Protecting Against Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Related Behaviours

Reporting

Any incident of sexual misconduct, harassment or other related behaviours (along with any concerns around general malpractice) should be reported and this can be done by students, staff and participants.

This form allows for both anonymous and named reporting and whilst anonymous reporting may feel more safe for some victims, named reporting may allow better options for support, investigation and resolution. We can assure all those reporting incidents, however, that their report will be treated with the utmost confidentiality and will never adversely affect their time with the organisation.

For students studying on the degree course they can also report incidents directly to the Head of Degree Delivery, Student Support Manager or Admissions Manager.

If you are at immediate risk then please refer to this resource –  Support with Reporting Sexual Misconduct and Assault

Investigating Complaints and Communication

Once a report has been filed and includes a named complainant, the National Centre will respond within three working days and will undertake an initial support and early investigation phase within ten working days. This phase will determine whether enough evidence exists to progress the incident to either the Non-Academic Misconduct process for students or an HR disciplinary process for staff. It may also decide that there is not enough evidence to proceed further.

Details of this phase can be found below in Appendix A – Initial Support and Early Investigation

Details of the non-academic misconduct procedures and timeframes can be found in the Non-Academic Misconduct Policy Summary below

Commitment to Fair Practice

The National Centre is committed to never silencing those who might wish to report instances of sexual misconduct, harassment or related behaviours and it will never use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to silence victims or hide past or current incidents.

To demonstrate this, we have signed the Cant Buy My Silence pledge.

Statement on Staff and Student Relationships

The National Centre’s safeguarding statement is detailed in the policies section below, along with a policy on professional and personal relationships between staff and students. This is to ensure the equal treatment of all students and prohibit, as far as possible, any power imbalance between the two parties.

This means that we do not allow any intimate, sexual or romantic relationship to occur between National Centre students and members of staff, volunteers or trustees, either on or off site.

The National Centre does recognise, however, that personal relationships may exist when a member of staff is appointed or when a student enrols. It is the responsibility of the staff member whose professional relationship overlaps with a personal relationship with a student to inform either the HR and Finance Manager upon application, or a Head of Department or a member of the Safeguarding Team so that alternative teaching and assessment arrangements can be made.

Where a personal relationship is not declared and is deemed to provide advantages or disadvantages to either the student in the personal relationship or other students on the programme, this will lead to disciplinary action.

Should a intimate, sexual or romantic relationship develop that a student or participant wishes to report, they will not be penalised for participating in this relationship and will be protected from retaliation by the staff member.

Student Support

The National Centre for Circus Arts has a strong tradition of providing student care and support services and commits considerable resources to this purpose. These include counselling, medical support and learning support. The full range of support services that we offer to students studying on the degree programme can be found here.

Our Student Support Manager, along with other senior members of staff, can also provide support to those reporting instances of sexual misconduct, harassment or other related behaviours, which can also include ways to ensure the continuation of their study with us during any investigation.

In addition to this, we also have three ‘Guardians’ from the staff team who are trained to direct staff and students to the relevant resources, both internally and externally, related to the reporting and handling of sexual misconduct and harassment claims. Details for the Guardians, our Mental Health First Aiders, and Safeguarding Officers can be found on posters around the building.

Training

The National Centre considers training on how to recognise and minimise sexual misconduct, harassment and related behaviours as vital. It ensures that both staff and students undertake sessions and courses that are appropriate for the activity that they oversee or undertake with us.

Staff are trained through a platform called Safesmart, which is used across the organisation for a range of training needs and where a specific module on this topic is included.

Students are given in-person training as they arrive in their first year and then at the start of each of their subsequent years with us. This includes an overview of our sexual misconduct, harassment and related behaviours policy, as well as our approaches to safeguarding, safe touch, and personal relationships. They are also provided with overviews of how to report an incident and what to expect from the process. This training is delivered by New Pathways an Office for Students approved provider.