Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) For All Users
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Source: www.glos.ac.uk. All Rights Reserved. 2025 University of Gloucestershire
Last updated: 3 October 2025
Effective from: August 2025
Review Date: August 2028
Status: Non-contractual (Consulted)
Policy Owner: Director of Student Experience / Director of People
1.1 Safeguarding means protecting people’s health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect.
1.2 This policy is a statement of the University’s commitment to safeguarding and protecting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults (as defined in section 4), in so far as they are engaged in university-related activities and services with the institution, its staff and students.
2.1 This policy applies to any staff member, student, learner, volunteer or visitor within the University community.
2.2 This policy provides guidance on responsibilities in relation to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults and highlights the procedures that should be followed if it is suspected that a child or vulnerable adult is experiencing or is at risk of harm. The primary responsibility of staff and other members of the University community is to report concerns to the relevant channels.
2.3 The term ‘safeguarding’ is used to refer to a number of areas of concern relating to children or vulnerable adults including:
a) Child protection issues;
b) Sexual exploitation/sexual abuse;
c) Radicalisation;
d) Physical abuse or neglect;
e) Psychological or emotional abuse or neglect;
f) Financial or material abuse;
g) Modern slavery;
h) Discriminatory abuse;
i) Domestic abuse;
j) Organisational abuse;
k) Self-neglect or risk to self/others;
l) Forced marriage;
m) Female genital mutilation
3.1 The University is committed to creating a safe and secure environment for all its staff, students, learners, and visitors to its sites and recognises that in the course of fulfilling their duties members of staff and students may come into contact with children and/or vulnerable adults (as defined in section 4 below).
3.2 In order to ensure it fulfils its duties, the University will ensure an appropriate member of Senior Management is designated as Lead Safeguarding Officer (LSO). The Lead Safeguarding Officer’s responsibilities will include:
a) Implementing and promoting this policy;
b) Ensuring the policy is monitored and reviewed in accordance with changes in legislation and guidance on the protection of children and vulnerable adults;
c) Appointing Safeguarding Officers (SOs) and ensuring SOs are trained in relevant safeguarding procedures and competent in fulfilling their duties;
d) Ensuring appropriate and adequate resources are available in order that the University is able to meet its safeguarding responsibilities;
e) Ensuring that appropriate University members and University Committees are provided with appropriate reassurance that the University is meeting its safeguarding obligations;
f) Establishing and maintaining contacts with Children’s and Adult Social Services, Police authorities and NHS Safeguarding Teams.
3.3 To support the Lead Safeguarding Officer (LSO), a number of Safeguarding Officers (SOs) will be appointed to ensure that members of the University community can access advice and share concerns with an SO at their location.
3.4 Partner organisations working from University premises are expected to have a Safeguarding Policy in place, and an appointed SO in place to be part of the University SO network and to ensure that concerns can be raised easily across the institution (as defined in section 4 below).
3.5 Safeguarding concerns will be taken seriously, will be considered fully and any such concerns will be reported in a timely manner to the relevant person and/or body (e.g. an SO or police.)
3.6 Safeguarding referrals to the relevant statutory body will be made based on identified and evaluated risk.
3.7 Written records and referrals of safeguarding concerns will be maintained centrally. Such written records will be stored securely and only accessed by authorised staff. All personal data will be processed by the University in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the University’s Data Protection Policy and Records Retention Schedule.
3.8 University staff working with students or staff members who are the subject of safeguarding concerns will consider what support may be offered to the individual and will signpost accordingly. This may include referral to internal and/or external services.
3.9 Appropriate support will be available to staff who receive and report disclosures of safeguarding issues through the SO Team.
3.10 At any time there are a number of students across the University who are undertaking a formal placement or work experience opportunity linked to their course. In a number of course areas (notably related to Education and Health & Social Care) the University has a professional responsibility to our stakeholders to ensure that students who go on formal placement are ‘fit to practice’.
3.11 In a work placement or professional work experience setting (including teaching, health and social care placements), a member of staff or student should report any safeguarding concern to the employer’s Designated Safeguarding Lead, as per the employer’s policy. The staff member or student must ensure that they read and understand the employer’s policy.
4.1 For the purposes of this policy, a child is defined as a person who is under the age of 18. In legal terms, the Care Act (2014) defines a vulnerable adult as an individual over the age of 18, who:
a) has needs for care and support (whether or not the appropriate local authority is meeting any of those needs) and;
b) is experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect; and
c) as a result of those care and support needs is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect.
4.2 The term ‘safeguarding’ is often misused during situations where individual students are described by colleagues to be ‘a safeguarding risk’ or ‘a vulnerable adult’ due to issues they may be facing with regard to their own health or wellbeing. For clarity unless the student(s) in such circumstances are classified either as a child or a vulnerable adult (as defined above) then this policy document will not be an appropriate guide. Colleagues should instead seek advice and guidance from Student Support colleagues.
4.3 As detailed in Section 3, this policy recognises that the University is looking to create a safe environment for all its students, learners, staff, associate staff, formal visitors and contractors, and for members of the community who informally visit the University.
4.4 As detailed in Section 3, it is expected that the following partner organisations working from University premises have Safeguarding Policies in place and an appointed Safeguarding Officer:
4.5 Anyone may witness or become aware of information suggesting that abuse and neglect is or is at risk of occurring and it must not be assumed that someone else will share the information. If a child or Adult at Risk discloses abuse directly to a member of staff this should always be taken seriously.
4.6 Everyone to whom this policy applies has a responsibility to follow the guidance laid out in this policy and related policies and to pass on any concerns of abuse or risks of abuse promptly using the required procedures.
5.1 The following are indicative examples of situations which may present safeguarding concerns and initiate the reporting procedure to the relevant person/body.
5.2 The following incidents MUST always be reported to a relevant person/body:
6.1 Upon receiving any report, the Safeguarding Officer will be responsible for ensuring that a full record is kept of the risk assessment process and of any action taken subsequently. This will be done in accordance with the University’s Data Protection Policy.
6.2 The Safeguarding Officer will report brief details of all referrals, regardless of whether the matter was referred to an external agency to the Lead Safeguarding Officer.
7.1 The University will seek to ensure that any staff or students working with children or vulnerable adults on a substantial basis, or having close, unsupervised contact with children or vulnerable adults, will have an appropriate DBS check carried out; this will always be an ‘enhanced check’. Responsibility for ensuring such checks are conducted rests with the line manager.
7.2 Students on specified courses may require a DBS check. Such courses e.g. those related to initial teacher training, social work or health at the University will be required to have an enhanced DBS check as a matter of course, and before enrolment.
8.1 This policy will be reviewed by the Director of People and the Lead Safeguarding Officer on a three-yearly basis or as required should there be substantive changes in legislation or the statutory duties which fall on the University.
Lead Safeguarding Officer: Stewart Dove (Director of Student Experience)
[email protected] / 01242 714536
Safeguarding Officers: Laura Nettell (Head of Student Wellbeing)
[email protected] / 01242 714341
Kathy Carruthers (Head of Student Support)
[email protected] / 01242 714548
Matt Tansley (Head of Sport & Active Life)
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