Policies

Our commitment 

CILEX Law School (CLS) is committed to the provision of accessible learning and wishes to support all students in their studies. To this end, we will make reasonable adjustments in accordance with section 29 of the Equality Act 2010 and the associated Code of Practice on Services, Public Functions and Associations.

All CLS students can apply for Learner Support in relation to a disability, health condition or learning difficulty. Applicants will be contacted by our Learning Support Advisor (LSA), who will discuss the student’s needs and create a mutually agreed Learner Support Plan.

If you are a prospective student and wish to discuss the reasonable adjustments that CLS may be able to make to assist you in your studies, please contact our LSA at clslearnersupport@cilexlawschool.ac.uk.

Please note that adjustments made by CLS are applicable to your learning only. Reasonable adjustments required for exams must be accessed via application to CILEX.

Website

This website has been produced in accordance with current accessibility guidelines. Should you encounter any difficulty accessing content within this site, please send your suggestions to IT@cilexlawschool.ac.uk.

CLS Hub (VLE)

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.

The CLS Hub is built using Totara Learn 11. Because of the customisable nature of Totara, it can be difficult to exactly map the conformity of the site with the WCAG. Totara Learn is working towards compliance with WCAG 2.1, the current WCAG guidelines. Not all of the WCAG guidelines are applicable to Totara.

Other adjustments

Adjustments are dependent on your personal needs and will vary from student to student. A personalised Learner Support plan will be devised between the Learning Support Advisor (LSA) and the student which will detail the changes to be made for that individual. Adjustments may include, but are not limited to:

• Providing materials in PDF or Word format for use with screen reading software
• Additional submissions for skills assignments
• Easy access rooms for face-to-face sessions
• Regular contact with the LSA for planning and target setting
• Permission to audio record face-to-face sessions
• Providing materials for induction days, skills workshops and revision sessions in advance.

Eligibility

Learner Support is provided for students who have conditions which fall within one or more of the following categories:

• Disability
• Physical illness – long or short-term
• Mental Health condition
• Learning difficulty
• Physical injury

Evidence must be provided with every application submission.

How to apply

Once you complete your purchase, you will receive a confirmation email containing application instructions and/or a link to the Learner Support application form. You will also find a link to the application form on the My Courses page in the CLS CRM Portal and on the Learner Support page in the CLS Hub.

CILEX Law School is committed to promoting and maintaining the highest level of ethical standards in relation to all its business activities. Its reputation for maintaining lawful business practices is of paramount importance.

CILEX Law School has a zero-tolerance policy towards bribery, corruption and other wrongdoing and is committed to acting fairly and with integrity in all its business dealings and relationships and implementing and enforcing effective systems to counter bribery.

What is whistleblowing?

Whistleblowing is a term used when an individual discloses information relating to suspected wrongdoing or bad behaviour and/or the covering up of wrongdoing or bad behaviour.

CILEX Law School aims to encourage a culture of openness and create an environment in which whistle-blowers can have confidence that they will be protected and supported if they make a disclosure to us in good faith.

How to raise a concern

CILEX Law School Learners

a) If you wish to make a disclosure relating to your employer, you should refer to your employer’s whistleblowing policy.

It is important to remember that, if you are employed, as a whistleblower you are protected by law – you will not be treated unfairly or lose your job because you ‘blew the whistle’.

If you are unsure how to proceed or you want independent advice at any stage, you should contact a whistleblowing charity such as Protect, who promote accountability and good practice in the workplace by helping to ensure that concerns about wrongdoing are properly raised and addressed. Protect can be contacted on 0203 117 2520, by email to whistle@protect-advice.org.uk or visit www.protect-advice.org.uk.

b) The CILEX Law School contact details for making a whistleblowing disclosure in relation to CILEX Law School delivery are: The CILEX Group Privacy Officer (privacy@cilex.org.uk).

The preferred method of receiving whistleblowing disclosures is by email.

If you choose to make a whistleblowing disclosure to CILEX Law School and have provided contact details, we will send you an initial acknowledgement within five workings days to confirm that we have received your disclosure. Depending on the circumstances, we may refer you to Protect.

CILEX Law School will normally ask a whistle-blower to provide evidence to support the disclosure if the whistle-blower has this. Anonymous whistleblowing disclosures will be considered by CILEX Law School although it may not always be possible to investigate or substantiate anonymous disclosures.

You can raise an issue anonymously but must be aware that doing so will make it more difficult for us to carry out an investigation and update you with progress made.

Your Confidence

Once a concern has been raised, all parties will conduct the matter as confidential, except where disclosure becomes legally necessary or mutually agreed. We will not tolerate the harassment or victimisation of anyone raising a genuine concern.

Context

CILEX Law School aims to provide all of its students with the support and guidance they need to achieve success. The Student Code of Conduct sets out the standard of conduct we expect of you as a student of CILEX Law School and that we believe is consistent with helping you to undertake your studies in a supportive and non-threatening environment.

What students can expect from CILEX Law School:

CILEX Law School is committed to providing the highest standards in both educational provision and administrative services.

We will:

• Give you clear, accurate and timely advice, information and guidance to help you choose a programme of study that is right for you
• Provide you with the opportunity to attend an induction session to help you make the most of your course
• Provide you with up-to-date courses and course materials that have been prepared specifically for the purpose described
• Help you with scheduling your studies by providing guidance and support
• Provide you with appropriately qualified teaching staff
• Deal with your enquiries promptly and courteously
• Investigate a complaint with any aspect of our service promptly and courteously
• Value people equally, respecting our democratic values of freedom of speech, appreciation of different beliefs, the rule of law and individual liberty

What CILEX Law School expects from our students

We expect students to:

• Take responsibility for your own learning by making use of course resources, seeking help when you need it, and acting upon the feedback and support you receive
• Take responsibility for your own learning by ensuring you are equipped with the skills required to perform to the levels required of CLS courses and assessments
• Treat with respect and courtesy everyone with whom you come into contact within the context of your CILEX Law School course
• Adhere to the Health and Safety policies and to any specific requirements that apply to any premises attended for a CILEX Law School event
• Value people equally, respecting our democratic values of freedom of speech, appreciation of different beliefs, and the rule of law and individual liberty.

What CILEX Law School will not accept from our students

CILEX Law School considers the forms of unacceptable conduct that are set out below to constitute misconduct that is likely to lead to disciplinary action. However, the list should not be regarded as exhaustive.

We will not tolerate behaviour that:

• Disrupts or improperly interferes with the teaching, learning, administrative, or other activities of CILEX Law School, whether on CILEX Law School premises or elsewhere
• Obstructs or improperly interferes with the functions, duties or activities of any student, member of staff or freelance tutor of CILEX Law School
• Amounts to discrimination, harassment, or victimisation of others on the grounds of their age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, pregnancy, maternity, race, religion, belief, or sexual orientation
• Amounts to bullying or harassment of any kind towards a student, a member of staff or freelance tutor by any means including cyber-bullying, cyber-harassment, or harassment through social media
• Is violent, indecent, intimidating or threatening, or that involves offensive behaviour
• Is likely to cause injury or jeopardise safety during any CILEX Law School activity
• Breaks the regulations of any premises being used for any tutorial, revision session or examination centre, including health and safety matters
• Reveals confidential information without permission, including personal information about other students, clients or staff and information covered by CILEX Law School’s registration under data protection regulations (see our Privacy Statement)
• Amounts to student malpractice in line with the CLS Malpractice Policy or that breaches CILEX regulations relating to examinations, professional skills assessments and competence qualifications
• Abuses copyright: this specifically includes, but is not limited to, any breach or infringement of copyright or licence, whether owned or controlled by CLS or by a third party, by copying, distributing or offering for sale course or assessment material
• Involves the recording of academic sessions or conversations without prior authorisation through a Learner Support Plan or the express agreement of the tutor holding the session.

1. Introduction

CILEX Law School is committed to providing a learning environment in which all learners can fulfil their potential and participate freely. CILEX Law School has developed a Code of Conduct (Appendix A) supported by this procedure to ensure that all learners can undertake their studies in a supportive and non-threatening environment.

CILEX Law School is also committed to upholding the highest standards in education and training. CILEX Law School has an obligation to its learners, partner universities, employers and awarding bodies to ensure that the qualifications its learners receive are a fair and accurate representation of their work, and of the knowledge and skills attained. This policy sets out how CILEX Law School addresses any issues regarding malpractice. This policy applies to all staff and learners.

This policy includes CILEX Law School’s position in relation to the use of Generative AI platforms for assessed work / submissions.

2. Purpose and Scope of the Policy

This policy is designed to:

• ensure all learners and staff understand the standards of behaviour required by CLS;
• identify and minimise the risk of malpractice by learners or staff;
• respond to any incident of alleged malpractice promptly and objectively;
• ensure that the facts are established, and matters are investigated fully before action is taken;
• ensure that learners are given access to a fair hearing;
• standardise and record any investigation of malpractice to ensure openness and fairness;
• impose appropriate penalties and/or sanctions on learners or staff where incidents (or attempted incidents) of malpractice are proven;
• inform relevant stakeholders to proven incidents of malpractice;
• protect the integrity of CLS and the programmes it offers;
• ensure consistent and just treatment for all regardless of disability, age, race, gender (sex), religion and belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity.

The procedure applies to all students and apprentices enrolled with CILEX Law School. If a student or apprentice is accused of academic misconduct (plagiarism or cheating), the issue will be dealt with through the Academic Malpractice procedure.

If a student or apprentice fails to meet the required standards of academic performance, such as poor-quality submissions or skills performance, this will be dealt with through the separate Academic Performance Policy. This procedure will be implemented in accordance with our Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility policy, and students or apprentices subject to disciplinary investigation or action will not be discriminated against or victimised on any grounds. Records of disciplinary action will be monitored by race and gender.

3. Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct at Appendix A sets out the expectations that we have in terms of learner and staff behaviour. It lists CLS’s expectations in terms of:

• behaviour
• work/study performance

If a learner does not follow the Code of Conduct, disciplinary action may be taken.

4. Implementation

CILEX Law School will:

• seek to avoid potential malpractice by using course inductions to inform learners and staff of the policy on malpractice and the potential penalties;
• provide guidance, where appropriate, on the formats to record cited texts and other materials or information sources;
• ask learners to declare that their work is their own;
• raise awareness of the malpractice policies of relevant awarding bodies and provide access to these through the online student or apprentice handbook;
• conduct an appropriate investigation where an allegation of malpractice is raised;
• inform relevant and necessary stakeholders (including employers) where matters of discipline and malpractice have been proved / established.

5. Definition of malpractice

Malpractice is any act, default or practice which (but is not limited to):

• compromises, attempts to compromise or may compromise the process of assessment, the integrity of any qualification or the validity of a result or certificate; and/or
• compromises, damages the authority, reputation or credibility of any awarding body or any officer, employee or agent of any awarding body.

Note to learners regarding the use of Generative AI

CILEX Law School embraces learning, curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. As such we are aware that generative AI tools and platforms can offer a number of benefits in the legal environment, and as such are not issuing a blanket or absolute restriction on the use of generative AI in assessed work*. However, we feel it is important that learners are transparent about the use of such tools and content generated from them, and we would remind our learners that there are also drawbacks:

It is important that our learners:

• Understand the drawbacks and limitations of any AI system you are using;
• Check the factual accuracy of the content it generates as you would any legitimate source;
• Do not rely on AI generated content as your key source – rather, use it in conjunction with other sources.

Over-reliance on AI tools to generate written content or analysis in assignments reduces opportunities to practice and develop key legal skills (e.g., persuasive writing, critical thinking, evaluation and analysis). These are all important skills that are valued and required to succeed in and beyond your time at CILEX Law School.

Finally, be aware that if you use AI tools (such as ChatGPT or others) to generate an assignment (or part of an assignment) in your law and practice units and submit this as if it were your own work without reference or acknowledgement of its use, this will be regarded as academic malpractice and treated as such.

* Please be advised that the use of generative AI is only permitted for assignments on your law and practice units. Additionally, if you use any generative AI tool (such as ChatGPT) to help you (e.g. generate ideas or develop a plan), you must acknowledge how you have used the tool, even if you do not include any AI generated content in your work. You should acknowledge the AI tool used, describe how you used it, and indicate the date you accessed it. Generative AI is not allowed in any form for skills unit assignments, including mock assignments

6. Examples of malpractice by learners or staff

Whilst it is not possible to compile a comprehensive list of matters which can be termed as malpractice, examples of potential malpractice by learners and/or staff can be found in Appendix B.

7. Procedure on allegation of malpractice

The exact procedure will depend on the circumstances of the malpractice or nature of the programme, however all investigations will be in a form commensurate with the nature of the malpractice. Each procedure will include the following steps:

• the individual will be informed at the earliest opportunity of the nature of the alleged malpractice and of the possible consequences should malpractice be proven;
• the individual will be given the opportunity to respond to the allegations made within a reasonable timescale;
• the allegation and all relevant evidence will be considered by an appropriately constituted Student / Staff Disciplinary Panel, or in cases of skills assessment performance, a Student Skills Panel;
• the individual will be informed of the avenues for appealing against any decision made;
• all stages of any investigation will be documented.

Where malpractice is proven, CILEX Law School will apply penalties/sanctions appropriate to the nature of the malpractice under review. In relation to staff, this is likely to involve the CILEX Law School Disciplinary Procedure.

8. Gross misconduct

Gross misconduct is serious misconduct where CILEX Law School considers that it is not possible to continue to allow you to study with us. If proven, it would normally result in the termination of your course and barring from further courses.

While it is not possible to compile a comprehensive list of matters which can be termed gross misconduct, a range of examples are given at Appendix C.

9. Criminal activity

CILEX Law School reserves the right to report potentially criminal activity to the police, and/or to advise victims of such activity of their right to do so. If an incident is serious and of a criminal nature, we may defer disciplinary action pending the outcome of criminal proceedings. In exceptional circumstances we may also take the decision to suspend you until the outcome of the proceedings is known.

10. Disciplinary procedure

The following procedure will be used if a learner breaches the Code of Conduct:

• A thorough investigation into the alleged misconduct will take place, including interviewing any relevant parties. The learner will be notified that the investigation is taking place, and the timescale for this. We will aim to keep the timescale as short as possible, although this will depend to a certain extent on the nature of the allegation.
• The learner will be invited to attend before the Student Disciplinary Panel.
  • For distance learning (including CPQ) students, this panel will comprise three members of CILEX Law School staff, including the Programmes Manager, the Head of Curriculum and EmploExperience), and one further member of staff.
  • For apprentices, this panel will comprise of three members of CILEX Law School staff, including the Head of Apprenticeships, Programmes Operations Manager, and one further member of staff.
• The learner will have the right to be accompanied by a family member or friend, but they will not be entitled to speak on the learner’s behalf.
• The Student Disciplinary Panel will make a finding on the balance of probabilities based on all of the evidence, including any submissions you wish to put forward.
• The learner will be provided with a written record of that finding.

11. Disciplinary penalties

If a finding of misconduct is made in relation to a learner or staff member, the following range of penalties is available, depending on the nature and seriousness of the misconduct found.

11.1 Cautions – informal and formal

A caution may be either formal or informal. A student may be cautioned on an informal basis that further misconduct will result in formal disciplinary action being taken. Informal cautions will not be noted on the learner’s record.

A formal caution may be delivered in writing, electronically or orally in the presence of at least one witness but will be confirmed in writing to the learner. Formal cautions are noted on the learner’s record and remain in place for a period of up to two years.

11.2 Temporary exclusion

This involves temporary exclusion from any facilities, premises or services that are available to CILEX Law School students and apprentices. The duration of any temporary exclusion will be proportionate to the nature of the misconduct.

11.3 Permanent exclusion

This involves permanent exclusion from any facilities, premises or services that are available to CILEX Law School students and apprentices.

11.4 Exclusion from an event

This means exclusion from a teaching session, workshop or revision session.

11.5 Other penalties (and for staff)

This would include such other penalty as the CILEX Law School Disciplinary Committee might reasonably deem appropriate, given the circumstances of the misconduct.

12. Appeals

Students and apprentices have the right to appeal against a finding of the Student Disciplinary Panel, or penalty imposed. In order to appeal, the learner must submit the appeal in writing to the Academic Director, within ten working days of receipt of the notification letter.

The Academic Director will conduct an appeal interview with the learner and notify them of their decision in writing within five working days.

13. Key contact details:

Programmes Manager (Lauren Davies)

Email: lauren.davies@cilexlawschool.ac.uk

Academic Director (Head of Teaching, Learning and Student Experience) (Simon Cohl)

Email: simon.cohl@cilexlawschool.ac.uk

Tel: 07920 740152

Programmes Operations Manager (Karen Taylor)

Email: karen.taylor@cilexlawschool.ac.uk

Tel: 07769 168497

Details of written warnings, exclusions, suspensions and appeals will be held on a central register. Records will be kept until the January which falls two years after the completion of, or earlier termination of, the Programme of learning or Apprenticeship for which CILEX Law School was the training provider unless a shorter period is specified.

Associated documentation

• Code of conduct
• Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility Policy
• Skills Referral Policy
• City and Guilds Malpractice policy and procedures
• CILEX Law School Procedure on allegation of malpractice in relation to skills units
• Partner university malpractice policies
• Complaints Policy

Appendix A: Student Code of Conduct

Context: CILEX Law School aims to provide all of its students with the support and guidance they need to achieve success. The Student Code of Conduct sets out the standard of conduct we expect of you as a student of CILEX Law School and that we believe is consistent with helping you to undertake your studies in a supportive and non-threatening environment.

What students can expect from CILEX Law School:

CILEX Law School is committed to providing the highest standards in both educational provision and administrative services.

We will:

• Give you clear, accurate and timely advice, information and guidance to help you choose a programme of study that is right for you
• Provide you with the opportunity to attend an induction session to help you make the most of your course
• Provide you with up-to-date courses and course materials that have been prepared specifically for the purpose described
• Help you with scheduling your studies by providing guidance and support
• Provide you with appropriately qualified teaching staff
• Deal with your enquiries promptly and courteously
• Investigate a complaint with any aspect of our service promptly and courteously
• Value people equally, respecting our democratic values of freedom of speech, appreciation of different beliefs, the rule of law and individual liberty

What CILEX Law School expects from our students

We expect students to:

• Take responsibility for your own learning by making use of course resources, seeking help when you need it, and acting upon the feedback and support you receive
• Take responsibility for your own learning by ensuring you are equipped with the skills required to perform to the levels required of CLS courses and assessments
• Treat with respect and courtesy everyone with whom you come into contact within the context of your CILEX Law School course
• Adhere to the Health and Safety policies and to any specific requirements that apply to any premises attended for a CILEX Law School event
• Value people equally, respecting our democratic values of freedom of speech, appreciation of different beliefs, and the rule of law and individual liberty.

What CILEX Law School will not accept from our students

CILEX Law School considers the forms of unacceptable conduct that are set out below to constitute misconduct that is likely to lead to disciplinary action. However, the list should not be regarded as exhaustive.

We will not tolerate behaviour that:

• Disrupts or improperly interferes with the teaching, learning, administrative, or other activities of CILEX Law School, whether on CILEX Law School premises or elsewhere
• Obstructs or improperly interferes with the functions, duties or activities of any student, member of staff or freelance tutor of CILEX Law School
• Amounts to discrimination, harassment, or victimisation of others on the grounds of their age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, pregnancy, maternity, race, religion, belief, or sexual orientation
• Amounts to bullying or harassment of any kind towards a student, a member of staff or freelance tutor by any means including cyber-bullying, cyber-harassment, or harassment through social media
• Is violent, indecent, intimidating or threatening, or that involves offensive behaviour
• Is likely to cause injury or jeopardise safety during any CILEX Law School activity
• Breaks the regulations of any premises being used for any tutorial, revision session or examination centre, including health and safety matters
• Reveals confidential information without permission, including personal information about other students, clients or staff and information covered by CILEX Law School’s registration under data protection regulations (see our Privacy Statement)
• Amounts to student malpractice in line with the CLS Malpractice Policy or that breaches CILEX regulations relating to examinations, professional skills assessments and competence qualifications
• Abuses copyright: this specifically includes, but is not limited to, any breach or infringement of copyright or licence, whether owned or controlled by CLS or by a third party, by copying, distributing or offering for sale course or assessment material
• Involves the recording of academic sessions
• or conversations without prior authorisation through a Learner Support Plan or the express agreement of the tutor holding the session.

Appendix B

Learner malpractice

Examples of learner malpractice include, but are not limited to, the breach of examination or assessment rules, regulations and requirements as follows:

• plagiarism of any nature;**
• collusion by working collaboratively with other learners to produce work that is submitted as individual learner work;**
• copying (including the use of ICT to aid copying), or allowing work to be copied;**
• fabrication of results or evidence;
• false declaration of authenticity in relation to the contents of a portfolio or coursework;
• obtaining or attempting to obtain secure examination/assessment material;
• impersonation.

** Plagiarism on skills units is further covered by the CLS Skills referral Policy. Please be aware that if you use AI tools (such as ChatGPT or others) to generate an assignment (or part of an assignment) is strictly prohibited. Use of such platforms in your law and practice units, and submission as if it were your own work without reference or acknowledgement of its use, will be regarded as academic malpractice and treated as such.

Staff malpractice

Examples of staff malpractice include, but are not limited to:

• failure to ensure learners, colleagues or peers are safe and able to complete their tasks / learning activities in reasonable comfort/safety;
• failure to keep confidential information including assessment and/or examination materials secure;
• fraudulent claim for certificates and/or deliberate submission of false information to gain a qualification or unit;
• inappropriate assistance/support to learners in relation to meeting examination/assessment requirements;
• deception (for example, manufacturing evidence of competence, assessment or internal quality assurance records);
• failure to keep candidate coursework/portfolios of evidence secure;
• allowing evidence, which is known by the staff member not to be the learner’s own, to be included in a learner’s assignment/task/portfolio/coursework;
• facilitating or allowing impersonation.
• fraudulent claim for work carried out for, and/or deliberate submission of false information to gain a financial reward/payment

Appendix C

Examples of gross misconduct

1. Antisocial, aggressive and/or unruly behaviour when attending any teaching or examination venue. This includes deliberate damage to property.
2. Violent, dangerous, threatening, bullying and intimidating conduct.
3. Verbal abuse that is either bullying or harassment including inappropriate and/or unwelcome comments, requests and messages on grounds of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sex, pregnancy, marital us, disability/learning difficulty or socio economic status of another student, member of staff, or a member of the public. This includes use of social media through posting either text or images, including video.
4. Committing an offence which could give CLS a bad reputation or which affects the student’s suitability to continue the course.
5. Deliberate falsification of college documentation, records and course work, including a failure to disclose a criminal conviction or caution – unless it is spent.
6. Theft or unauthorised possession (with intent to steal) of any property belonging to another student, CLS, any employee of CLS or third parties connected to CLS.
7. Incapacity through intoxication as a result of alcohol or illegal drugs (including prescription drugs used in an unauthorised manner).
8. Academic misconduct including exam misconduct to include plagiarism and cheating during any exam.
9. Repeated breaches of the Code of Conduct. This list gives examples of types of behaviour which could lead to exclusion but is not intended to be exhaustive. CLS reserves the right to include any other issues not defined in this list as gross misconduct should that occasion arise.

1. Introduction and context

CILEX Law School (CLS) is committed to working with learners to ensure that they perform to the very best of their ability and fulfil their academic potential. CLS aims to achieve this through open access to its courses and materials, which are designed to support students in achieving success in their assessments. CLS does not impose minimum entry requirements but does make recommendations to help guide prospective learners in their course selection.

CLS is also committed to upholding the highest standards in education and training, and has an obligation to its learners, partner universities, employers and awarding bodies to ensure that the skills qualifications its learners receive are a fair and accurate representation of their own work, and of the knowledge and skills attained.

2. Purpose

This policy aims to:

• outline the steps that CLS will take to support learners who are not demonstrating the requisite minimum levels of written English in skills assessments;
• ensure that learners understand the consequences of not meeting the requisite minimum levels of written English in skills assessments;
• ensure a fair and transparent process for dealing with circumstances where learners fail to meet these minimum levels in skills assessments;
• respond to any incident of alleged malpractice in skills assessments promptly and objectively, standardise and record any investigation of malpractice;
• impose appropriate penalties and/or sanctions on learners where incidents (or attempted incidents) of plagiarism are proven to protect the integrity of CLS and the programmes it offers, and;
• ensure consistent and just treatment for all regardless of disability, age, race, gender, religion and belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity.

3. Scope

This policy covers instances of learner performance and misconduct on CLS Skills units only. It does not cover general misconduct or malpractice which are covered by the CLS Disciplinary & Malpractice procedure.

This procedure is underpinned by the Student Code of Conduct and the CILEX Malpractice Policy and Procedures – CILEX Learners, which can be found by clicking here.

4. Requirements of the CILEX professional skills units

The CILEX professional skills units at Level 3 and Level 6 require students to be able to communicate in clear English, meeting an acceptable standard of grammar and punctuation.

CLS is unable to provide specific English courses for those who may not be able to demonstrate the requisite skills. Where CLS identifies that a student is performing below the requisite standard in terms of their written communication skills, the steps outlined in section 5 will be followed.

CLS reserves the right to terminate a learner’s course(s) where:

• A learner fails to demonstrate the skills needed to pass the assessment after the support/intervention outlined in sections 6 and 7. In such circumstances, it will be in the best interests of the learner for them to improve their communication skills before completing the unit; or
• A learner fails to abide by the CILEx Malpractice Policy and Procedures – CILEX Learners.

5. Learners identified as not demonstrating the requisite English skills:

CLS offers opportunities on its skills courses for learners to practice the skills required to successfully undertake and pass summative assessments (which are externally assessed by CILEX).

When marking internally assessed assignments, CLS Skills Tutors will identify how learners can improve their answer technique, where they need to revisit areas of the skills unit content to improve understanding and where their written communication skills require improvement.  For Client Care in particular, the CILEX learning outcomes require strong communication skills. It is not possible to pass the skills assignments without them.

6. Informal support:

Informal support is provided to all learners at several stages in their learner journey:

1. Skills workshops (at regular intervals throughout the year) provide opportunities for learners to better understand what is expected in the assessed assignments and increase learners’ chances of first-time success by pointing out common errors and omissions. Materials (including mini-lectures, PowerPoint slides, e-books and workshop activities) are also provided on course pages.
2. Mock assignments (L3 and 6 Client Care only) are designed to let learners practise their skills before being assessed on them in the assessed assignments. Legal Research courses provide such opportunities during the task submissions themselves. CLS Skills Tutor feedback will identify where learners’ submissions are, and are not, meeting the requisite standard on both mock and assessed assignments.
3. Learners are entitled to resubmit assessed assignments on two or three occasions (depending on the level and skills unit), gaining further marking tutor feedback throughout.
4. If after the last permitted submission a learner’s assignment is judged to be a fail, learners are required to make a referral to a Subject Champion, where there will be further opportunities to discuss in depth where learners have been going wrong before attempting a final submission.
5. All interventions and support are subject to the requirement that the assessed assignments must be a learner’s own work.

7. Formal Intervention:

Where a learner’s skills performance is raised as a concern through any of the informal support (above), either from a CLS Skills Tutor, Subject Champion or a member of the Academic team, this will be raised with the Deputy Academic Director.  In such circumstances:

• A Skills Panel (chaired by the Deputy Academic Director) will take place to review any assessed assignments as required. The learner will be notified that a Skills Panel is taking place, and the timescale for this. We will aim to keep the timescale as short as possible, although this will depend to a certain extent on the nature of the concerns raised.
• The Skills Panel will make a provisional recommendation based on all the evidence.
• The learner will be invited to discuss the Skills Panel’s recommendation with the Deputy Academic Director and provide any additional information as relevant.
• The Deputy Academic Director will make their final decision, based on all the evidence, and the learner will be provided with a written record of that decision.
• The Deputy Academic Director has the right to offer additional / alternative support measures, as well as terminate a learner’s course enrolment. Should the course enrolment be terminated, consideration will be given to a partial refund of the course fee, although any refund must take account of the resources and support already provided by CLS.

8. Appeal

If the Deputy Academic Director terminates a learner’s programme, the learner has the right to appeal within ten working days to the Academic Director, setting out the grounds for the appeal.

The Academic Director will review all relevant documentation and notify the learner of the outcome in writing within five working days.

9. Learners identified as having committed alleged malpractice on skills units:

Examples of plagiarism/collusion include, but are not limited to, the breach of examination or assessment rules, regulations and requirements as follows:

• plagiarism of any nature;
• collusion by working collaboratively with other learners to produce work that is submitted as individual learner work;
• copying (including the use of ICT to aid copying) or allowing work to be copied.

10. Procedure on suspicion of plagiarism/collusion:

All allegations of plagiarism on skills units will be referred to the Legal Skills Lead in the first instance for consideration.

If, following review, the Legal Skills Lead considers that there is a potential case of plagiarism, they will refer the matter to a Skills Panel for consideration (chaired by the Legal Skills Lead, Academic Manager and one other member of CLS staff).

The Panel will consider the submission, any relevant evidence, and the nature of the suspected plagiarism.

If the Panel considers that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting plagiarism, the Legal Skills Lead will write to the student to request a written explanation within 14 days. The email will include:

• details of the suspected plagiarism;
• details of the evidence that supports the suspected plagiarism;
• details of the possible consequences should plagiarism be proven. CLS will reserve the right to refer the matter to CILEx;
• a copy of ‘CILEX Malpractice Policy and Procedures – CILEX Learners’ which sets out the penalties and appeals policy, and overview of the Qualifications Malpractice Committee’s remit and advice about the possible referral of the matter to CILEX Regulation, if the suspected plagiarism is upheld.

If no response is received within 21 days, the matter will automatically be referred to CILEX.

The response from the student will be considered by a second Skills Panel (chaired by the Deputy Academic Director or Academic Manager). The Panel will consider the nature of the suspected plagiarism evidence available, and response of the student before deciding whether it is necessary to refer the matter to CILEX.

Depending on the extent of the plagiarism, the following action may be taken:

• Student asked to re-work the submission (minor cases only);
• Student to be withdrawn from the course;
• Student to be banned from taking further courses with CLS for a period of time;
• CILEX to be notified for further investigation.

11. Appeal

If the Deputy Academic Director or Academic Manager terminates a learner’s programme, the learner has the right to appeal within ten working days to the Academic Director, setting out the grounds for the appeal.

The Academic Director will review all relevant documentation and notify the learner of the outcome in writing within five working days.

1. Introduction and context

CILEX Law School is committed to ensuring the safety and welfare of all students and apprentices (learners) that undertake learning with us. This commitment reflects our shared ethos of working in the best interests of our learners and helping them to thrive.

CILEX Law School recognises that safeguarding against radicalisation and extremism is no different to safeguarding against any other vulnerabilities that our learners may face. This policy therefore incorporates measures to protect our learners from being radicalised or exposed to extremist views, along with associated procedures. Meeting our safeguarding and Prevent obligations involves putting into place a number of measures to create a safe environment for students, apprentices and staff. Whilst safeguarding and Prevent issues are not a frequent occurrence, all staff are advised to maintain an “it could happen here” attitude and must therefore be aware of this policy and associated procedures.

2. Safeguarding definitions

2.1 Safeguarding

In essence, safeguarding aims to promote the welfare of young people and vulnerable adults, and protect them from harm or abuse. It involves taking effective action to enable all learners to have the best outcomes.

CILEX Law School is committed to creating a safeguarding culture, where all staff are aware of our responsibilities and vigilant in acting in the best interests of our learners; all learners are aware of what to do if they have a concern and feel confident in how this will be handled.
Information should be reported by the member of staff as soon as possible, and on the same day at the latest.

The report must include a clear, precise and factual account of any disclosures or observations. It must include the time and location of the incident and considerations must be given to the impact the incident may have on siblings.

2.2 Under 18s

Students and apprentices under 18 are referred to as young people in this policy but are classed as children under relevant statutory guidance.

2.3 Adults at risk

An adult at risk is a person aged 18 or over with care and support needs who is at risk of abuse or neglect.

We have a duty of care to all of our students and apprentices, regardless of their age or legal status as a vulnerable adult. It is important to recognise that any student or apprentice can be subject to abuse (such as domestic abuse, financial abuse, physical and emotional abuse, online etc). This means that our students and apprentices do not have to meet the statutory definition of a vulnerable adult for the procedures under this policy to be implemented.

2.4 Harm, abuse and exploitation

Staff should familiarise themselves with the different types of abuse outlined in Appendix 2.

3. Prevent definitions

3.1 Prevent

Prevent is a strand of the Government’s counter terrorism strategy, which raised an awareness of the specific need to safeguard children, young people and families from violent and non-violent extremism.

The three objectives of the Prevent strategy are to:

• Respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and aspects of extremism, and the threat we face from those who promote those views.
• Provide practical help and support to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure they are given appropriate advice and support.
• Work with a wide range of sectors where there are risks of radicalisation which need to be addressed, including the education sectors, criminal justice, faith groups, the internet and health service.

Threats are not limited to the threat from religious extremists and we therefore need to be mindful of all potential threats to which our learners are exposed. Whilst it remains rare for learners to become involved in extremist activity, any learner can be exposed to extremist influences or prejudiced views, including via the internet.

CILEX Law School is under a duty to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and have an integral part to play in fostering a set of shared ‘British values’ and promoting community cohesion. The Prevent duty guidance requires that leaders and teachers exemplify British values in their management, teaching and through general behaviours in institutions, including through opportunities in the curriculum.

3.2 Radicalisation, Extremism and British Values

Radicalisation is the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and extremist ideologies associated with terrorist groups.

Extremism is defined as the vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values. It includes calls for the death of members of our armed forces.

British values are defined as:

• Democracy
• The rule of law
• Individual liberty
• Mutual respect and tolerance for those with different backgrounds, characteristics, beliefs and faiths

Education providers are expected to encourage students to respect other people with particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010.

3.3 Vulnerable Students

The Prevent duty is not limited to children, young people and vulnerable adults. There is no single way to identify who is likely to be vulnerable or susceptible to radicalisation.

Factors include, but are not limited to:

• Peer pressure
• Influence from others or the internet
• Family tensions
• Race/hate crime
• Lack of self-esteem or identity
• Craving a sense of belonging
• Feeling community is under threat
• Personal or political grievances

4. Meeting our safeguarding and Prevent commitment

CILEX Law School will meet its safeguarding and Prevent commitments in the following ways:

4.1 Providing a safe learning environment

CILEX Law School will achieve this by:

• CILEX Law School will achieve this by:
• Raising awareness amongst staff and learners of issues relating to the welfare of young or vulnerable people, including the risks of radicalisation.
• Raising awareness about safeguarding and Prevent issues with learners at the earliest opportunity, and encouraging learners to take responsibility for their own safety and welfare.
• Monitoring learner awareness of our safeguarding provision through surveys and, for apprenticeships, at Progress reviews.
• Promoting a learning environment in which learners feel safe to express themselves and encouraging appropriate behaviours through our code of conduct and relevant policies (Anti-bullying, Prevent, Malpractice, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility, E-safety).
• Promoting and reinforcing a set of shared values, founded on tolerance and mutual respect for others.
• Providing e-learning platforms that are only accessible by approved users and contain appropriate online materials.
• For apprentices, ensuring that working environments have a health & safety and safeguarding check (HASS) in place and that the employer has the appropriate policies and procedures in place should a health & safety, Prevent or safeguarding issue arise.
• Encouraging learners to talk freely about anything that concerns them and ensuring they feel able to approach members of staff with these concerns.
• Providing a designated safeguarding hotline and email address so that learners can report issues confidentially, and ensuring learners have access to details of external organisations that can also provide support.
• Identifying and assessing potential problems and providing early interventions.
• Identifying young or vulnerable people who are suffering, or likely to suffer significant harm, and taking appropriate action to ensure that they are kept safe, including referral to an appropriate agency.
• Working with employers to raise awareness of safeguarding and Prevent considerations and their obligations in this regard.
• Promoting a sense of community cohesion both within CILEX Law School and within its wider external community.
• Supporting students who may be at risk from radicalisation and being able to signpost them to further external sources of support where appropriate.
• Ensuring that prior to any literature being distributed by CILEX Law School from external agencies or by students, when this literature is not related to their programme of study, the permission of the Head of Apprenticeships, Quality and Compliance or in her absence the Academic Director should be sought.
• Having an E-safety policy and procedure to promote online safety and educate students and apprentices about safe and responsible internet use.
• Requiring all staff to adhere to the strict staff IT policy
• Recruiting staff safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made.
• Maintaining and reviewing a central record of DBS checks.
• Ensuring staff are aware of their responsibilities in relation to Safeguarding and Prevent and are able to recognise and respond to vulnerable students and apprentices.
• Undertaking risk assessments of external venues used for teaching and learning purposes.
• Ensuring this policy and accompanying procedures and guidance are reviewed regularly for effectiveness and compliance with statutory requirements

4.2 Ensuring safeguarding and Prevent concerns are handled effectively

CILEX Law School will achieve this by:

• Ensuring staff receive annual safeguarding and Prevent training appropriate to their role so that they are aware of protection issues and responsibilities. All apprenticeship staff must confirm that they have received and read a copy of the Safeguarding Policy and Keeping Children Safe in Education Part 1as part of their induction and then on an annual basis.
• Ensuring apprenticeship and all other relevant staff are alert to the signs of a potential safeguarding issue and Prevent concerns. Training will enable staff to identify and understand the factors that make people vulnerable to being drawn into extremism and the knowledge and understanding of their responsibility for referring any concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Officer through the CILEX Law School processes and procedures. A training log will be held centrally.
• Ensuring all staff understand and promote the Prevent policy and engage in preventing radicalisation and extremism in accordance with the Government’s Prevent strategy.
• Providing guidance to all relevant staff on how to handle safeguarding and Prevent disclosures sensitively, professionally and appropriately.
• Ensuring appropriate safeguarding and Prevent action plans are developed to assess, handle and monitor any safeguarding or welfare concerns effectively.
• Ensuring any records of safeguarding, Prevent or welfare concerns are kept in accordance with data protection requirements.
• Ensuring all safeguarding and Prevent interventions are tracked and monitored.
• Establishing appropriate procedures for reporting and dealing with allegations of abuse against members of staff.
• Treating information received when concerns are raised by students in a discreet and confidential manner.
• Developing effective links with relevant agencies and co-operating as required with their enquiries regarding child protection matters.
• Ensuring that we have robust processes for evaluating the effectiveness of our safeguarding practices and procedures.

Where a safeguarding concern related to sexual violence has been referred to the Local Authority or an allegation of sexual abuse made against a member of CILEX Law School staff has been referred to the DSO or Academic Director in line with clause 8.1, CILEX Law School will, as soon as practicably possible, inform the ESFA via their online enquiry form Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) enquiry form.. Such notification will include the name of the institution, a high level summary of the nature of the incident and confirmation of whether it is, or is scheduled to be, investigated by the Local Authority

4.3 Ensuring that safeguarding and Prevent permeate our activities

4.3.1 Our culture

CILEX Law School managers will create and maintain an ethos that upholds core values of shared responsibility and wellbeing for all students and staff whilst promoting respect, equality and diversity and understanding. This will be achieved through:

• Promoting core values of respect, equality and diversity, democratic society, learner voice and participation.
• Building staff understanding of potential issues and confidence to deal with them through mandatory staff training.
• Actively working with other agencies including the local authority, police and regional Prevent coordinator.
  It is important that everyone is aware of CILEX Law School’s legal responsibilities and works together to maintain high standards with regard to safeguarding and Prevent. Everyone must know the levels of responsibility and lines of communication that exist to ensure that all safeguarding and Prevent matters are dealt with efficiently and effectively.

It is important that everyone is aware of CILEX Law School’s legal responsibilities and works together to maintain high standards with regard to safeguarding and Prevent. Everyone must know the levels of responsibility and lines of communication that exist to ensure that all safeguarding and Prevent matters are dealt with efficiently and effectively.

4.3.2 Our curriculum

CILEX Law School will provide a curriculum that promotes British values, knowledge, skills and understanding, to build the resilience of students. This will be achieved through:

• Covering British values, as well as the values of respect and tolerance, during induction.
• Embedding British values, equality, diversity and inclusion, wellbeing and community cohesion as appropriate through the curriculum.
• Promoting wider skills development.
• Teaching, learning and assessment strategies that explore controversial issues in a way that promotes critical analysis and pro-social values.
• Encouraging active citizenship and learner voice

4.3.3 External speakers

As primarily a distance learning provider, CILEX Law School does not have physical premises used by external speakers or for events. However, external speakers may be engaged as part of our Professional Development or revision programmes. In order to comply with our Prevent duty, CILEX Law School will ensure that any external speaker’s views being expressed, or likely to be expressed, do not constitute extremist views that risk drawing people into terrorism or are shared by terrorist groups. Any member of staff booking an external speaker will comply with the Policy and guidelines for organising an event with an external speaker, ensuring that all necessary checks are completed prior to the event going ahead. CILEX Law School recognises the importance of academic freedom and the right to preserve freedom of speech and will balance this with our obligations under the Prevent duty.

5. Roles and Responsibilities

5.1 General

Safeguarding, Prevent and promoting the welfare of our learners is everyone’s responsibility. All staff, board members, directors, independent contractors and learners have a role to play in providing a safe environment for our learners.

5.2 Apprenticeship Safeguarding Committee

The Apprenticeship and Safeguarding Committee, a committee of the Board, is responsible for:

• Appointing a senior board level lead for CILEX Law School’s safeguarding matters.
• Ensuring that there are appropriate staffing, policies, systems and processes in place to maintain effective safeguarding and Prevent arrangements within the Law School and to create a safe environment for apprentices and staff.
• Reviewing Law School strengths and actions to address any weaknesses as they pertain to safeguarding and Prevent.

5.3 The Senior Management Team

The Senior Management Team is responsible for:

• Leading by example in taking every opportunity to promote learner safety and welfare considerations.
• Scrutinising safeguarding and Prevent practices and initiatives.
• Monitoring the implementation of the Safeguarding and Prevent policies and procedures ensuring staff implement the duty effectively.

5.4 The Internal Safeguarding Committee

The Safeguarding Committee will comprise of the Designated Safeguarding Officer (Student Wellbeing Manager), Head of Apprenticeships, Quality and Compliance, Quality Manager, Head of Teaching Learning and Student Experience (Academic Director), Student Wellbeing Advocate, Corporate Compliance Manager and Corporate Compliance Officer. It will meet first and last quarter of the year, and will be responsible for:

• Auditing safeguarding records.
• Updating the Safeguarding, Prevent, E-safety and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policies in line with legal requirements.
• Reviewing the timeliness and effectiveness of our safeguarding and Prevent practices and procedures and any concerns raised or changes to the Prevent duty, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses.
• Developing and reviewing the Safeguarding and Prevent Risk Assessment and Action Plan.

5.5 The Academic Director

The Academic Director is responsible for:

• Championing safeguarding and Prevent considerations.
• Ensuring that this policy and associated procedures are implemented.
• Ensuring that our safeguarding provision is adequately resourced, including safer recruitment processes.
• Ensuring that all staff have the opportunity to undertake appropriate safeguarding training.
• Ensuring that there are adequate procedures in place for handling allegations against staff.

5.6 Head of Apprenticeships, Quality and Compliance

The Head of Apprenticeships, Quality and Compliance is responsible for:

• Acting as the Senior Management Safeguarding Lead, reporting into the Board on safeguarding matters
• Ensuring that safeguarding procedures are in place and coordinating safeguarding practices across CILEX Law School programmes, delegating to the Designated Safeguarding Officer as appropriate.
• Ensuring that all new staff have appropriate safeguarding and Prevent training during induction and that this is updated on an annual basis.
• Raising staff awareness about safeguarding and Prevent on a regular basis.
• Embedding safeguarding and Prevent across the curriculum and ensuring that the effectiveness of this is monitored during course reviews and staff observations.
• Maintaining the safeguarding and Prevent risk register and action plan.
• Keeping abreast of all regulations and requirements regarding safeguarding, to include annual training in safeguarding and inter-agency working.
• Assuming the duties of the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO), in the DSO’s absence.

5.7 The Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO)

The Designated Safeguarding Officer is also the Prevent Lead and is responsible for:

• Providing advice and support to colleagues on issues relating to young or vulnerable people’s protection.
• Ensuring learners know how to report and obtain suitable support relating to safeguarding issues.
• Maintaining a proper record of any referral, complaint or concern (even where that concern does not lead to a referral to an external agency).
• Overseeing the referral of cases of suspected abuse or allegations to the relevant investigating agencies.
• Monitoring the completion of safeguarding and Prevent training across CILEX Law School and notifying relevant managers where training has not been completed.
• Briefing the Head of Apprenticeships, Quality and Compliance on any relevant safeguarding incident or issues that arise.
• Briefing the Head of Apprenticeships, Quality and Compliance on any referral to an external agency.
• Briefing the Academic Director on the implementation of this policy and associated procedures.
• Keeping abreast of all regulations and requirements regarding safeguarding, to include annual training in safeguarding and inter-agency working.
• Promoting British values and how these values are embedded as part of CILEX Law School’s teaching and learning sessions.

5.8 All staff

All staff are responsible for:

• Creating and supporting an ethos that upholds CILEX Law School’s mission and values, including British values, with a view to creating an environment of respect, equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility.
• Completing Safeguarding and Prevent training in order to have the skills to recognise those who may be vulnerable to radicalisation, involved in violent or non-violent extremism, and to know the appropriate action to take if they have concerns.
• Reporting any Safeguarding concerns or concerns around extremism or radicalisation via the safeguarding channels.
• Support the development of staff and student understanding of safeguarding issues and the issues around extremism and radicalisation as appropriate through activities such as training and awareness campaigns.

5.9 Human Resources

Human Resources are responsible for:

• Ensuring that all safer recruitment checks are carried out.
• Maintaining a single central register of DBS checks and ensuring these are updated as appropriate.
• Ensuring that there are procedures in place to handle allegations against members of staff.
• Monitoring completion of mandatory training.

6. Monitoring and Review

The impact and effectiveness of this policy will be reviewed through our internal Safeguarding Committee and quality assurance procedures.

This policy will be reviewed and updated at least annually.

7. Associated documentation

• E-safety policy
• Equality & Diversity policy
• Health and Safety policy
• Teaching, Learning and Assessment policy
• Quality Assurance policy
• Staff Code of Conduct
• CILEX Law School Guidance on safer working practice for staff working with young people and vulnerable adults
• Whistleblowing Policy

8. Relevant guidance

• Ofsted Safeguarding children and young people and young vulnerable adults policy (2021)
• Keeping Children Safe in Education (2023)
• Working Together to Safeguard Children (2022)
• Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings: Guidance for inspectors undertaking inspection under the education inspection framework (2022)
• Information sharing advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers (2018)
• Care and support statutory guidance (2023)

B) Procedure

1. Handling a disclosure of harm or abuse

If a learner tells a member of staff about possible harm or abuse the following guidance should be followed:

• Listen carefully to what is being said without displaying shock, disapproval or dismay.
• Do not interview the person concerned; listen, only asking questions when necessary to clarify in order to be sure that you understand what they are telling you.
• Allow the person to speak freely ensuring you do not put words into their mouth.
• Reassure them that by telling you, they have done the right thing, that they are being taken seriously and that they will be supported and kept safe. A victim should never be given the impression that that they are creating a problem by reporting abuse, or made to feel ashamed for making a report.
• Do not promise to keep what they tell you confidential as this may not ultimately be in their best interests.
• Explain to them that you may have to pass the information on to the Designated Safeguarding Officer, but that only those that need to know about it will be told.
• Take contemporaneous notes or make notes as soon as possible after the conversation. Do not destroy any original notes.
• Record in the note: the date, time, place, what the person said and did, and a full account of your conversation, any noticeable non-verbal behaviour and anything else that concerns you.
• The note should include the learner’s wishes regarding action to be taken. However, the learner must be made aware that this will not affect a final decision as to action or referral.
• Do not investigate concerns or allegations, but report them immediately to the Designated Safeguarding Officer.
• It may be appropriate to remind the learner about the availability of external help lines.

2. Reporting concerns

Anyone can make a referral about a concern they have for a vulnerable learner and this can come from within CILEX Law School or through someone external such as a parent, fellow student, police or social services.

If any member of staff has concerns about a learner, they will need to make a decision as to what action to take. This should be a balanced and proportionate response to the particular concern. If in doubt, seek the advice of the Designated Safeguarding Officer as soon as possible, without sharing the name of the learner during that initial discussion.

2.1 Where there is actual or suspected abuse or harm

Step 1

Information should be reported by the member of staff as soon as possible, and on the same day at the latest.

The report must include a clear, precise and factual account of any disclosures or observations. It must include the time and location of the incident and considerations must be given to the impact the incident may have on siblings.

Note that any report submitted by email should be in a separate password protected word document. The password for the document should be sent in a separate email.

Step 2

The Designated Safeguarding Officer may, following consideration of the facts, decide that a referral to an external agency is not required. If in doubt the Designated Safeguarding Officer will seek advice from the appropriate investigating agency and agree any further action which may be necessary. This may include a formal referral using the agency’s pro forma.

Learners will be encouraged to give consent for a report to be made to an investigating agency. This will usually be the Children’s Services department in the area where the learner lives, via the relevant Multi-Agency Support Hub (MASH). The learner should be made aware that it may be necessary to make the report even without their consent.

Children’s social care assessments should consider where children are being harmed in contexts outside the home, so it is important to provide as much information as possible as part of the referral process. This will allow any assessment to consider all the available evidence and enable a contextual approach to address such harm.

If a referral to an external service or agency is not required, the Designated Safeguarding Officer will agree an appropriate action plan with the staff member who made the report. The action plan will assess the level of risk in the light of the particular circumstances and the frequency of any ongoing monitoring. The learner will be contacted by the member of staff who reported the concern, and made aware of any internal (e.g. Learner Support) or external services available to them (e.g. LawCare).

A summary of this process is included at Appendix 3.

2.2 Where a student or apprentice is in danger or at risk of significant harm

If, at any point, there is a risk of significant harm to a student or an apprentice a referral should be made to an appropriate agency (children’s social care if under 18) and/or the police immediately. Any member of staff can make a referral, but must later notify the Designated Safeguarding Officer who will decide what further action, if any, needs to be taken.

2.3 Reporting a concern about radicalisation

Concerns specifically related to students who may be susceptible to radicalisation should be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO). The DSO will then complete an assessment on that individual to assess where and how they may be at risk of being radicalised.

The assessment will follow three criteria:

• Engagement with a group, cause or ideology
• Intent to cause harm, and
• Capability to cause harm

If the assessment meets the threshold, action recommended in light of the concern will be agreed and this could include a referral to an external agency.

Making a referral to Channel or other agencies

The Designated Safeguarding Officer, or in their absence the Head of Apprenticeships, Quality and Compliance, will make a decision as to whether concerns should be raised with an external agency. The Designated Safeguarding Officer who may decide to call a special safeguarding group meeting to discuss concerns, make a referral to Channel and monitor issues.

2.4 Data protection and the sharing of information with other agencies

Sharing information is essential to maintaining effective safeguarding arrangements. Whilst the General Data Protection Regulation places duties on organisations and individuals to process personal information fairly and lawfully, it is not a barrier to sharing information where the failure to do so would result in a young person or vulnerable adult being placed at risk of harm.

If a member of staff has any concerns about whether or not to share information, they should seek guidance from the Designated Safeguarding Officer as soon as possible on a no names basis.

Staff should ensure that any information shared is necessary for the purpose for which it is shared, is shared only with those individuals who need to have it, is accurate and up-to-date, is shared in a timely fashion, and is shared securely. Keep it necessary and proportionate.

2.5 Record keeping

All concerns, discussions and decisions made and the reasons for those decisions should be recorded in writing. Records will include:

• A clear and comprehensive summary of the concern
• Details of how the concern was followed up and resolved
• A note of any actions taken, decisions reached and the outcome.

Written records are confidential and must be kept in a locked cabinet if in hard copy or password protected in a restricted access folder if a soft copy. The subject of the record may access the record, but not any third parties other than designated members of staff.

The Designated Safeguarding Officer will keep an electronic register of safeguarding concerns for monitoring purposes. All electronic records saved in the main hard drive, including the register and any action plans, are password protected. All correspondence relating to a safeguarding matter, is now saved in CILEX Law School’s SharePoint which only the DSO and Deputy DSO have access. (see Appendix 6 for data collated in the safeguarding register).

Records will be kept until the January which falls two years after the completion of, or earlier termination of, the programme or apprenticeship for which CILEX Law School was the training provider.

2.6 Disclosure to other members of staff

Details about a safeguarding concern should only be shared with designated members of staff (Appendix 1).

Exceptionally, there may be circumstances when a safeguarding matter should be disclosed to a staff member other than a designated member of staff, however a clear justification will be required and this reason should be clearly recorded by the Designated Safeguarding Officer.

2.7 Support for staff

The Designated Safeguarding Officer can provide advice and guidance on safeguarding procedures.

Human Resources can provide access to additional support in dealing with any disclosure that a staff member finds particularly distressing.

3. Allegations about a member of staff or contractor

CILEX Law School has a staff Code of Conduct, complemented by the Guidance on safer working practice for staff working with young people and vulnerable adults (Appendix 5) which sets out clear expectations in terms of staff behaviours. The CILEX Code of Conduct also sets out the professional and responsible standards expected from CILEX employees. Nonetheless, CILEX Law School accepts that allegations against staff may occur.

3.1 Handling allegations of harm and abuse

All such allegations will be taken seriously and handled in accordance with statutory guidance.

Where an allegation of harm or abuse relating to a young person or vulnerable adult is made against a member of staff, the matter will be reported to the appropriate authorities, normally the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). The staff Disciplinary procedure will be invoked, but any investigation taken under an external agency’s procedures will take precedence over internal CILEX Law School procedures.

Any member of staff who receives an allegation about another member of staff or contractor should report the concern as soon as possible but within 24 hours at the latest to the Academic Director, or in her absence, to the Head of Apprenticeships, Quality and Compliance. Should the allegation relate to the Academic Director, the matter should be referred to the chair of the Apprenticeship Safeguarding Committee. If the allegation is one of sexual violence or abuse please refer to paragraph 4.2.

Where an allegation is made by a learner aged 18+, it will be investigated in line with the CILEX Law School Staff Disciplinary procedure, unless the learner is deemed to be a vulnerable adult.

3.2 Notification to DBS

Regulated activity, as defined by the Disclosed and Barring Service (DBS), includes activity with children and adults such as teaching and training, supervision and advice or guidance.

All staff who have been identified as having regulated activity with CILEX Law School, will have an enhanced level DBS check and a check of DBS Barred Lists.

Where a member of staff involved in a regulated activity has been dismissed or removed due to safeguarding concerns, or would have been had they not resigned, the matter will be referred to the Disclosure Barring Service where CILEX Law School is under a statutory obligation to do so.

3.3 Consequential improvements to safeguarding procedures and/or policies

Where a safeguarding allegation has been made against a member of staff, the Academic Director and Designated Safeguarding Officer should, at the conclusion of the investigation and any disciplinary procedures, consider whether there are any matters arising from it that could lead to the improvement of the safeguarding procedures and/or policies. Consideration should also be given to the training needs of staff.

3.4 False allegation

If it is subsequently found that a student or apprentice has made a false allegation, the matter will be investigated in accordance with the CILEX Law School learner disciplinary procedures.

4. Allegations relating to another learner

It is important that staff recognise that young people are capable of abusing their peers (“peer on peer abuse”). Such abuse can manifest itself in many ways. Appendix 2 includes some examples of abuse. Staff must recognise that abuse is abuse and should never be tolerated or passed off as “banter” or “just having a laugh”, as this can lead to a culture of unacceptable behaviours, an unsafe environment for young people and in worst case scenarios a culture that normalises abuse leading to young people accepting it as normal and not coming forward to report it.

If any learner makes an allegation of abuse against another learner this must be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Officer. The Designated Safeguarding Officer will decide whether the matter is of a serious nature or should be dealt with under CILEX Law School’s policies for example, Disciplinary or Anti-Bullying.

If the allegation of abuse is of a sexual or serious nature the learner should be supported to report the matter directly to the police. The Designated Safeguarding Officer will in all cases involving a young person report the matter directly to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). Should the learner be unwilling to report the matter to the police the Designated Safeguarding Officer will seek additional advice and guidance, will consult informally with the local police officer, and will seek to work with the learner to ensure there are appropriate measures and strategies in place to support his or her safety.

5. Concerns about any CILEX Law School’s safeguarding or Prevent practices

CILEX Law School promotes an ethos of openness and engagement with staff. Should a member of staff have any concerns about our safeguarding practices, they are encouraged to contact the Designated Safeguarding Officer in the first instance. This can be orally or in writing.

If the member of staff does not wish to contact the Designated Safeguarding Officer or does not feel that their concern has been satisfactorily addressed by the Designated Safeguarding Officer, they should contact the Head of Apprenticeships, Quality and Compliance or Academic Director who will investigate and notify the member of staff of the outcome of that investigation.

CILEX Law School has a whistleblowing policy and associated procedure for staff to follow if they have any concerns about potential malpractice or misconduct on the part of any of their colleagues.

6. Safer recruitment procedures

CILEX Law School has recruitment and selection procedures that ensure that all staff are safe to work with learners as follows:

• A clear job description will be prepared. This should refer to our safeguarding commitment in order to deter applicants who are unsuitable for work within CILEX Law School.
• Essential selection criteria for the post will be identified.
• Documentary evidence of any academic or vocational qualifications will be required.
• Professional and character references will be required.
• The interview process will explore the candidate’s attitude to young people.
• Vacancies will be advertised nationally in order to ensure a diversity of applicants.
• CILEX Law School will carry out appropriate DBS checks and will not knowingly employ anyone who is barred in a DBS regulated activity

7. Monitoring IT usage

CILEX Law School utilises industry standard ‘Checkpoint’ filters to blacklist access to specific websites. Staff are subject to a strict IT usage policy. Students and apprentices do not use our systems, but are subject to an E-safety Policy and guidance.

Students and apprentices have access to the CILEX Law School Hub (VLE), which is protected by password access. Apprentices do not have access to forum functionality to avoid any concerns in relation to bullying and harassment. Non apprenticeship students have access to the forum functionality and a community page. Students are required to follow the Forum and Community rules and activity is monitored on these pages.

1. Introduction

At CILEX Law School we believe that all learners should have the opportunity to make the most of their talents, irrespective of any defining personal characteristic. This policy complements the CILEX Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy and covers the necessary accessibility arrangements for CILEX Law School learners; it sets out how we intend to ensure learners can study in an environment that supports a diverse student body, as reflected in the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010. Protected characteristics are classified as, but not limited to, the following:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion and belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

This Policy forms part of CILEX Law School’s internal control and CILEX governance arrangements. It is non-contractual, but it is intended as a statement of the current CILEX Law School strategy and its commitment to operate a fair procedure, considering statutory and other guidelines. CILEX Law School therefore reserves the right to amend this policy and procedure as necessary to meet any changing requirements.

2. Roles and Responsibilities

2.1 Academic Director – the Academic Director will champion CILEX’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, applying this commitment to strategic planning and actively seeking opportunities to promote an inclusive culture.

2.2 Managers – managers are responsible for leading by example on equality, diversity, and inclusion matters, and adhering to this policy.

2.3 Staff – All employees are expected to understand and adhere to the principles set out in this policy, as well as working to prevent, detect and report any forms of discrimination.

2.4 Contractors – All external contractors, whether delivering face-to-face teaching, marking or services that do not involve direct contact with learners are obligated to adhere to this policy.

2.5 Human Resources – Human Resources are responsible for ensuring all employees are trained in equality, diversity, and inclusion matters, and to monitor recruitment and employment practices.

2.6 Learners – All learners will be made aware of their rights and responsibilities in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct. This policy and the Student Code of Conduct will be accessible through the CILEX Law School Hub.

2.7 Head of Quality and Programme Compliance – the Head of Quality and Programme Compliance is responsible for ensuring that an effective Learner Support procedure is in place to facilitate requests for reasonable adjustments. The Head of Programmes will also ensure that this policy and supporting documentation are reviewed and updated, when necessary, and will be made available to both staff and learners. The Corporate Compliance team should provide support to CILEX Law School in the revision of these documents.

2.8 Learning Support Manager – the Learning Support Manager is responsible for ensuring that reasonable adjustments are agreed and implemented in accordance with our Learner Support Procedure.

2.9 Digital Learning Lead – the Digital Learning Lead is responsible for ensuring that the CILEX Law School Hub (VLE) and associated resources are developed in accordance with current accessibility guidelines.

2.10 Head of Teaching, Learning and Student Experience – the Head of Teaching, Learning and Student Experience will ensure that staff training includes the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion principles, and that internal quality assurance procedures monitor implementation, addressing areas identified for improvement.

2.11 The Student Wellbeing Manager – The Student Wellbeing Manager will ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion matters form part of the annual student engagement calendar and that appropriate means are utilised to raise awareness of key calendar dates and initiatives amongst our student body.

2.12 Marketing Team – the Marketing Team will ensure that the CILEX Law School website is developed in accordance with current accessibility guidelines.

3. Legal Obligations

The statutory and/or regulatory directives and legislation on which this Policy is based are the Equality Act 2010, W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Additionally, CILEX Law School will adhere to the prevailing statutory provision in force and observe best practice. CILEX Law School’s aim is to:

• promote equality of opportunity;
• take steps to avoid incidents of harassment and victimisation;
• encourage cultural diversity and tolerance by respecting different identifiable groups equally.

4. Promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

4.1 Our Vision and Mission

CILEX Law School will promote equality, diversity and inclusion through embracing the CILEX vision to drive diversity in the legal profession and the CILEX mission to celebrate difference and provide opportunities without barriers; this will inform our strategic planning and operational development.

4.2 Marketing and Admissions

4.2.1 – CILEX Law School will ensure our website, recruitment and publicity materials encourage applications from diverse sources because they are:

• objective and representative of all groups in the community; and
• available and accessible to all potential learners in a variety of formats.

4.2.2 – CILEX Law School will support applicants with balanced, unbiased advice in line with our matrix accreditation. This includes being mindful of the requirements and needs of a diverse student body.

4.3.3 – In processing student applications, CILEX Law School will:

• ensure that no applicants are treated less favourably because of disability, gender reassignment, age, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion and belief, sex (gender) and sexual orientation;

• use objective criteria to evaluate applications for courses, using entry criteria, as specified in course information;
• ensure access to learner support is signposted at the application stage and that learners can request support at an appropriate stage of the process;
• ensure that where applicants are interviewed, only objective criteria are used to determine the candidate’s success;
• apply assessment objectively, where this forms part of the application process. Reasonable support and adjustments will be made available to support the application process.

4.3 Access to learning

4.3.2 – CILEX Law School will ensure that:

• Courses are written in a way that is representative and culturally sensitive and avoids stereotypes. Our starting point is one of inclusion;
• Courses are subject to ongoing review to tackle barriers;
• The online platform for Teaching, Learning and Assessment (the CILEX Law School Hub) and associated resources meet with accessibility best practice;
• All of its business activities are fairly and reasonably developed, accessible to all and in compliance with the Equality Act 2010, the Accessibility Regulations 2018 and as far as reasonably possible in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) produced by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C);
• Learners have access to this policy by bringing it to their attention as part of induction and making it available on our on-line Hub.

4.4. Teaching, learning and assessment

4.4.1 – CILEX Law School will ensure that:

• Equality, diversity and inclusion is an integral part of our teaching strategy, which is inclusive and embraces the diverse community of learners that we serve;
• Opportunities to promote and discuss equality, diversity and inclusion issues are utilised, including through our learner engagement calendar and progress reviews, where relevant to the programme;
• The implementation of this policy in teaching, learning and assessment is monitored through our Quality Assurance Policy and associated procedures and that staff action plans and training are implemented where relevant;
• Enrolment, retention and success data are monitored for different groups of learners, and actions identified to improve performance where appropriate. These actions will be fed into our Quality Improvement.

4.5 Supporting learners

So that all learners can get the best from our courses, CILEX Law School will support our learners by:

• Providing learning support facilities that are as comprehensive as resources reasonably allow. We will monitor access to learning and review participation and success rates as a measure;
• Ensuring that reasonable adjustments are made in accordance with section 29 of the Equality Act 2010 and the associated Code of Practice on Services, Public Functions and Associations;

• Providing clear links to our Learner Support Service on the on-line Hub and ensuring that these are incorporated into the induction process;
• Promoting links to free specialist welfare/personal counselling through Lawcare and other relevant charities.

6. Creating a Tolerant Workplace

6.1 Any form of harassment, victimisation or discrimination will not be tolerated.

6.2 Colleagues believing they have been subjected to harassment, victimisation or discrimination should use CILEX procedures that guide the reporting and handling of such incidents.

6.3 Learners should refer any incident to a member of CLS staff. A record of the report will be made, and the information may be passed to the Designated Safeguarding Officer or to the Head of Teaching, Learning and Student Experience as appropriate.

6.4 Where colleagues or learners are found to have committed an act of harassment, victimisation or discrimination they will be subject to the relevant disciplinary policies.

7. Monitoring

The effectiveness of this policy will be monitored through our Quality Assurance processes.

8. Associated Policies and Procedures

The CILEX Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy is available on the Corporate Policies section on the CILEX website.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the following:

• Teaching, Learning and Assessment Policy
• Accessibility Procedure
• Learner Support Procedure
• Student Code of Conduct
• Learner Disciplinary Procedure
• Staff Grievance Procedure
• Staff Disciplinary Procedure
• Safeguarding Policy and Procedure
• CILEX Accessibility Policy
• CILEX Access Arrangements Policy and Procedure
• CILEX Reasonable Adjustments Policy and Procedures
• Education Delivery Team Accessibility Statement, as well as other policies not listed here.

1. Introduction

CILEX Law School is committed to delivering high quality service at all times, however we do recognise that there may be occasions when things do not go as planned. By welcoming feedback through our Complaints policy, we can try to remedy situations that have gone wrong and continue to improve our service design and delivery as well as learn from examples of positive feedback about things that have been done well.

This policy sets out good practice in the management of complaints and provides all parties with a set of guidelines that are fair and will be applied consistently.

Whilst we welcome feedback on all aspects of service, this policy and procedure is mainly focussed on complaint handling and shall apply to complaint handling for all services and products, unless it is overridden by legislative requirements.

This policy is not contractual but is intended as a statement of current CILEX strategy and its commitment to operate a fair procedure, considering statutory and other guidelines. CILEX therefore reserves the right to amend this policy and procedure, as necessary, to meet any changing requirements.

2. Policy statement

CILEX Law School is committed to respond to complaints about our service and delivery in a timely and open manner, ensuring that we look at the matters raised impartially, consistently and thoroughly.

We view complaints as an important and useful source of feedback about how we have performed and how we can improve in future. When things go wrong, we will acknowledge our mistakes and try to put things right. We promise that we will not treat you unfairly because you have raised a complaint with us and that your matter will be dealt with sensitively, taking into account your individual circumstances and establishing the facts of your case. We promise to listen to you to understand the complaint and the outcome that you are seeking.

We have a three-stage approach to dealing with complaints. Each stage must be followed in numerical order before it can be progressed to the next stage and this should be signposted in the correct manner and at the right time by the person receiving the complaint.

When responding and providing the outcome to any given stage, we will give reasons for our decisions based on our guidelines, policies and statute (where applicable) and will always try to manage your expectations regarding time frames and outcomes. CILEX Law School will ensure that decisions are appropriate and fair and that the remedies provided are proportionate. Remedies will generally take into account any injustice or hardship caused by pursuing the complaint as well as any resulting from the original dispute.

CILEX Law School will always act fairly regarding complaints made about staff members as well as towards complainants and will investigate objectively, impartially and appropriately. Where a particular member of staff has been complained about, we will inform them and where appropriate, give them an opportunity to respond.

Most people who contact us are responsible and display acceptable behaviour, however on rare occasions this is not the case. We accept that when contacting us to raise an issue, individuals may be distressed, frustrated or angry however we expect to be treated as we would treat others*.

3. Purpose and Scope of policy

This policy outlines how you can raise a complaint or provide feedback about our policies, processes, employees, members or others working for us. This policy explains how we will handle your complaint and what to expect during the process.

This Policy covers complaints in respect of the following CILEX Law School services:

• Information, advice and guidance
• Teaching and learning, including course resources
• Our online learning environment (the Hub) and associated resources
• Course administration and other course-related problems

4. What is not covered by this policy?

The following issues are not covered by this policy:

• Academic assessment, e.g. grades and marks. These are covered by the Appeals procedure
• Bullying, harassment or discrimination. These are covered by the Anti-bullying policy.
• Complaints about CILEX. These are covered by the CILEX Complaints Policy

5. What is a complaint?

A complaint can sometimes be difficult to determine. As a guide we define a complaint as being an expression of dissatisfaction with the quality of service provided, usually falling under one of the following categories:

Occasionally something may be originally received as a complaint when it needs to be dealt with in a different way. In these cases, the appropriate reporting process will be followed.

6. How to make a complaint?

A complaint can be made in writing or by telephone. Written complaints can be made by email or through the “Contact Us” form (via myCILEX). We will not usually consider complaints regarding matters that are over 6 months old unless there is a compelling reason to do so.

A list of how to contact us can be found in Appendix A.

6.1 Social Media

We will not usually engage in complaint correspondence through social media channels; however, we may try to contact you directly to follow-up on any comments you have made.

6.2 Can I complain anonymously or on behalf of someone else?

To ensure that we capture all of the relevant and correct information we will not accept anonymous complaints.

Where a complaint has been raised by a third-party e.g. an employer on behalf of a learner, CILEX Law School will write to the third-party asking that they provide express consent from the individual that they have permission to act on their behalf and that CILEX Law School has the individual’s authority to investigate and report back the findings to the third party. You can tell us at any stage if you no longer want the person to represent you.

If we need to obtain information held by a third-party relating to your complaint, we will ask you to provide your written permission.

7. The complaint process

Stage 1: Initial Stage

If you are dissatisfied with any CILEX Law School services, it is usually appropriate to raise the matter informally with a member of staff first (this is likely to be your LDA or one of the Customer Services Team). Explain what you are unhappy about and ask for their help in putting it right. Most problems can be resolved quickly and informally in this way. However, there may be some instances where the complaint needs to be referred to the appropriate line manager. If this is the case, we will inform you who is dealing with it.

Every effort will be made to resolve the issue informally and within the timeframe agreed between you and the staff member. It may be that a particular complaint requires more comprehensive investigation due to more complex issues. Where this is the case, we will endeavour to keep you updated on a regular basis to provide accurate timescales for us to provide a substantive response.

You have the right to escalate the complaint to Stage 2 of the process, following receipt of the Stage 1 outcome, if the following circumstances apply:

1. You believe the Stage 1 complaint has not been fully understood or investigated thoroughly due to a misunderstanding of the original complaint.
2. That all points raised in the Stage 1 complaint have not been fully responded to.
3. You have not had a response to your Stage 1 complaint within the agreed timescales and have not had an indication as to when a response can be expected.

Stage 2: Escalation to relevant manager / Head of Department

To request a review under Stage 2 you should reply to the Stage 1 outcome response email within 14 days of receipt, advising why you are dissatisfied with the complaint outcome.

A complaint can only be escalated to Stage 2 if it has been through Stage 1 of the process.

The Stage 2 complaint will normally be allocated to the Head of Teaching, Learning and Student Experience or Head of Programmes, and may have already been referred to this stage by the person you are in contact with.

The Head of Programmes or Head of Teaching, Learning and Student Experience will complete an investigation. They will aim to respond to your complaint within 10 working days from escalation to this stage and will keep you updated if there will be a delay.

Once the investigation has been completed, you will be informed of the outcome.

Stage 3: Formal Complaint goes to Corporate Compliance and CEO/CFO

If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome** you can raise a formal complaint.

A complaint can only be escalated to Stage 3 if it has been through Stages 1 and 2 of the process.

A formal complaint should be raised within 7 days of receiving the Stage 2 outcome by responding to the Stage 2 outcome response email, specifying in the subject line that this is a request to lodge a formal Stage 3 complaint and explaining in the body of the email why you are not satisfied with the way that your complaint has been dealt with and the outcome that you are seeking. This will in turn be allocated to the Corporate Compliance Manager to review the correspondence and decide if further investigation is warranted.

An acknowledgement of your complaint with a reference number will be sent to you within five working days of receipt and unless you direct otherwise, correspondence will be by email. We aim to provide you with a full response within 20 working days but if the investigation will take longer to conclude, we will contact you to explain the reasons for the delay and when an update is to be expected.

Once the investigation has been completed, the Corporate Compliance Manager will email you informing you of the outcome.

The outcome of the Stage 3 complaint is final, and the matter will then be closed. There is no further internal appeal mechanism after this stage.

The decision of the Chief Executive is final. There is no further internal appeal mechanism after this stage.

If you disagree with the final response, you should seek independent legal advice.

8. Outcome of a complaint

Once we have investigated your complaint, we will write to you to explain the findings and outcomes at all stages. We will let you know what happened and if we found mistakes we will acknowledge them, let you know how the situation has been or will be addressed and, where appropriate, the likely timescale.

There are a wide range of appropriate responses to a complaint that has been upheld. Examples of these can include, but are not limited to:

• an apology, explanation and acknowledgement of responsibility***
• remedial action, which may include reviewing or changing a decision on the service given to an individual complainant; revising published material; revising procedures, policies or guidance to prevent the same thing happening again; training or supervising staff; or any combination of these
• financial compensation if applicable***

Where there are various follow up actions that need to take place in order for your complaint to be fully resolved, we will allocate a dedicated person to complete these actions and to liaise with the relevant departments. You can also request for a member of the Customer Service Team to arrange a call-back at a time and date that is convenient for you to discuss any remaining concerns or technical issues.

9. Apprenticeship complaints

For complaints in relation to apprenticeships, employers and learners may also contact the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) through the apprenticeship helpline (0800 015 0400) or by visiting the ESFA page.

10. Monitoring and recording complaints

We take concerns and complaints seriously and try to learn from any mistakes that we have made. Where there is a need to change or improve, we will develop an action plan setting out what we will do and by when.

It is an essential part of a complaints management system that all complaints are recorded and regularly monitored by the Academic Director and Head of Quality and Programme Compliance. Information that has been supplied as part of the complaints process will be collated and retained in line with CILEX Law School’s Privacy Policy.

Key complaint data relating to volumes and circumstances is collated on an internal anonymised complaints log and analysed on an on-going basis. The data is regularly reported to the Audit and Risk Committee. The purpose of doing so is so that any potential trends or patterns can be identified to further assist us in improving on particular area and/ or process.

11. Unreasonably Persistent and Unacceptable Behaviour

Whilst we do not normally limit the contact complainants have with us, in some cases it may be necessary to do so because the nature or frequency of a complainant’s contact hinders our ability to consider theirs, and other people’s complaint. Where the three-stage complaint process has been exhausted, we will not revisit a complaint unless new issues are raised within the prescribed timescales.

We have an unreasonably persistent contact and unacceptable behaviour policy in place which sets out how we will handle this form of behaviour.

12. Transparency and Confidentiality

Your complaint correspondence and supporting documentation will be held securely. The information will be retained, and subsequently destroyed in accordance with our Archive, Retention and Destruction policy.

To investigate your complaint, we may need to access confidential information. We will ensure that such information is kept secure and only used to aid the investigation and in line with data protection legislation. We will not disclose any information to third parties unless there is a legal requirement to do so e.g., regulators, police, statutory bodies.

13. Positive Experiences

Whilst it is important to learn from mistakes, we also learn from when things go well and recognise the contributions of our employees to deliver a high-quality service.

If you have had a good experience of our service or our employees, we would be very grateful to hear your feedback. We use this to give recognition to individuals and also to share best practice internally to further improve our services.

Please send any positive feedback via any of the channels specified and we will ensure that it is passed to the appropriate manager(s).

14. Monitoring and Review

This policy is reviewed at least yearly and earlier where required.

15. Associated policies and procedures

The following policies and standards fall within the reach of this policy:

• Archive, Retention and Destruction Policy
• CILEX Charter and Byelaws
• CILEX Code of Conduct
• CILEX General Terms and Conditions
• Cookies Policy
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Customer Service standards
• Data Protection Policy
• Disciplinary & Grievance Policy
• DPIA Policy
• DSAR Policy
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy
• Information Security Policy
• Media Handling Policy
• Membership Requirement Regulations
• Other Rights Policy
• PDSI Policy
• Personal Interest Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Reasonable Adjustments Policy
• Redaction Policy
• Safeguarding Policy
• Social Media Account Management Policy
• Training Provider risk management Procedures
• Unreasonably Persistent Contact and Unacceptable Behaviour Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy

*Refer to the Student Code of Conduct

**A complainant has the right to escalate a Stage 2 complaint to Stage 3 if they believe their complaint has not been understood and investigated thoroughly, the response has not covered all of the points raised and/or if a response has been received outside of the agreed timescales.

*** Section 2 of the Compensation Act 2006 states: . This section of the Act applies to England and Wales only.

Appendix A: Contacting us (for Stage 1 complaints)

1. Introduction

CILEX Law School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our learners. This commitment requires staff to foster a caring, friendly and safe environment that is free from discrimination and bullying. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable and all learners should be able to report incidents confident in the knowledge that they will be dealt with promptly and effectively.

This policy covers allegations relating to learners and CILEX Law School staff. Although the nature of CILEX Law School’s delivery means that such allegations are likely to be a rare occurrence, staff should nonetheless be alert to the possibility and adopt an “it could happen here” attitude. Allegations ofAnti-bullying Policy bullying relating to an apprentice’s workplace should be handled through the Safeguarding Policy and Procedure.

This policy should be read alongside the Code of Conduct for Learners, Safeguarding and Prevent policies, and Social Media guidance.

1.1  Definition of bullying

The following definition is the starting point when applying this policy:

“Bullying is behaviour by an individual or group, usually repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group, physically or emotionally” – (Department for Education)

CILEX Law School recognises that bullying does not only depend on the intention of the offender, but also on the impact of their behaviour on others. It is therefore important to consider the perceptions and feelings of the person affected rather than simply the intention of the offender.

1.2 Forms of bullying

Examples of bullying behaviour include:

• Verbal – name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, teasing.
• Physical – pushing, kicking, hitting, punching or any use of violence.
• Sexual – unwanted physical contact or sexually abusive comments.
• Emotional – being unfriendly, excluding, and tormenting.
• Racist – deliberate exclusion, racial taunts, graffiti, gestures.
• Homophobic – because of or focusing on the issue of sexuality.
• Religious/cultural – targeting a learner’s faith, beliefs or practices
• Intellectual – ridiculing a learner and/or their attempts to engage in educational or related activities.
• Cyber – this can include all areas of internet activity, such as email, social networking, text messaging and calls. This can also include misuse of associated technology such as photos and videos. This type of bullying can also form the platform for other forms of bullying.

2. Purpose and Scope of Policy

This policy aims to:

• Help foster an environment that supports staff and learners to recognise and challenge bullying, and encourage positive intervention to prevent re-occurrence;
• Establish clear lines of responsibility;
• Ensure that all staff and learners are aware of the procedures to follow should they wish to report bullying;
• Ensure that all incidents of bullying are handled professionally, proportionately, and in a timely manner, with the best possible outcome for those involved.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

All staff and contractors are expected to share CILEX Law School’s commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our learners. It is therefore everyone’s responsibility to ensure that learners feel safe and that all incidents of bullying and harassment are dealt with appropriately

3.1  The Senior Management Team

The Senior Management Team is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of this policy and associated procedures on an annual basis.

3.2  Head of Apprenticeships, Quality and Programme Compliance / Head of Curriculum and Employer Experience

The Head of Apprenticeships, Quality and Programme Compliance (Apprenticeships) / Head of Curriculum and Employer Experience (Distance Learning / CPQ) is responsible for reporting to the Senior Management Team on the effectiveness of this policy and associated procedures and for overseeing the implementation of this policy.

3.3  Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO)

The Designated Safeguarding Officer is responsible for maintaining a register of reported bullying incidents and outcomes.

3.4 The Internal Safeguarding Committee

The Internal Safeguarding Committee (Academic Director, Head of Apprenticeships Quality and Programme Compliance, Designated Safeguarding Officer and Wellbeing Lead) is responsible for reviewing this policy and associated procedures, monitoring the number of bullying incidents in a given period, identifying trends and developing anti-bullying strategies, where appropriate.

3.5 Staff

Staff are responsible for ensuring that:

• They have an up-to-date awareness of the Anti-bullying policy and procedure
• Creating a culture of mutual respect and promoting British values
• Recognising what constitutes bullying and following the correct procedure in the light of any concerns

Creating a learning environment in which learners feel safe to report any concerns.

3.6 Learners

Learners are responsible for complying with our Code of Conduct and reporting any concerns.

4. Prevention of bullying

CILEX Law School recognises the role it plays in countering bullying through educating its learners to stay safe and respect others. This is achieved through a variety of means, including:

• creating a culture of mutual respect and promoting British Values;
• raising awareness of our anti-bullying policy through the induction process and progress reviews;
• ensuring that learners and staff are aware of what constitutes bullying and the consequences for those involved;
• raising awareness of cyber bullying and appropriate social media usage;
• promoting British Values;
• ensuring through induction and the apprentice handbook that learners are aware of whom to approach with a concern and their rights to confidentiality in this context;
• ensuring that staff understand whom learners should approach with a concern;
• giving advice on what constitutes bullying and the support that CILEX Law School offers

5. Reporting a bullying concern

Learners may report bullying to any member of CILEX Law School staff, although it is likely that their Learning and Development Advisor will be the first point of contact.

All allegations of bullying should be taken seriously and handled promptly by the member of staff concerned.

The member of staff who receives the report must inform the learner that a record will be made of the report and this information may be passed to the Designated Safeguarding Officer.

Where there is believed to be a risk of significant harm the case must be referred to the Designated Safeguarding Officer and dealt with through the safeguarding procedures.

If the allegation of bullying is against another member of CILEX Law School staff it must be reported to the CILEX Law School Academic Director. Depending on the nature of the allegation, it will either be handled under the staff Disciplinary Procedure or referred to an appropriate external agency.

6. Recording an allegation of bullying

When a learner reports bullying, the staff member should record the following information:

• date(s), times(s) and place(s) of incident(s)
• what actually happened and how it made the complainant feel
• the name(s) of any witnesses
• any action already taken g. reported to a member of staff
• original copies of any correspondence or written material connected with the issue
• where cyber bullying has taken place, copies/screengrabs should be obtained wherever possible (e.g. of emails), or the member of staff making the record should sign it to say they have seen any text messages/call records on the learner’s mobile phone
• what the learner’s wishes are in terms of next steps, although it must be made clear that it may not be possible to comply with those wishes.

7. Procedure following a report

Issues of bullying are often complex and there is no single approach that is effective or appropriate in all circumstances. In some cases the individual may just want to talk about the bullying but may not wish to take matters further. If the individual wants to take matters further, there may be an informal or formal investigation (involving the Disciplinary procedure), depending on the needs of the complainant and the nature of the complaint.

7.1  No further action required

If the learner does not wish to take matters further, support should be offered and followed up at appropriate intervals by the member of staff concerned. It may be appropriate to provide the complainant with contact details for CILEX Law School internal support (e.g. learner support) or an external agency (e.g. LawCare or Childline).

It must be recognised that there will be instances where an individual talks on an informal basis, but because of the nature of the incident and the risk of harm to self or others, the Designated Safeguarding

Officer must be informed. This will always be discussed with the complainant to gain their consent and/or understanding that the matter must be taken further.

7.2  Informal investigation and resolution

Often an informal approach at an early stage can offer the best solution before matters escalate. The member of staff to whom the matter is reported should discuss how to approach the informal investigation with the Head of Apprenticeships, Quality and Programme Compliance.

7.3  Formal investigation and resolution

Where there is a serious or repeated allegation of bullying the investigation will be handled under the Disciplinary procedure.

7.4  Guiding principles

The following principles underpin our approach to both formal and informal investigations:

• All allegations of bullying will be taken seriously and handled in a proportionate and timely
• In serious cases of bullying, the incidents will be recorded and a member of staff will monitor the situation until a resolution is reached.
• In serious cases of bullying involving a learner under 18, the individual’s parents may be informed and asked to join a meeting to discuss the issue.
• The bullying behaviour or threats of bullying will be fully investigated and measures will be implemented to protect the victim and ensure that the bullying stops quickly.
• The underlying aim is that the issues leading to the bullying are understood by all parties, that apologies are offered and accepted and that further bullying behaviour is Both the person responsible for the bullying and the complainant will be supported by CILEX Law School to meet this end.
• If possible, the parties will be reconciled so that they are able to move forward with
• After the incidents have been investigated and dealt with, each case will be monitored to ensure repeated bullying does not take place.
• An attempt will be made to help the individual responsible for bullying to change their
• Where a young person repeats bullying behaviour and refuses to modify their conduct this may ultimately result in their permanent exclusion from CILEX Law School.

8. Confidentiality

All reports should be kept in a locked cabinet, or in a secure electronic folder, with access to be provided only to the learner and designated members of staff. Records will be kept until the January which falls two years after the completion of, or earlier termination of, the apprenticeship for which CILEX Law School was the training provider.

A learner’s wishes regarding confidentiality will usually be respected provided this does not lead to a conflict with the CILEX LAW SCHOOL Safeguarding policy and procedure. If in doubt, the member of staff who receives the report should hold an initial discussion with the Designated Safeguarding Officer on a no names basis.

9. Monitoring and review of this policy

All incidents of bullying that are subject to a formal or informal investigation, and the outcomes of that investigation will be recorded on a register maintained by the Designated Safeguarding Officer. Where the matter has been referred to the Designated Safeguarding Officer it will be recorded as for safeguarding issues. The Internal Safeguarding Committee will review the register and consider whether this policy and procedure are effective, and any implement any necessary changes.

10. Associated policies and documentation

The following policies are associated with this policy:

• Acceptable Use Procedure
• Apprentice’s Training Plan (formerly known as the Commitment Statement if started before 1/8/22) or Apprenticeship Agreement
• CILEX Information Technology (IT) Policy Digital Skills Policy
• E-safety Policy and Procedure Safeguarding and Prevent Policy and Procedure
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
• Health and safety policy
• Information Security Procedure
• Learner Disciplinary Procedure
• Social Media Guidance
• Staff Grievance Procedure
• Staff Disciplinary Procedure
• Suicide Awareness and Mitigation Policy
• Student Code of Conduct
• Teaching, Learning and Assessment Policy

Appendix 1: Signs and symptoms of bullying

All staff should be alert to the following range of signs or behaviour that indicate that a learner may be being bullied:

• Attendance drops or the learner is unwilling to go to pre-arranged sessions/visits
• Changing from their usual mode of travel or routine
• Being anxious, withdrawn, crying without obvious cause or exhibiting slight paranoia
• Feeling ill/feigning illness
• Work deterioration
• Becoming aggressive or unreasonable
• Attempting or threatening suicide
• Bullying other learners
• Displaying increasing lack of confidence and self-esteem
• Having unexplained cuts or bruises
• Being excluded from group activities by other learners
• Being afraid to use the internet or mobile phone or nervous when a cyber message is received
• Appearing overly sensitive when social media is mentioned

Appendix 2: Anti-Bullying Helplines and Organisation Websites

• Family Lives
• Anti-Bullying Alliance
• Bullying Intervention Group (BIG)
• Childline
• The Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre (CEOP)
• Stonewall
• Beaumont Society
• The Gender Trust
• The Cyber Helpline

The directors and senior management team at CILEX Law School (CILEX Law School) recognise that our business has an impact on the environment. We are committed to continuous improvement in the company’s environmental performance. Environmental regulations, laws and codes of practice are regarded as setting the minimum standards of environmental performance. Our policy in environmental matters is:

• To consider the environmental impacts of our products, and to continually reduce the environmental impact through our sourcing of raw materials.
• To conserve resources through efficient use, and by progressively improving heating and lighting systems, investing in energy efficient copiers, IT and electrical equipment, and by ensuring that all building work undertaken has the concept of environmental responsibility as a central issue within the working brief
• To adopt a sustainable waste management policy by recycling materials wherever possible
• To minimise waste, especially hazardous waste, and to dispose of all waste through safe and responsible methods
• To work with our suppliers to ensure they recognise and reduce the environmental impact of their products and transportation
• To implement our policies through guidelines and training

Our progress to date

We have moved from PVC to biodegradable polypropylene for our course binders. The paper that we use in our course manuals is from renewable forests and bleached with non-chloride bleach. We recycle all office paper and print cartridges after use. Obsolete computers and other hardware are passed on to charities for use in developing countries. We use a distributor for sending out our course materials with a published environmental statement.

CILEX Law School (CLS) is committed to the principles of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the abolition of modern slavery and human trafficking. This statement is aligned with CILEX Modern Slavery Policy.

CLS has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery, including forced labour, child trafficking, debt bondage, sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, domestic servitude, forced marriage and trafficking.

1. Modern Slavery Policy

CLS demonstrates its commitment to mitigate the risk of modern slavery by developing clear organisational measure to ensure that business is conducted in an ethical and transparent manner.

CLS is committed to:

• Acting ethically and with integrity in our business dealings and relationships;
• Creating and ensuring a non-discriminatory and respectful working environment for our staff;
• Implementing and enforcing effective controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in the business or in any of our supply chains; and
• Ensuring there is transparency in our approach to tackling modern slavery in the business and in our supply chains.

2. Reporting Modern Slavery

If a CLS employee believes or suspects that any act of Modern Slavery is taking place or may occur, they should notify this to the CLS Designated Safeguarding Officer and their line manager or a member of the Corporate Compliance Team or report it in accordance with the CILEX Whistleblowing Policy as soon as possible.

CILEX Modern Slavery Statement is available on the Corporate Policies section on the CILEX website.

1. Introduction

This Policy forms part of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives’ (CILEX) internal control and corporate governance arrangements. CILEX means here the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives group of companies.

The Group Board of CILEX is committed to ensuring that effective policies, operate throughout CILEX. This policy is non contractual and is intended as a statement of current CILEX policy and its commitment to operate a fair procedure, taking into account statutory and other guidelines. CILEX therefore reserves the right to amend this policy and procedure as necessary to meet any changing requirements.

This policy details CILEX’s responsibilities regarding Health & Safety.

2. Purpose and Scope of Policy

CILEX recognise and accept their duty to protect the health and safety of all the staff as well as any members of the public who might be affected by our operations.

The legislation requires “workers” who include (but is not limited to) employees, volunteers, board members, committee members, trustees, consultants, contractors, casual staff, sponsored staff, agency staff, apprentices, interns, to ensure the health and safety of themselves and others engaged by CILEX.

It is the aim of CILEX to comply with the terms of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and subsequent legislation and to provide and maintain a healthy and safe working environment. CILEX’s health and safety objective is to minimise the number of instances of occupational accidents and illnesses and ultimately to achieve an accident-free workplace.

All injuries, however small, sustained by a person at work must be reported to the Health and Safety Advisor or a delegated representative. Accident records are crucial to the effective monitoring and revision of the policy and must therefore be accurate and comprehensive.

CILEX’s health and safety policy will be continually monitored and updated, particularly when changes in the scale and nature of our operations occur. The policy will be reviewed and updated where necessary.

3. Responsibilities 

CILEX management will do all that is within its powers to ensure the health and safety of its workers. Nevertheless, health and safety at work is the responsibility of each and every individual associated with the Group. It is the duty of each worker to take reasonable care of their own and other people’s welfare and to report any situation which may pose a threat to the well-being of any other person. The person with overall and final responsibility for health and safety in CILEX is the Group Chair.

The person responsible for the day to day management of Health and Safety is the Director of Business Transformation. For the purpose of this policy, he will be referred to as the Health & Safety Advisor.

Job Title: Health & Safety Advisor

Name: Tony Bunce

Department: Director of Business Transformation

All employees are regularly reminded of their responsibilities under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and of the requirement to report all issues to the person responsible for overseeing, implementing and monitoring compliance with the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 is the Health and Safety Advisor.

It is the responsibility of the Health and Safety Advisor to perform the risk assessments for CILEX.

The collaborative spaces are required to provide to CILEX Health & Safety Advisor an Emergency Action Plan which details the arrangements they have in place to deal with potential emergency situations that may take place in their premises, as well as essential safety and security information. This plan should also include the following information:

• security essentials;
• health and safety essentials;
• fire incident and evacuation;
• use of fire extinguishers;
• first aid policy;
• accident and incident procedure;
• safety maintenance checklist;
• fire risk assessment;
• fire safety management structure;
• personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP);
• other information that could be required from time to time.

It is the responsibility of Human Resources and the Health and Safety Advisor to ensure that all workers are aware of this policy as well as their risks when working remotely and in the collaborative spaces and how employees are protected and are provided the training necessary to carry out their tasks safely.

Every person is responsible under this policy for their own safety.

All workers are responsible to report to their team manager or the Health and Safety Advisor any concerns about how to perform a certain task, or any other queries related with their own health and safety. It is therefore every worker’s personal responsibility to report immediately any situation which could jeopardise the well-being of themselves or any other person.

When working from home or in the collaborative spaces, staff must take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of anyone else in the home who is affected by their work while working remotely.

Staff should follow all health and safety instructions issued by CILEX, including the completion of the Health & Safety training module.

It is the responsibility of the Corporate Compliance Manager to ensure that this policy and corresponding procedures document is reviewed and updated where necessary.

4. Legal Obligations

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, CILEX is required to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of its employees and others.

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR 2013) requires any defined accidents be reported in a timely manner to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). This may result in a HSE investigation.

The continued use of unsafe practices or work equipment may result in a significant injury or loss to employees and the organisation and could lead to an investigation by health and safety enforcers, loss of revenue, adverse publicity, loss of public confidence in the organisation, third party claims and culpability under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

In addition to the legislation detailed above, this policy is based on the following: Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992; Provision and use of Work Equipment Directive 2009; Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992; Health & Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992; Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. European Directive on Pregnant Workers 1992. The Work at Height Regulations 2005.

5. Monitoring and Review

This policy is reviewed at least yearly and earlier in the event of significant changes to legislation/regulations.

6. References

Accident and Incident Reporting Policy; Fire Safety Policy; Remote Working Policy; PAT Testing; HR Policies; among others.

7. Miscellaneous

A) Consultation and Communication

The management of CILEX sees communication between workers at all levels as an essential part of effective health and safety management. Consultation will be facilitated by feedback after training sessions and when risk assessments are communicated.

Communication about Health and Safety might be addressed to the Health and Safety Advisor.

The management of CILEX will endeavour to communicate to workers their commitment to safety and to ensure that workers are familiar with the contents of the organisation’s health and safety policy.

The health and safety policy and procedure, as well as their risk assessments are communicated to the employees through the Health and Safety module in the eLearning sessions that every member of the staff need to complete before joining CILEX. Also, the Health & Safety Policy, Procedure and some other relevant documents are published on the Corporate Policies SharePoint site available to all CILEX staff.

B) Co-operation and Care

If we are to build and maintain a healthy and safe working environment, cooperation between workers at all levels is essential.

All workers are expected to take responsibility for Health & Safety and to accept their duties under this policy. Any employee who violates safety rules or who fails to perform their duties under this policy will be investigated under the Disciplinary and Dismissal Policy and Procedure. Other workers and Board Members will be subject to the applicable procedures.

Employees have a duty to take all reasonable steps to preserve and protect the health and safety of themselves and all other people affected by the operations of the organisation.

C) Safety Training

Safety training is regarded as an indispensable ingredient of an effective health and safety programme. It is essential that every worker in the organisation is trained to perform their job effectively and safely. It is the opinion of the management of CILEX that if a job is not done safely then it is not done effectively.

Health and safety training is provided online through the Health and Safety module in the eLearning sessions that every member of the staff need to complete before joining CILEX.

D) Workplace Inspections

It is the policy of CILEX to comply with the Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992.

For health and safety purposes, CILEX retains the right to inspect and check the home office. The need for such inspection will depend on the member of the staff specific circumstances, including the nature of their work.

Those inspections will be conducted/led by the Health & Safety Advisor. These inspections will also provide an opportunity to review the continuing effectiveness of the policy and to identify areas where revision of the policy may be necessary.

i. Work Equipment

It is the policy of CILEX to comply with the law as set out in the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Directive 2009.

CILEX will endeavour to ensure that all equipment used by CILEX’s staff is safe and suitable for the purpose for which it is used. The use of any work equipment which could pose a risk to the well-being of persons will be restricted to authorised persons.

All work equipment will be maintained in good working order and repair.

All workers will be provided with such protection as is adequate to protect them from dangers occasioned by the use of work equipment.

All work equipment will be clearly marked with health and safety warnings where appropriate.

ii. Manual Handling Operations

It is the policy of CILEX to comply with the law as set out in the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. Manual handling operations will be avoided as far as is reasonably practicable where there is a risk of injury.

Where it is not possible to avoid manual handling operations an assessment of the operation will be made taking into account the task, the load, the working environment and the capability of the individual concerned. An assessment will be reviewed if there is any reason to suspect that it is no longer valid. All possible steps will be taken to reduce the risk of injury to the lowest level possible.

Manual Handling Operations (MHO) training will be provided online through the Health and Safety module in the eLearning sessions for staff members that require MHO training before joining CILEX.

iii. Display Screen Equipment (DSE)

It is the policy of CILEX to comply with the law as set out in the Health and Safety Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Regulations 1992.

Health and safety assessments will be conducted for all workstations staffed by workers who use DSE as part of their usual work and will ensure that all workstations meet the requirements set out in the Schedule to the Regulations.

The risks to users of DSE will be reduced to the lowest extent reasonably practicable. DSE users will be allowed periodic breaks in their work.

The cost of eyesight tests is paid for the healthcare provider selected by CILEX from time to time and should be undertaken by all employees who are DSE users. Equally, employees who are DSE users and require corrective glasses or contact lenses will be able to claim partial reimbursement via the healthcare provider.

All DSE users will be given appropriate and adequate training on the health and safety aspects of this type of work.

CILEX’s staff is required to complete the DSE checklist when they join the organisation, change location or their equipment changes.

E) Control of Hazardous Substances

It is the policy of CILEX to comply with the law as set out in the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.

CILEX operations do not employ any hazardous substances, but the cleaning process of the collaborative spaces may do. CILEX will ensure that the collaborative spaces where CILEX’s employees work have in place all the relevant policies and procedures and have conducted a risk assessment for all the tasks involving hazardous substances.

Hazardous substances training is provided online through the Health and Safety module in the eLearning sessions that every member of the staff needs to complete before joining CILEX.

F) New of Expectant Mothers

It is the policy of CILEX to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Employments Rights Act 1996.

In addition to the general risk assessment carried out for all staff, a further assessment of risk to the unborn child or new or expectant mothers will be conducted. Where a risk to and unborn child or new or expectant mothers is identified, working conditions and / or working hours may be adjusted so as to avoid the risk. Where this is not reasonable the employee(s) concerned will not be required to work but will receive full pay until the situation is remedied. Appropriate arrangements will be made for other workers. Where a worker is confirmed as expectant, the workers must report the fact to HR for a risk assessment to be carried out.

G) Fire Safety

Please see the Fire Safety Policy for details.

The Health & Safety Advisor is responsible for confirm that the collaborative spaces have an emergency Action Plan which details the arrangements they have in place to deal with potential emergency situations that may take place in their premises, as well as essential safety and security information. This plan should also include the following information:

• security essentials;
• health and safety essentials;
• fire incident and evacuation;
• use of fire extinguishers;
• first aid policy;
• accident and incident procedure;
• safety maintenance checklist;
• fire risk assessment;
• fire safety management structure;
• personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP);
• other information that could be required from time to time

When CILEX’s employees are working from home, under the fire safety law, their workplaces are classed as ‘non-domestic’. Because of this, as a best practice CILEX recommends to all its employees working remotely to identify hazards in their home offices and around the home.

A fire safety risk assessment is provided to all CILEX’s employees for them to review their home and put in place preventative and cautionary measures if any risk is identified.

H) Accident Investigation and Reporting

Please see the Accident and Incident Reporting Policy for details.

It is the policy of CILEX to comply with the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR 95).

CILEX sees accident investigation as a valuable tool in the prevention of future incidents.

In the event of an accident resulting in injury a report will be drawn up by the Health & Safety Advisor or a person appointed by the Health & Safety Advisor detailing:

1. The circumstances of the accident including photographs and diagram wherever possible;
2. The nature and severity of the injury sustained;
3. The identity of any eyewitnesses;
4. The time, date and location of the incident;
5. The date of the report.

All eyewitness accounts will be collected as near to the time of the accident as is reasonably practicable.

Any person required to give an official statement has the right to have a lawyer, workplace colleague or trade union representative present at the company’s expense. The completed report will then be submitted to and analysed by the Health & Safety Advisor who will attempt to discover why the accident occurred and what action should be taken to avoid a recurrence of the problem. A follow up report will be completed after a reasonable period of time examining the effectiveness of any new measures adopted.

Appendix A: Statement of Responsibilities 

Appendix B: CILEX Law School specific requirements

1. Policy Statement

CILEX is committed to providing high quality information, advice and guidance (IAG), which helps employers, members, learners and potential members and learners to plan and manage their career and qualifications progression through learning and work. The delivery of IAG underpins the achievement of CILEX’s mission which is to transform the legal profession by educating, developing and supporting our members to deliver high-quality, accessible legal services.

We are committed to:

• Celebrating difference;
• Challenging outdated perceptions;
• Combining technical expertise with practical insight and emotional intelligence; and
• Providing opportunities without barriers

This policy is consistent with the principles of the nationally recognised matrix Standard*, the Education Inspection Framework (Ofsted), and the CILEx Data Protection GDPR Policy.

2. Policy context

2.1 CLS’s IAG objectives are to:

• Provide specialist advice to empower members and learners and prospective members and learners to achieve their study and career goals in the legal sector;
• Assist employers with appropriate workforce development, and provide ongoing support;
• Signpost members and learners and potential members and learners to alternative career and study options where appropriate for the individual;
• Support members and learners to develop independence in their decision making;
• Support the improvement of qualification completion and progression rates.
• Where a customer is studying with CILEX Law School, ensure that learners are on the right programme, with the right provider and, where applicable with the right employer;

2.2 The key principles upon which this policy is based are that IAG:

• Is personalised, provides opportunities to identify and respond to the needs of the individual, and builds on previous learning and experience;
• Is inclusive and accessible, recognises and promotes equality, diversity and inclusivity, challenges stereotypes and is sensitive to faith, culture and background;
• Is transparent, impartial and provides opportunities for confidentiality;
• Is enhanced by strong networks and collaborative approaches across CILEX teams and involving employers and external partners;
• Contributes to increasing participation, retention and achievement by raising aspirations, helping members and learners to make informed choices and to develop career management skills;
• Is accurate, current and comprehensive.

3. Delivery of IAG

IAG is a wide ranging service and includes:

• Identification of employer’s organisational training needs, and advice and guidance on the best training solution for that organisation;
• Pre-entry apprenticeship information and advice and guidance on appropriate programmes;
• On programme information, advice and guidance;
• Guidance linked to progression (such as Chartered Legal Executive or Solicitor apprenticeships) and job search activities (such as interview skills and looking for work);
• Regular / annual “live” Careers Weeks and other career-related events;
• Access to a wide range of career building resources through the MyCareer hub of career information, tools and resources;
• Links to employers and partner universities.

4. Responsibilities

4.1 Apprentices are responsible for ensuring that they:

• Are actively involved in and take ownership of their progression planning and career development;
• Work co-operatively with CLS staff and peers in line with the CLS Code of Conduct.

4.2 The CLS Senior Management Team is responsible for ensuring that:

• There are sufficient qualified and experienced staff;
• Staff have access to training, support and resources which are appropriate to their role;
• Up to date resources are available to apprentices;
• Policies to promote equality and diversity, confidentiality and professional integrity are implemented;
• Feedback from staff, employers and apprentices is encouraged and acted upon;
• Staff are trained on all relevant legislation, including data protection;
• There are regular reviews of our IAG service.

4.3 The Customer Service Team and Business Development Team are responsible for:

• Providing initial information, advice and guidance to all customers who make contact, signposting to other agencies where appropriate
• Ensuring that they remain current on all training required to assist customers, and engaging with other teams as necessary to enable the customer to achieve their desired outcome
• Providing sufficient course and careers IAG to enable prospective members, employers and learners to make suitable choices pre-enrolment;
• Promoting equality of opportunity, being aware of confidentiality issues and dealing sensitively with information disclosed by members and learners;
• Acting in line with data protection requirements.

4.4 The Pathway Specialist and Learning and Development Advisors are responsible for:

• Embedding and signposting apprentices to up to date and relevant Careers resources;
• Ensuring that CILEX Law School learners are aware of on-programme support;
• Promoting equality of opportunity, being aware of confidentiality issues and dealing sensitively with information disclosed by learners;
• Ensuring that learners are provided with accurate, current and comprehensive progression advice and guidance;
• Making referrals to colleagues, including the Business Development Team, the Customer Service Team or Programmes Manager, as appropriate, on course and progression careers guidance;
• Acting in line with data protection requirements.

5. Continuous quality improvement and staff development

The IAG service is evaluated by:

• Regular reviews of the delivery of IAG against standards, ensuring that the elements of the matrix Standard are being adhered to;
• Conducting regular internal reviews of the quality of IAG through observations, student surveys and other feedback mechanisms;
• Monthly consideration of IAG related issues at our Operational Team meetings;
• Review during the CLS self-assessment processes.

6. Evaluation and Maintenance

The Senior Management Team is responsible for approving the Information, Advice and Guidance Policy and for reviewing this annually.

7. Associated documentation

• CILEx Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
• CILEX LAW School Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
• CILEx Group Data Protection Policy
• Safeguarding and Prevent Policy and Procedure
• Quality Assurance policy
• Teaching, Learning and Assessment policy
• Whistleblowing Policy
• Anti-bribery and Corruption Policy
• Fraud Policy
• Gifts and Hospitality Policy

*The matrix Standard is the international quality standard for organisations that deliver information, advice and guidance.

The internet and other digital and information technologies are powerful tools, which can stimulate discussion, promote creativity and promote effective learning. We encourage the use of technologies in order to enhance skills, promote achievement and enable lifelong learning. These technologies can also put individuals at risk. Some dangers that may be faced are:

• Unauthorised access to / loss of / sharing of personal information
• Risk of being groomed or radicalised
• Access to illegal, harmful or inappropriate website images, games or content
• Online sexual harassment or abuse
• Cyber bullying
• Plagiarism and copyright infringement

2. Purpose and Scope of Policy

This policy addresses the risk of (mis)use of technology which affects the welfare of others or where the culture or reputation of CILEX Law School is put at risk. The use of technology includes, but is not limited to:

• email
• the internet
• the VLE (CLS Hub), associated forums and webinar rooms (Zoom)
• social networking sites and social mobile apps
• AI
• mobile phones
• MS Teams

This policy applies to all online behaviour by learners that is linked to CILEX Law School in any way.

Staff usage of technology is covered by a range of associated staff policies. CILEX Law School learners do not use any equipment which is the property of CILEX Law School. CILEX Law School learners use either their own devices or devices provided by their employer. When using devices and systems which are provided by their employer, they should adhere to the employer’s IT policy and procedures.

CILEX Law School cannot eliminate the risks associated with the use of technology but will address these risks through regular training and our e-safety guidelines (Appendix 1)

3. Roles and Responsibilities

3.1 Academic Director

The Academic Director will be responsible for overseeing the e-safety of CILEX Law School learners. Day to day responsibility for implementing and monitoring e-safety is delegated to the Head of Apprenticeships Quality and Compliance.

3.2 Head Apprenticeships Quality and Compliance

The Head of Apprenticeships Quality and Compliance will be responsible for the implementation and monitoring of this policy. The Head of Apprenticeships Quality and Compliance will ensure that both staff and students have access to appropriate e training in relation to e-safety.

3.3 Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO)

3.3.1 The DSO will be trained in e-safety and be aware of potential issues which may arise from:

• Unauthorised access to / loss of/ sharing of personal information
• Risk of being groomed or radicalised
• Access to illegal, harmful or inappropriate website images, games or content
• Cyber bullying

3.3.2 The DSO will deliver staff development and training, record incidents, report any developments and incidents and liaise with the local authority and external agencies where appropriate.

3.3.3 The DSO will provide pastoral and practical support for students dealing with issues related to e-safety.

3.4 Staff

Staff are responsible for ensuring that:

• They have an up-to-date awareness of the e-safety policy and procedure as well as the CILEX Acceptable Use of ICT Policy E-Safety Policy
• E-safety is embedded in teaching, learning and assessment where appropriate
• Learners have an understanding of research skills and how to avoid plagiarism, boundaries of the use of AI
• They report any suspected misuse or problems through the appropriate channels

3.5 Learners

Learners are responsible for ensuring that:

• They report suspected abuse, misuse or access to inappropriate materials
• They comply with the Student Code of Conduct
• They keep their log in details/passwords secure and confidential and do not share them with anyone else.

4. E-safety Incidents

An e-safety incident is considered to have occurred when a learner or member of staff is the victim of an activity utilising technology to endanger the personal safety, mental or financial wellbeing of another individual or where the culture or reputation of CILEX Law School is put at risk.

E-safety incidents may be categorised under three core areas: safeguarding, discipline and cybersecurity. These are not mutually exclusive and concerns may fall under one or all areas in certain circumstances.

Every e-safety incident will be assessed in relation to safeguarding, discipline and cybersecurity risk. Typically, however, e-safety concerns will be dealt with in the following way:

• Safeguarding issues will be managed by the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) in accordance with the Safeguarding and Prevent Handbook
• Learner discipline issues will be dealt with in accordance with the Disciplinary and Malpractice policy
• Staff discipline issues will be dealt with under the relevant staff policy
• Cybersecurity issues will be dealt with by the Information Technology Team and/or Digital Learning Lead, depending on the nature of the issue.

5. Reporting Incidents

Incidents should be reported to the DSO using the incident report form (Appendix 2).

The incident will be logged on the E-Safety Report and Actions Log and reviewed by the DSO and the Head of Apprenticeships Quality and Compliance.

CILEX Law School will deal with e-safety incidents in the same way as safeguarding and Prevent issues and when appropriate will refer issues to:

• MASH (Multi Agency Support Hub)
• Police

6. Monitoring and Review of this Policy

The implementation of this policy will be monitored by the Head of Apprenticeships Quality and Compliance. E-safety incidents will be an integral part of the continuous safeguarding development, monitoring and review and will be included in the monthly report to the Apprenticeship and Safeguarding Committee.

The policy will be reviewed annually or more frequently if there have been any significant new technology developments, e-safety threats or incidents.