Policy Pitstop: Defining Safeguarding in Higher Education

To make attendance easier for colleagues, we're running this free event twice:

• The first delivery is on Monday 24th August - 11:00am to 11:45am

• The second repeat delivery is on Tuesday 25th August - 4:00pm to 4:45pm

You can select your preferred option as part of the booking process.

What exactly does ‘safeguarding’ mean in higher education today?

Is the term ‘safeguarding’ being used in a consistent and specific way across higher education? Does it need to be? Does every wellbeing concern – whether relating to a student, a member of staff or someone else – also amount to a safeguarding concern? If not, what would make a wellbeing concern a safeguarding concern?

Should higher education providers be working towards a clearer and more consistent definition of ‘safeguarding’ or is it more useful for the term to operate as a broader catch-all for a wide range of concerns and disclosures?

At Plinth House, we have been thinking this issue through over several years as we have reviewed and strengthened our own safeguarding training. This free-to-attend 45-minute online Policy Pitstop event is an opportunity to share what we have learned through that process and to reflect on what it might mean for the sector.

We will make the case for aligning safeguarding terminology with the statutory frameworks that already exist, rather than using the term so broadly that it becomes difficult to define, apply or explain.

The session is designed as a short, practical pause in the working day: a focused briefing on one specific policy issue, with space to consider the challenges that can arise when safeguarding is used inconsistently or open-endedly in a university or HEI context.

Who should attend?

This discussion is for anyone working in higher education who is interested in safeguarding arrangements within their institution or across the sector. It will be particularly relevant to managers and practitioners involved in managing escalated safeguarding cases, or in leading and implementing safeguarding arrangements across their institution.

Who is leading this session?

The session will be led by Levi Pay from Plinth House. Levi has previously worked as a director of student services and as chief safeguarding officer at several universities. He set up Plinth House in 2017 as a training and consultancy company focused on supporting the higher education sector with the trickier aspects of pastoral and specialist support. Levi has also worked in the equality and diversity field, including as policy director of the Equality Challenge Unit.

Will the session be recorded?

We have decided not to share a recording of the full session, because we want attendees to feel comfortable asking questions and discussing challenges from their own institutions during the Q&A. We may share information from the presentation after the event or run the session again in the future. The discussion will follow Chatham House rules, so any information we share afterwards will not be attributed to named individuals or institutions.