NCC Safeguarding

On this page:

• Our safeguarding vision
• What is safeguarding?
• Reporting/Need help now?

Our safeguarding vision

CITB is committed to safeguarding the welfare and protection of all and believes it is always unacceptable for anyone to experience abuse or discrimination of any kind; it takes all reasonable steps to protect all from harm and accepts its responsibility for the wellbeing and safety of its stakeholders, including children, young people, and adults at risk and wider staff teams.

CITB will make every effort to comply with current national legislation, ensuring that the Board of Trustees, Executive Management Team, Leadership Team, and wider staff teams understand and meet their safeguarding responsibilities.

CITB will ensure that the rights of learners are respected regardless of age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, race (including colour, nationality, ethnic origin), religion or beliefs, gender reassignment, pregnancy, and maternity status, marital or civil partnership status.

As a Training Provider, CITB/NCC complies with its responsibility under the Counter Terrorism and Security Act (CTSA) 2015 to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.

Our aim is to support the construction industry to develop a skilled, competent, and inclusive workforce for now and in the future. We do this by putting learners first and taking a proactive approach to promote learners’ wellbeing and safety.

We aim to empower all stakeholders with the confidence to make decisions, report concerns, and seek additional support.  

• We have a duty to protect you from harm and abuse
• We have a dedicated Safeguarding Team to support you while on programme.
• To ensure appropriate safeguarding action is taken to preserve safety at home, at work, and in training.
• We will help you to find support with local agencies to manage your concerns
• We will work with others to ensure that your safety and wellbeing is prioritised.

What is safeguarding?

Safeguarding is the process of creating a safe and welcoming environment, where everyone is respected and valued. Safeguarding works to actively prevent harm, harassment, bullying, abuse, and neglect. We will listen to learners and will ensure that their best interests are at the centre of all decision making.

All young people and adults are entitled to be safeguarded and protected from harm when they need it.

Our commitment to learners

CITB recognises that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.  We will:

• Support staff to develop their understanding of safeguarding
• Equip learners with the knowledge to keep themselves safe.
• Work with all staff, learners, providers, employers, and partner agencies to provide an environment in which every individual is free from abuse and harm
• Tailor our approach to recognise that young people and adults may be at risk of significant harm not only within their home environment but also outside it
• Keep the learner at the centre of all decisions that are taken to keep them safe.

Our safeguarding responsibilities are not restricted to our NCC colleges, but also includes our partner colleges and apprenticeship workplaces.

Safe environment 

We aim to provide an environment in which all learners feel comfortable and have their learning needs met. We want our learners to feel supported and able to ask for help if needed. We do this by providing resources for learners to manage their own wellbeing. We do this through:

Recognition

Recognising the role all staff and stakeholders have in relation to safeguarding and ensuring it is prioritised by staff appropriately.

Action

Taking appropriate action to prevent safeguarding concerns from escalating and work with other services as needed to support wellbeing.

Partnerships  

Building strong relationships with all stakeholders and external support services to offer a wrap-around approach to all.  We do this by supporting all employers to report concerns to our safeguarding team through our Apprenticeship Development Officers and Apprenticeship Development Coaches. If employers have safeguarding concerns, they should report to CITB staff who will ensure each learner is fully supported.

Implementation of the Prevent Duty

Through the promotion of British values, we will support learners to develop their responsibilities as citizens, recognising the values of democracy, individual liberty, rule of law and mutual respect and tolerance. 

Reporting/Need help now?

Immediate risks of harm should be reported to the Police on 101, or in an emergency 999. 

​You should contact the Safeguarding Team and speak with them if you are: 

• Concerned that you are not safe
• Concerned that another learner may not be safe
• Think a c learner might be being abused.

All CITB staff are suitably trained in Safeguarding. Concerns can therefore be raised with any trusted member of staff within CITB & NCC, this includes Apprenticeship Development Officers, Apprenticeship Development Coaches, Lecturers, Instructors, or the Welfare Team:

You can contact the Safeguarding Team at the following email address: apprenticeships.safeguarding@citb.co.uk

The Construction Industry Helpline

The Construction Industry Helpline provides a 24/7 safety net for all construction workers and their families in the UK and Ireland. It is a charitable service funded by the industry, for the industry and provides;

• Emergency financial aid to construction families in crisis
• Advice on occupational health and mental wellbeing
• Support on legal, tax and debt management matters.

Personal development (curriculum focus)

We focus on giving learners the skills and knowledge to ensure their emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing both during training and their life beyond.

Operational Safeguarding Policy

Download the full Operational Safeguarding Policy (PDF, 664KB).