Section D
DEALING WITH ALLEGATIONS/SUSPICIONS OF HARM/ABUSE
16.0 Raising Concerns
16.1 If a student has been subject to any behaviour that they feel is inappropriate these should be raised with either the student’s line manager or personal tutor or either one of two members of staff (one male and one female) who have been nominated as points of contact.
16.2 If a staff member or student has concerns about the behaviour of another staff member or student then these should be raised with the staff member’s line manager or either one of two members of staff (one male and one female) who have been nominated as points of contact.
16.3 All concerns raised in good faith and in compliance with the law will be protected from victimisation for reporting either improper actions or for cooperating with subsequent investigations as per the University’s Whistleblowing procedure.
16.4 These concerns will be investigated as per paragraph 18, 19 and 20 and the individual who raised the concerns may be interviewed as part of the process.
17.0 Supporting individuals who raise an allegation
17.1 The University realises that raising concerns can be highly distressing. The Head of School or line manager, along with a representative from Personnel, will meet with any staff member or student who raises concerns on behalf of a child or vulnerable adult and they will be offered the support detailed below. The student can be accompanied by their personal tutor.
Likewise where an allegation is made by a child or vulnerable adult who is a student of Queen’s the Head of School, accompanied by a Personnel representative, will (subject to advice from external agencies) meet with the student who can be accompanied by their personal tutor:
- Advise them of how the complaint will be handled.
- Offer a referral to the University Health Centre
- Provide such other support as required
- Keep the complainant advised of progress
17.2 Where an allegation is made by a child or vulnerable adult against a student or staff member that is working with a placement body (e.g. a Hospital Trust), Queen’s will work with the placement body to ensure that appropriate support services are offered to the complainant.
17.3 All other children and vulnerable adults who raise concerns will be offered the same support detailed at 17.1
18.0 Procedures for dealing with allegations or suspicion of abuse against a child or vulnerable
adult by an employee of the University at work
18.1 When an allegation of abuse has been made this should be immediately reported to the relevant Head of School/Director, the Personnel Department and the Director of Human Resources. In the absence of the Head of School/Director, or if s/he is the subject of the complaint, the Dean/Registrar will be notified.
18.2 The Head of School/Director, accompanied by a representative from the Personnel Department, will meet with the employee to inform her/him that an allegation has been made and will also explain the course of action to be taken. The possible courses of action are as detailed in 18.4 below. It should be made clear to the employee that this meeting is not an investigatory meeting or disciplinary hearing.
18.3 A representative from the Personnel Department will, if appropriate, consult the contact person within the appropriate statutory agencies (Police Service of Northern Ireland and/or Social Services) as part of the initial consideration to establish whether the allegation warrants further investigation by these agencies.
18.4 Possible outcomes of paragraph 18.3 may include the following:
- That there should be an immediate referral to the statutory/child protection agencies to investigate the matter. The Personnel representative will be responsible for liaising with the statutory agencies.
- That the allegations should be investigated under the relevant University’s procedures e.g. Fitness to Practice or Disciplinary Procedure.
- That the individual concerned is placed on precautionary suspension.
- That a referral is made to the ISA in line with the ISA referral guidelines
- That the allegation is without foundation and does not warrant further investigation.
18.5 Where cases have been referred to the statutory agencies, the Personnel representative will liaise with the agencies to obtain information on the progress of the investigation.
18.6 Investigations by the statutory agencies will take priority. Internal University investigations will commence only after the statutory agencies have completed their investigations. The University will keep the investigation of all complaints and the records relating to the matter confidential.
18.7 The University will refer and provide all necessary evidence to the ISA in line with the ISA Guidelines. Please refer to section 21.0 which relates to the referral process.
19.0 Procedures for dealing with allegations or suspicions of harm/abuse against a student of
the University undertaking placements with external agencies
19.1 When an allegation of abuse has been made this should be immediately reported to the relevant Head of School/Director and the Director of Academic and Student Affairs. In the absence of the Head of School/Director, or if s/he is the subject of the complaint, the Dean/Registrar will be notified.
19.2 The Head of School/Director, accompanied by a representative from the Directorate of Academic and Student Affairs, will meet with the student to inform her/him that an allegation has been made and will also explain the course of action to be taken. The possible courses of action are as detailed in 19.4 below. It should be made clear to the student that this meeting is not an investigatory meeting or disciplinary hearing.
19.3 A representative from the Directorate of Academic and Student Affairs will, if appropriate, consult the contact person within the appropriate statutory agencies (Police Service of Northern Ireland and/or Social Services) as part of the initial consideration to establish whether the allegation warrants further investigation by these agencies.
19.4 Possible outcomes may include the following:
- That there should be an immediate referral to the statutory/child protection agencies to investigate the matter. The representative from the Directorate of Academic and Student Affairs will be responsible for liaising with the statutory agencies.
- That the allegations should be investigated under the University’s Fitness to Practice or Disciplinary Procedure dependent on the student’s course of study.
- That the individual concerned is placed on precautionary suspension.
- That a referral is made to the ISA in line with the ISA referral guidelines
- That the allegation is without foundation and does not warrant further investigation.
19.5 Where cases have been referred to the statutory agencies, the representative from the Directorate of Academic and Student Affairs will liaise with the agencies to obtain information on the progress of the investigation.
19.6 Investigations by the statutory agencies will take priority. Internal University investigations will commence only after the statutory agencies have completed their investigations. The University will keep the investigation of all complaints and the records relating to the matter confidential.
19.7 The University will refer and provide all necessary evidence to the ISA in line with the ISA Guidelines. Please refer to section 21.0 which relates to the referral process.
20.0 Procedures for dealing with allegations or suspicion of abuse by a student who may be
a child/vulnerable adult against another student
20.1 When an allegation of abuse has been made by a student, who is a child or vulnerable adult, against another student, the procedure as at paragraph 19 will be followed. The Head of School of the student raising the complaint will also be advised.
20.2 Where the allegation against the student has occurred in University accommodation, the procedure at paragraph 19 will be followed with the exception that the Director of Student Plus will replace the Head of School.
20.3 Where the allegation against the student has occurred whilst on a field trip, the University’s Conduct Regulations paragraph 3.15 will apply. The individual in charge of the field trip should contact the Directorate of Academic and Student Affairs for advice on how to implement this procedure.
21.0 The Duty to Refer to the Independent Safeguarding Authority
21.1 The University has a duty to refer details of individuals to the ISA in the following circumstances:
- If the University withdraws permission for the individual to engage in regulated activity or would have done so if the individual had not resigned or been made redundant etc. The University should also refer if an organisation that it supplies a student to removes a student from regulated activity or would have done so had the arrangement not ended.
- If the University thinks the individual has engaged in relevant conduct (see below), satisfied the harm test (see below) or received a caution or a conviction for a relevant offence.
21.1.2 Referrals will be made when the University has gathered sufficient evidence as part of the investigation to support the reasons for withdrawing the individual from regulated activity and have consulted with the Health and Social Care Trust Designate Officer.
21.1.3 If the allegation is found to be true and the individual is given a warning and returned to regulated activity then the person must still be referred to the ISA.
21.1.4 The University will, if appropriate, also refer this information by post to the relevant regulatory body e.g. General Social Care Council, General Teaching Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council, Northern Ireland Social Care Council etc.
21.2 Making a Referral when there is no duty to refer
21.2.1 The University may provide information to the ISA where, following an internal investigation, there is insufficient evidence to show relevant conduct occurred but they still have concerns about that individual.
21.2.2 Where the University has concerns about an individual who has left employment or finished their studies and the University knows or thinks that the individual works in regulated activity or controlled activity in another setting. Again there is no duty to refer to the ISA but the University may do so.
21.2.3 If the University is aware of information held by another sources then this should be indicated on the referral form.
21.3 Relevant Conduct is
- conduct which endangers a child/vulnerable adult or is likely to endanger a child or vulnerable adult;
- conduct which, if repeated against or in relation to a child/vulnerable adult would endanger that child/vulnerable adult or would be likely to endanger him;
- conduct involving sexual material relating to children (including possession of such material);
- conduct involving sexually explicit images depicting violence against human beings (including possession of such images), if it appears to the ISA that the conduct is inappropriate;
- conduct of a sexual nature involving a child or vulnerable adult, if it appears to the ISA that the conduct is inappropriate.
Definition - A person’s conduct endangers a child/vulnerable adult if s/he
a. Harms a child or vulnerable adult;
b. Causes a child or vulnerable adult to be harmed;
c. Puts a child or vulnerable adult at risk of harm;
d. Attempts to harm a child or vulnerable adult; or
e. Incites another to harm a child or vulnerable adult
21.4 The Harm Test
The harm test is satisfied if the relevant person believes that an individual may;
- harm a child or vulnerable adult;
- cause a child or vulnerable adult to be harmed;
- put a child or vulnerable adult at risk of harm;
- attempt to harm a child or vulnerable adult; or
- incites another to harm a child or vulnerable adult
22.0 Information Received from the ISA
22.1 In situations whereby the ISA advises the University that an individual is no longer being monitored then the University will remove this individual from regulated activity immediately. The situation will be investigated further and may result on the individual’s contract being terminated.
23.0 Future Developments
23.1 This policy will be reviewed annually or sooner in the event of relevant legislative change.
