Healthy Relationships Hub

Lakes College’s Healthy Relationships Hub is our dedicated Harassment and Sexual Misconduct information hub serving as a central, accessible hub for all relevant policies, procedures, and support pathways.

Here you can make a report, or seek information about sexual misconduct, harassment (physical or online), bullying, hate crimes, hate incidents, domestic abuse and spiking as well as obtain guidance on what to do if you need support.

These pages clearly outline our stance on harassment and sexual misconduct, provides guidance on reporting and investigations, and includes information on staff-student relationships. It is designed to be easy to navigate and understand. Through this resource, we demonstrate our proactive commitment to preventing and responding to harassment and sexual misconduct within our university community.

Policies, Procedures and Guidance

Lakes College’s values articulate our commitment to mutual respect and understanding and place an emphasis on underpinning all our practices with trust and honesty. Bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct have a detrimental effect on the health, confidence, morale and performance of those affected and the University.

The college is committed to providing a positive work and study experience for all of our stakeholders, which includes a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct, as is detailed in our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy (check).

Following extensive consultation, the college has developed a comprehensive action plan, with consideration given to our responsibilities under the Office for Students E6 condition and the Worker Protection Act. This action plan has 5 overarching themes of Leadership & Culture, Communication, Training, Safeguarding and Events & Fieldwork and is subject to internal monitoring to support effective delivery, to the benefit of our staff and students.

At the College, we believe that harassment, sexual misconduct, bullying, domestic abuse, hate crime, and discrimination are never acceptable. If you or someone you know has experienced or witnessed something concerning, there are several ways to report it to the College.

If you’re at immediate risk of harm, please call 999 to speak with the Emergency Services.

Alternatively, you can report your concern to the College through our dedicated reporting tool, You Report, We Support. Reporting to the College, the Emergency Services or both is entirely your choice. Whatever you decide, your choice will be respected, and you can always access our specialist advisors for further support.

In rare cases, the College may need to contact the police or other authorities directly, especially if there are broader safeguarding concerns. We will always try to speak with you first before taking any action.

Report your concern here

We are committed to protecting students from any actual or potential conflict of interest and/or abuse of power that may arise from inappropriate professional relationships with staff. Our Personal Relationships at Work Policy sets out our expectations and requirements regarding personal relationships between members of the College community.

The policy seeks to protect staff and students from allegations of actual or perceived conflicts of interest, to limit circumstances where a position of power may be abused and to support the safeguarding of students and ‘adults at risk’.

The College engages all investigating officer and chairs of disciplinary hearings in training to ensure that the disciplinary process is carried out fairly and impartially. Furthermore, all of our training includes the consideration of allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct to ensure all parties are informed and appropriately supported during and after an investigation.

Our Bullying and Harassment Policy explains what types of conduct amount to harassment and sexual misconduct and sets out the College’s approach to preventing and addressing harassment and sexual misconduct. The policy provide clear definitions of unacceptable behaviour, procedures for reporting incidents, and the support available to affected individuals. Further policies and procedure are available in our Policies, Procedure and Guidance Information Pages above.

Our confidential webform provides students with an easily accessible mechanism for reporting incidents of harassment, sexual misconduct, bullying, discrimination and other inappropriate behaviours. It also gives the opportunity for reports to be made anonymously.

Where concerns are raised regarding the behaviour of a student, the matter will normally be progressed through the Learner Disciplinary Procedure.

Where the concerns related to the behaviour of a member of staff with the College or a placement organisation, a person who has been contracted by the College, or a visitor to the College, the report will be progressed through the Learner Grievance Procedure and Higher Education Learner Conduct and Behaviour Policy and Procedure.

All information collected in connection with incidents of harassment or sexual misconduct is treated with sensitivity and fairness. Confidentiality is maintained at all times, unless there is an immediate risk of serious harm or a safeguarding concern, where emergency services or relevant authorities may be contacted. We will inform you beforehand wherever possible.

Student and staff records are securely stored with restricted access. These records are retained for six years after a student leaves or a staff member’s employment ends. In some cases, records may be kept longer if they relate to ongoing matters involving others at the College.

Information will only be shared where there is a legal basis to do so.

We’re committed to keeping individuals informed about the progress and outcomes of reports of harassment and sexual misconduct, in accordance with our legal responsibilities and institutional procedures:

• All student investigations will be normally be progressed through the Student Disciplinary Procedure. Where reasonable and lawful under data protection laws, the student who made the report (the reporting party) will be informed of the outcome and any resulting actions. The level of detail shared may depend on the circumstances and legal requirements.
• If the allegation involves a member of staff, the case will be referred to our Human Resources team and managed under the College’s Staff Disciplinary Policy and Procedure.
• At the conclusion of any process, appropriate information about the outcome and any next steps is shared with those directly involved in the case, such as the person who made the report (the reporting party) and the person against whom the allegation was made (the responding party), in line with data protection legislation.

Information is managed in line with the College’s Data Protection Policies, ensuring confidentiality and appropriate handling of personal information.​

At Lakes College, we are committed to upholding the principles of freedom of speech as part of our core values. This college respects the rights and freedoms of individuals, including the right to express their views freely, even if those views are controversial or unpopular. We emphasises the importance of maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all members of the college community. We believe that open dialogue must go hand-in-hand with respect.

We do not use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or confidentiality clauses to silence individuals who speak out about harassment, sexual misconduct or other forms of inappropriate behaviour. We want all students and staff to feel safe, heard, and empowered to share their experiences. It is important that our community feels supported and the use of such clauses would be considered to be wholly unacceptable.