Key Updates or Changes

Previous Frameworks

You can find some of our previous frameworks on this page.

Last Update - 22.07.2025

1. Sexual Misconduct

Since the announcement of the new E6 condition of registration on the 31st of July 2024, a thorough review of our policy and practices has been undertaken that benchmarks the university against them. With the amendment in law (the Worker Protection Act) this presented an opportunity for joined up thinking and an approach between Human Resources, Student Support and Academic. A working group chaired by the Director of Student Life has been horizon scanning, enhancing the benchmarking exercise and action planning, with the view to achieve outputs that will support the development of internal procedures that are credible, lawful, and transparent. 

Our renewed policy sets out our obligations under the worker protection act and E6 condition and is presented across three distinct strands of prevention, response and intervention which sets out the university policy intentions into actionable strategies and plans.

This renewed policy and framework set out:

Prevention:

• The university’s expectations of behaviour by our employees (to include those we subcontract), students and apprentice learners.
• The university approach to the assessment and mitigation of risk at institutional and departmental levels, with a newly developed risk assessment and action plan template.
• It also sets out in the scope of policy our expectations of UK and TNE partners.
• Our approach for staff and student training. 
• Our approach for proactive communications.
• Disclosure and Reporting routes to include guidance for reporting parties, and those in receipt of disclosures.
• Steps we will take to monitor and evaluate the efficacy of our actions.

Response:

• Reporting channels for staff, students and apprentice learners and covers specific guidance for staff who do not routinely have access to IT equipment.
• What happens after a report is received, to include the configuration and terms of reference of an initial review meeting panel (IRM). Including the basis on which a request for a review by the reporting party can be made and to whom.
• Newly developed risk assessment templates that support the identification and mitigation of risk for reporting parties, responding parties and institutional and reputational risk by the IRM panel.
• Newly developed robust guidance on effective record keeping and documentation.
• Guidance on confidentiality and confident information sharing.
• Newly developed guidance on where no consent is present or where a request not to act is received.
• Highlights newly developed underpinning principles of investigating a complaint formally, as well as arrangements in cases where police investigations or judicial proceedings are a feature.
• Preventing and Reporting Victimisation.
• Reporting outcomes.
• Further safeguarding considerations to include regulated staff and students studying regulated courses.
• Nondisclosure agreements .

Intervention:

• Highlighting that the frameworks set out steps for intervention and support at every stage of the framework.
• General signposting and support related to sexual harassment, misconduct and violence.
• Specific internal support for staff.
• Specific internal support for students and apprentice learners.
• Guidance on how to support a peer or colleague.