On Friday 14 November, Kirklees College proudly welcomed delegates from key education and public sector institutions to the Safeguarding & Pastoral Support Conference 2025. The event was hosted in partnership with Our Future Kirklees, Huddersfield New College, Moor End Academy and North Huddersfield Trust, and sought to tackle key issues affecting young people in the region.
As a restorative, trauma-informed and anti-racist college, committed to creating opportunities and changing lives of all its students, Kirklees College prides itself on being at the forefront of important discussions around the safety and wellbeing of young people in our region. Hosting conferences like this allows the college to bring together key partners to discuss such topics.
The programme of events including key talks from a range of speakers, including opening addresses from Kirklees College’s Director of Safeguarding, Lisa Eaton, and Principal Palvinder Singh. Talks from DCI Oliver Coates from West Yorkshire Police, and Polly Harrow DfE FE Student Support Champion followed, and then attendees took part in three workshops surrounding Exploitation, Misogyny & Sexual Harrassment, and Prevent. Student voice was also championed, with the closing speech being given by Kirklees College’s Students’ Union President.
Principal of Kirklees College, Palvinder Singh, noted how the event supports the Government’s ‘Safer Streets’ mission, which is one of its five core strategies, and is helping to create safer communities for everyone:
“It is really important that Kirklees College, and other anchor organisations such as the Local Authority and the Police, work together to bridge the gap between institutions to help create safer streets. We are all doing an amazing job individually, but it is events like these that help us bridge the gaps between the resources we individually provide, because the more we work together, the stronger our system of community becomes.”
Pauline Hughes, Vice Principal for of Quality and Student Experience added
“It has been a fantastic experience to have so many people from across the community attend today’s event, from the Local Authority, to schools, colleges, the Youth Justice System and Police, to discuss the important topic of safeguarding. As a college, we are very proud to have hosted this event.”
Guests also had very positive feedback about the event. Rebecca Hunt, Lead Pastoral Mentor and DSL at Salendine Nook High School said:
“We’ve been really happy to hear that there’s been a real consensus of how positive and empowering the event was. It was great to have so many speakers from services that we work with, see them in person and reignite the importance of working together to safeguard children.”
Kirklees College thanks all delegates and speakers for their involvement in this important event. To find out more about Kirklees College, visit www.kirkleescollege.ac.uk.
