Wellington College is the winner of the Safeguarding Initiative Award at the first-ever Safeguarding and Child Protection Association (Sacpa) Safeguarding Awards.
Sacpa represents organisations and individuals involved in the safeguarding of children and adults in the UK and overseas.
The awards were created to celebrate the hard work, determination and dedication exemplified across the safeguarding world.
Winners were announced on Wednesday 9 February 2022 at Sacpa’s Digital Safeguarding Conference. Wellington College has claimed that the school’s victory is down to the work of its deputy head of safeguarding Delyth Lynch.
In 2011, Lynch created and implemented an evidence-based framework for recruitment that ensures individuals recruited at the college reflect the institution’s five core values – no other school had introduced such a thing at the time.
The initiative gained much traction, with staff speaking about the process on local and national stages and it being featured in journals such as BSA Boarding Magazine and the NADSL publication, “The Network”.
We are delighted that all the hard work and effort the college puts into safeguarding, has been recognised. It has been a real team effort and has made a huge difference to safer recruitment – Delyth Lynch, Wellington College
Wellington College has said that the initiative has changed the school and touched many lives, contributing to the college’s commitment to a safeguarding culture and solidifying Lynch’s reputation as a leader in the field.
Lynch commented: “We are delighted that all the hard work and effort the college puts into safeguarding, has been recognised. It has been a real team effort and has made a huge difference to safer recruitment.”
Wellington College is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in Berkshire, England. The school is a registered charity and educates over 1000 pupils between the ages of 13 and 18. The school was built as a national monument to the Duke of Wellington and has been open for 160 years.
The award judges released this statement: “Frankly, it was an application that blew us away because of how the college has responded to an adverse situation and created a system and legacy for safer recruitment practice. The safeguarding team evidenced that they are using a very tight system rooted in the evidence base. A clear winner.”
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