"It is evident that there is a clear culture of safeguarding in the College"
Inspector, March 2022
Whilst we have a number of policies and procedures that are in place to form the foundations of our safeguarding commitment, it is undoubtedly the way in which an organisation understands, respects and integrates safeguarding into daily life which is vital. When this is at its best, safeguarding practises and a positive culture becomes the norm and is at the heart of every decision made. At Wellington there is a deep understanding and commitment that safeguarding cannot be traded off against any other goals.
Our Director of Safeguarding, Delyth Lynch, is a leader in the field and whilst being DSL at Wellington College is also responsible for the overarching safeguarding strategy across both Eagle House and Wellington College. Highly experienced and nationally respected, her research paper ‘Abuse in Boarding Schools’ was awarded the BSA Research Award of the Year (2019) and her vision and drive behind the Values Based Interview process, which Wellington introduced in 2013, was recognised in 2022 when the project won the SACPA ‘Safeguarding Initiative of the Year’. Wellington is the only organisation to have won the award two years in a row after being announced winner in 2023 for new initiative, led by Delyth, which looks at every new pupil as an individual, identifying relevant potential vulnerability risk factors so that better, and more informed, pastoral and safeguarding support can be given to them upon arrival at College. Find out more HERE.
Delyth writes regularly to parents in the termly safeguarding newsletter and is currently developing a parent safeguarding navigational toolkit so that parents can access a resource bank which is helpful to them and which complements the College student wellbeing programme. Recent safeguarding survey results, news reports and other College led initiatives will also be posted on this page.
"I admire the College’s efforts to make safeguarding transparent and I felt confident and supported to approach you with this self - report after your presentation and meeting. I really appreciate that. "
LAMDA teacher, September 2022
Safeguarding podcast with the Wellington College safeguarding team
Safeguarding Series: Episode 3 – Online Safety: what do parents need to know?
The Safeguarding Series returns as Delyth Lynch and Steph Eyers chat with online safety expert, Karl Hopwood. Karl really makes the subject accessible and gives some great tips for parents and how they can navigate the online world and speak to their children on the topic.
Safeguarding Series: Episode 2 – Relational Aggression
The Safeguarding Series returns to DukeBox Radio, with all members of the Wellington community invited to explore the issues that Wellington College faces in safeguarding and how the staff work to overcome them.
In this episode: a chat between our two Deputy DSLs, Tom Wayman and Dave Walker about relational aggression and what steps the school have taken to address this issue.
Safeguarding Series: Episode 1 - Intro
It’s arrived – the first safeguarding podcast with the Wellington College safeguarding team. In episode 1, the team introduce themselves and talk about the different roles that they play within the College. They also discuss the safeguarding issues which are pertinent for parents at the moment. Join Delyth, Jess, Dave, Gaby, Ed and Tom as they chat over coffee and also invite you to contribute to future podcasts as well.
