Safeguarding – it's everyone's responsibility

Kingston University is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all students, staff, and visitors and aware of its legal duties to safeguard children, young people, and adults at risk. The University will ensure provision of a safe environment beneficial to work, study and the enjoyment of a positive experience for all members of its community.

We believe that safeguarding and child protection is everyone's responsibility and concern. Students, staff and visitors have a duty to be alert to possible risks and signs of abuse and act upon this.

Kingston University's Safeguarding Policy can be found under policies and regulations.

Are you concerned for a child or an over-18 adult at risk?

If you have a concern about any member of the University community, you must report this. It is your responsibility to report all concerns – no matter how small you think they might be. The Lead Safeguarding Officers (LeSO) will determine what action(s) will be taken.

What is safeguarding?

Safeguarding is about protecting a person's right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It is about working together to prevent and stop both the risk and experience of abuse or neglect.

Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.

Child protection is part of the safeguarding process. It focuses on protecting individual children (under 18), identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. This includes child protection procedures which detail how to respond to concerns about a child.

Types of abuse and how to spot the signs

Abuse and neglect come in the following forms:

  • Discriminatory abuse
  • Domestic violence or abuse
  • Financial or material abuse
  • Modern slavery
  • Neglect or acts of omission
  • Organisational or institutional abuse
  • Physical abuse
  • Psychological or emotional abuse
  • Self-neglect
  • Sexual abuse

The signs may include changes in behaviour, absence from class or social groups, physical marks or bruising, lack of personal care.

For further information on the types of abuse and spotting the signs please see this document prepared by The Social Care Institute for Excellence: Safeguarding adults: Types and indicators of abuse (scie.org.uk).

What to do if you have concerns

Do

  • Stay calm and listen
  • Take what you are being told seriously
  • Evaluate the situation. Then follow the process for reporting urgent/less urgent concerns

Do not

  • Press the person for more details
  • Assume that someone else will take action
  • Contact the alleged abuser
  • Promise to keep it a secret

Urgent or out of hours safeguarding concern

Call 999 if there is an immediate risk to life, violence or other emergency.

Contact campus security on 020 8417 6666, where appropriate.

Where there is an urgent concern and out of hours, but not immediate risk, please contact the Local Authority out of hours number on 020 8770 5000.

As soon as you can, fill out safeguarding reporting concern form.

What happens next?

Your concerns will be managed by one of the lead safeguarding officers within 24 hours. Your concerns will be taken seriously and investigated.

If you have filled out the safeguarding reporting concern form following an out of hours and urgent safeguarding concern, a safeguarding lead will follow up any necessary referrals and liaise with internal services to make contact with the person at risk within 24 hours.

The member of the safeguarding team dealing with the concern will refer to Appendix G of the Safeguarding Policy, which outlines Kingston Council's referral process, the contact details for the Access Team including out of hours number and contact details for children's services.

Any necessary referrals or communication to internal and/or external services will be made by the safeguarding team dealing with the incident.

Someone from the safeguarding team will feedback to you following you reporting a concern, where possible.

Less urgent safeguarding concerns

Concerns should be reported in the first instance to your Local Safeguarding Officer (LoSO) or Deputy LoSO in the Faculty/Professional Services Department (PSD), who will liaise with the relevant Lead Safeguarding Officer and provide you with support, advice and guidance. (For the name and contact details of your LoSO, please see 'Who to contact' on this page.)

You should also complete the safeguarding concern reporting form. 

What happens next?

Your concerns will be managed by one of the lead safeguarding officers within 24 hours, is our aim. Your concerns will be taken seriously and investigated.

If you have filled out the safeguarding reporting concern form following an out of hours and urgent safeguarding concern, a safeguarding lead will follow up any necessary referrals and liaise with internal services to make contact with the student within 24 hours.

The member of the SG team dealing with the concern will refer to Appendix G of the Safeguarding Policy, which outlines Kingston Council's referral process, the contact details for the Access Team including out of hours number and contact details for children's services.

Any necessary referrals or communication to internal and/or external services will be made by the safeguarding team dealing with the incident.

Someone from the safeguarding team will feedback to you following you reporting a concern, where possible.

Who to contact

Concerns relating to children and vulnerable adults (including VAWG, bullying and harassment)

Jenni Woods
Lead Safeguarding Officers (LeSO) *
Head of Wellbeing and Inclusion
j.woods@kingston.ac.uk

Tim Dhir
Lead Safeguarding Officers (LeSO) *
Interim Head of Access, Transition & Engagement
t.dhir@kingston.ac.uk

* The Lead Safeguarding Officers have overarching responsibilities regarding safeguarding at Kingston University.

Concern relating to prevent/radicalisation

Andrew Boggs
Prevent Lead
University Clerk
a.boggs@kingston.ac.uk

Saladin G Rospigliosi-Pallavicini
Prevent Lead 
Academic Registrar
s.rospigliosi@kingston.ac.uk

Concerns relating to matters in departments

Each faculty, professional services department and HR, has a Local Local Safeguarding Officer (LoS) and a Deputy Local Safeguarding Officer (Deputy LoSO). They are the first point of contact for any safeguarding matters within their department, providing timely, relevant support and advice in order to safeguard the student concerned. They form part of a wider Safeguarding network along with the Lead Safeguarding Officers.

If your LoSO or Deputy LoSO is not available, you can contact any other officer in their absence.

Faculty of Business and Social Sciences

Maria Livanou
Local Safeguarding Officer (LoSO)
M.Livanou@kingston.ac.uk

Niki Giatras
Deputy Local Safeguarding Officer (Deputy LoSO)
N.Giatras@kingston.ac.uk

Kingston School of Art

Rebecca Davies
Local Safeguarding Officer (LoSO)
rebecca.davies@kingston.ac.uk

Jessica Waller
Deputy Local Safeguarding Officer (Deputy LoSO)
j.waller@kingston.ac.uk 

Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education

Daryl Maisey
Local Safeguarding Officer (LoSO)
d.maisey@kingston.ac.uk

Lorraine Gilmore
Deputy Local Safeguarding Officer (Deputy LoSO)
l.gilmore@kingston.ac.uk

Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing

Maia Ibsen
Local Safeguarding Officer (LoSO)
m.ibsen@kingston.ac.uk

Sunil Chhatralia
Deputy Local Safeguarding Officer (Deputy LoSO)
S.Chhatralia@kingston.ac.uk

Access, Participation and Inclusion

Jane Hargreaves
Local Safeguarding Officer (LoSO)
j.hargreaves@kingston.ac.uk

Martin Wood
Deputy Local Safeguarding Officer (Deputy LoSO)
m.wood@kingston.ac.uk

Graduate outcomes and Employability Skills

Ali Orr
Local Safeguarding Officer (LoSO)
A.Orr@kingston.ac.uk

Laura Ingham
Deputy Local Safeguarding Officer (Deputy LoSO)
L.Ingham@kingston.ac.uk

HR

Emily Boyton
Local Safeguarding Officer (LoSO)
E.Boynton@kingston.ac.uk

Jo Willoughby
Deputy Local Safeguarding Officer (Deputy LoSO)
j.willoughby@kingston.ac.uk

Library and learning services

Sandy Leitch
Local Safeguarding Officer (LoSO)
S.Leitch@kingston.ac.uk

Robert Elves
Deputy Local Safeguarding Officer (Deputy LoSO)
R.Elves@kingston.ac.uk

Recruitment and Admissions

Clare Beckett
Local Safeguarding Officer (LoSO)
C.Beckett@kingston.ac.uk

Patrick Hunt
Deputy Local Safeguarding Officer (Deputy LoSO)
P.Hunt@kingston.ac.uk

Student Services

Paolo Zanelli
Local Safeguarding Officer (LoSO)
P.Zanelli@kingston.ac.uk

Sue Stokoe
Deputy Local Safeguarding Officer (Deputy LoSO)
S.Stokoe@kingston.ac.uk

Student Wellbeing

Elliott Reed
Local Safeguarding Officer (LoSO)
Elliott.Reed@kingston.ac.uk

Coral Brazier
Deputy Local Safeguarding Officer (Deputy LoSO)
C.Brazier@kingston.ac.uk

Keeping apprentices safe

At Kingston University, we take our responsibility to ensure the safety of our students very seriously. This also extends to our students who have chosen to study at the University as part of an apprenticeship programme.

For more information, please download the Safeguarding – Keeping Apprentices Safe leaflet (PDF).