Canada visit offers global insights into developing safeguarding in further education colleges
A college director has recently returned from Canada where he took part with other senior leaders from Wales, in an international collaboration to tackle peer-on-peer sexual harassment and misogyny among learners in further education.
This visit brought together Welsh and Canadian members of a transnational Community of Practice, which was established in response to the findings of Estyn’s June 2023 report, Peer-on-peer sexual harassment among 16 to 18-year-old learners in further education.
The main aim of the visit, organised by CollegesWales, was to enable members from Wales and Canada to meet face-to-face, deepening relationships and developing the work undertaken by the group.
Visiting a number of colleges during the trip, the group had a chance to compare support models and share good practices used within colleges in Canada and Wales.
Tom Snelgrove, director of learner experience at Coleg Sir Gâr and Coleg Ceredigion, undertook the week-long trip to Montreal, he said: “I was particularly looking forward to learning from our partners and observing inclusive practice in diverse settings, and gaining insights into trauma-informed, learner-centred models that can inform and inspire our work in Wales.
“From the experience, I learned that we as a college are on the right path to ensuring all of our learners feel safe and are supported in a trauma informed way and that our strategic priorities are right with kindness as a solid foundation within our ethos.
“The Canadian models were interesting and tended to lean towards being research based with a strong ‘don’t be a bystander’ ethos.
“This project is looking at developing systems for students and it’s very much work in progress, but the trip confirmed for me how good our support systems are at Coleg Sir Gâr and Coleg Ceredigion and throughout Wales, particularly looking at safeguarding systems for Prevent, racism, support for minor groups and the LGBTQ+ community.”
CollegesWales and individual colleges will welcome the Canadian cohort to Wales in October this year.
This trip and the Community of Practice project is funded by Taith (Pathway 2).