Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Deferred
Stipulate clear, independent internal reporting pathways for harassment within OfS guidance for educational settings.
Recommendation
We support the Office for Students’ proposed new condition of registration aimed at protecting students from harassment and sexual misconduct. Its effectiveness will depend, in part, on students and staff feeling both able to recognise and report misconduct and that any complaints will be taken seriously. OfS guidance should stipulate that internal reporting pathways must be clearly signposted and independent of the structures and relationships in which harassment and abuse may occur, for example internally via a dedicated pastoral officer or externally to Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority. (Recommendation, Paragraph 74)
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the Office for Students' proposed new registration condition and national survey, stating it looks forward to the outcomes of the public consultation and pilot survey, which will form the foundation for all future work on this issue.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The Department for Education has been in dialogue with the Office for Students about a proposed new registration condition for some time and significant progress has been made. The Office for Students received a significant response to its public consultation on the new registration condition last year. This will ensure the finalised details will be evidence-based and familiar to higher education providers. We also welcome the Office for Students’ decision to arrange a national survey of sexual misconduct in higher education, and that a pilot survey was completed last autumn. We look forward to the outcome of the Office for Students’ public consultation on the new registration condition, and the pilot survey, being published in the coming months as this will form the foundation for all future work on this issue, including the planned national prevalence survey.