Prevent

We are proud to be a vibrant University community, where people from all backgrounds can come together to share their views and experiences and in which ideas can be heard and tested.

We encourage our students to show they can challenge and interrogate different viewpoints in a thoughtful, tolerant and courteous way.

The University is committed to upholding freedom of speech and has a statutory responsibility to do so. At the same time, it has a responsibility to all staff, students and members of the public, including any speakers, to ensure there are processes and procedures in place to safeguard them.

Our Freedom of Speech: External Speakers and External Events Policy supports this by requiring staff and students to seek clearance for speakers whose engagement may require exceptional resources or safety considerations. The University works closely with the Union of Kingston Students to agree mitigating safety measures ahead of such events going ahead.

We expect all speakers who attend events across any of our campuses, or being held online, to conform to the University and the Union of Kingston Students' equality policies, which include a joint values statement. Both the University and Union reserve the right to deny access to a speaker, or to stop a talk, if an individual or organisation refuses to comply with these requirements or breaches the values statement in any way.

This policy does not apply to guests invited to speak on campus as part of standard course delivery or other core University operational activity. Decisions about what constitutes day-to-day University business of this nature are made by Faculty Deans and other members of the University's senior leadership.

The University has a longstanding commitment to equality and takes its obligations under the Equality Act 2010 extremely seriously. It does not permit gender segregation at university-approved events.

The University Clerk, Andrew Boggs, is the institution's Prevent lead. He is supported by Academic Registrar Saladin Rospigliosi, who is the deputy Prevent lead, and members of the Prevent (Review and Implementation) Group, drawn from across the University.

Chaired by the University Clerk, the group reviews all activity in relation to the Act and monitors implementation of statutory guidance relating to it. The group is responsible to the Vice-Chancellor, as the University's Accountable Officer.