What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding means protecting a person’s health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm. Some groups, such as children and vulnerable adults, may be at particular risk of harm because of their care or support needs.
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and Birmingham City University has its own Safeguarding Policy and Process. This policy applies to all staff, student and visitors to the University. In exceptional circumstances, it may also be applied to any prospective students who have applied to study at the University, or to any former students within 6 months of completing their studies
If you believe someone to be at imminent risk of serious harm or death, you should call 999 in the first instance.
What is harm?
Harm can happen anywhere and can include:
- Physical harm e.g. hitting or self-harm
- Psychological harm e.g. making threats, radicalisation
- Financial harm e.g. stealing
- Sexual harm e.g. grooming, sexual assault
- Neglect e.g. not taking care of yourself or a dependant
When and how should I raise a safeguarding concern?
If you have reason to believe that someone has experienced, is experiencing or is at risk of harm, you should report a safeguarding concern by completing a Report and Support.
To report a concern, under the section titled “I would describe what happened as” in the report form, please select “A safeguarding concern”. On the next page, you will be asked to select a subcategory of Safeguarding, the options are: Urgent Mental Health concerns, Housing/homelessness, financial concerns and Concerns relating to minors. If for example, your concern was not an option, e.g. the concern related to Domestic Abuse, you should report this via “Gender Based Abuse”. To read more about the how you should complete the form, please see our User Guidance document. [LW1]
The University does not expect individuals reporting a concern to know for certain whether it is a safeguarding matter. Reporting allows you to share your concern with a member of staff training in safeguarding, who will then assess the risk and determine the best course of action.
Situations in which a concern should be raised include (but are not limited to):
- Either a child or adult declares abuse, harm or other inappropriate behaviour;
- Either a student or member of staff declares information about them or a family member which suggests someone may be harming a child or vulnerable adult;
- There is a concern that a child or adult is being harmed or manipulated, or is at risk of harm or manipulation;
- Changes have been noticed in a child or adult’s appearance or behaviour that may be related to harm or manipulation; or
- You become aware that a person presents a risk of harm towards a child or adult in relation to their current or previous behaviour. For example, they have a criminal conviction that involves harming or threatening to harm someone else, or they are involved in the possession of inappropriate images or extremist material.
If you have concerns that someone is at immediate risk of harm, you should report this to the police by calling 999. If you are on university campus and require support from the emergency services, you should contact security first by calling 0121 331 6969. Security will then make the call to the emergency services, be able to support staff members affected by an incident and guide emergency services to the incident on site.
Many police services also have online reporting options. You can find more information on West Midlands Police website here: Report | West Midlands Police.
You can report any crime anonymously via Crime Stoppers (call 0800 555 111 or use their online form). [LS2]
What information do I need to report a concern?
When reporting a safeguarding concern, please give as much information as possible about your concern. Including the following information, which is particularly helpful:
- Contact details of the person at risk
- Your contact details, in case we need to contact you to discuss the concern further
- Details of your specific concern (e.g. what are you worried about? why? when did you become aware of this concern? how long has this been going on?)
- Details of your most recent contact with the person at risk
- Is the person aware you are raising a safeguarding concern?
Please refer to our User Guidance document [LW3] to see what questions are asked, and why the information is important.
What happens when a safeguarding concern is raised?
Once you submit a safeguarding concern through Report and Support, the report will be triaged by a member of staff in the Mental Health and Wellbeing team who is trained in safeguarding. Using the information you provide, the team will decide the best course of action to take. On some occasions, you may be contacted by a staff member for further information.
Please provide as much information as you can in your report, and submit this concern as soon as you become aware of it, so that appropriate action can be taken as quickly as possible.
If the safeguarding concern raised relates to a student, your safeguarding concern will be triaged by a member of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Team. We will make contact with the student to complete a safe and well check. If we are unable to reach the student, then we may take appropriate further action. This may involve contacting third parties including accommodation services, emergency contact, or emergency services as necessary. To read more about what the action and contact with a student may look like, see this support article.
If your safeguarding concern relates to a member of staff, this will be actioned by People and Culture.
Emergency situations: Imminent risk of harm
An emergency situation occurs when there is an imminent risk of harm to an individual’s physical or mental health, such as someone appearing to be unconscious or sharing plans to harm themselves or another. If, having read the Safeguarding Policy, you are concerned that someone is at immediate risk of harm, you should contact Security on extension 6969 (0121 331 6969) and ask them to contact the emergency services. If this is not possible, you will need to make the call to the emergency services by dialling 999.
If you need immediate crisis support, please contact the emergency services on 999 or if possible go to your nearest A&E department. A mental health emergency is just as important as a physical health emergency.
Birmingham has two 24/7 mental health crisis teams:
·Forward Thinking Birmingham (under 25's) - 0300 300 0099
·Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust (over 25's) - 0121 301 5500
Find your local mental health urgent care/crisis team here: Mental Health Helpline for Urgent Help - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
What support is available from BCU for safeguarding concerns?
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or are seriously injured, you can seek emergency support by calling 999. If you are on campus and need additional support, you can call Security on 0121 331 6969, they are available 24/7.
If you have experienced, or you know someone who has experienced a safeguarding concern it can be helpful to talk about this with someone you trust. You can speak to the University Mental Health & Wellbeing Team, who have trained advisors to support students at BCU. The Mental Health & Wellbeing team are available Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
You can also choose to speak to the Student Support Centre or to your personal tutor for support and guidance.
BCU’s wellbeing app is an online support service that can be accessed by BCU students and staff for free. There are self-help resources and information on anxiety, stress, managing emotions and building confidence readily available.
Extenuating Circumstances. If you feel your studies have been affected by what has happened, you can consider applying for extenuating circumstances.
If you are a member of staff, you can contact People and Culture, your HR partner will be able to identify the support that’s available for you. Staff members can also utilise the Employee Assistance Programme. If you are a member of a trade union, you may be able to access further support by getting in touch with them directly. The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team provides advice, support and guidance on equality, diversity and inclusion related issues to academic advisors and other staff in student-supporting roles.
If you are worried or concerned about someone else, find out more about how you can help them.
What support is available externally for safeguarding concerns?
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or are seriously injured, you can seek emergency support by calling 999. If you are on campus and need additional support, you can call Security on 0121 331 6969, they are available 24/7.
If you would like to explore support external to the university, you can find a list of organisations below that can provide this support. These organisations will be able to provide to support to anyone, no matter if they are a staff member or a student.
- Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid. 0808 800 0028 helpline is open 7 days a week 9.15am-5.15pm. Provides domestic violence and abuse support services to women and children in the Birmingham and Solihull area.
- Karma Nirvana; an organisation supporting victims of forced marriage and honour-based abuse and violence.
·Victim Support offer free and confidential advice and support
- Call the Samaritans Helpline on 116 123 (open 24/7, 365 days a year)
- Muslim Safety Net is a specialist helpline providing support to individuals who have experienced anti-Muslim hostility, discrimination and hate crime.
- Citizens Advice provides some information on bullying and harassment
- LGBT Foundation has a number of groups covering a wide section of the LGBT community. They provide a safe and comfortable environment for people who may feel isolated, are coming out or are new to the area.
- Look at the NHS guidance on 5 steps to positive mental wellbeing.
- Access some self-help resources available on iCity.
It’s important to take care of yourself. If you’ve heard something distressing or if something is troubling you, seek help and support from one of the above services.
If you are worried or concerned about someone else, find out more about how you can help them.
If you would like to submit information on a support service you think might help others, please contact us.