part of the government’s Counter Terrorism Strategy. It aims to prevent people from becoming terrorists and/or supporting terrorist activities and to challenge extremist ideologies.

More on Prevent

Exploitation

Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) and Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). Exploitation comes in many forms and can often overlap, it is not discriminatory, and anyone can be subject to this type of abuse.

More on Exploitation

Forced Marriage

A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities or reduced capacity, cannot) consent to the marriage. A forced marriage is not to be confused with arranged marriage.

More on Forced Marriage

Neglect

Neglect is the ongoing failure to meet a young person’s basic needs and the most common form of child abuse.

More on Neglect

Suicide Awareness

People who experience a stressful life event may feel intense sadness or loss, anxiety, anger, or hopelessness.

More on Suicide Awareness