What is the difference in simple terms between Safeguarding and student support?

All colleagues have a statutory obligation towards Safeguarding in law. This is most commonly thought about in terms of those younger than the age of 18, but there are also institutional obligations towards adults, which most affects Goldsmiths' core business activity. 

Goldsmiths' Safeguarding Policy relates, in the most part, to legal compliance for safeguarding young people and children attending our campus for Departmental events, Open Days or if they are accompanying our students in the classroom. This is likely where a Departmental Safeguarding Coordinator will have the most responsibilities. 

It also covers when we feel like one of our students might be at-risk of Safeguarding, such as exploitation, trafficking or other vulnerabilities, but this is not in relation to general student support issues, such as general mental health, disability, monetary or wellbeing concerns. It would seem more likely for these issues to be presented to a trusted academic or a Senior/Personal Tutor.

Detailed in the Safeguarding Policy are some examples of where we might consider students for a Safeguarding referral. However, more often than not, a concern for a student will likely be dealt with as a general student support concern. If you are a Goldsmiths colleague, you can seek advice on a student's wellbeing by contacting wellbeing@gold.ac.uk.

Report and Support is now used to report safeguarding issues. This quick and easy reporting tool will ensure that colleagues can let us know if they wish for a Designated Safeguarding Officer to consider the circumstances surrounding a Safeguarding report without the need to know exactly who their DSO is, or take ownership of the issue they are reporting. This is also used in cases related to our Prevent Duty.

In short, an easy differentiation would be to ask yourself:

Or