Harassment and Sexual Misconduct

At Central School of Ballet we are committed to creating a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment where all students can thrive. Student safety is a priority, and we are continually working to uphold the highest standards in preventing and responding to harassment, bullying, and sexual misconduct

This webpage brings together all our policies and procedures on student harassment and sexual misconduct and the support available. This is the ‘single comprehensive source of information’ required by the Office for Students (OfS registration condition E6).

Central encourages use of the Report and Support tool as the first point of contact. It provides clear reporting options, access to a support officer, and enables us to monitor and respond to disclosures effectively.

Use the drop down menu to find out more about each section

Sexual misconduct and harassment are defined in the School’s Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Harassment, and Related Behaviours.

‘Harassment’ is unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment as defined by the Equality Act 2010. This definition includes harassment by association or perception.

‘Sexual misconduct’ means any unwanted or attempted unwanted conduct of a sexual nature and includes, but is not limited to:

Central will not tolerate any instances of harassment and sexual misconduct including:
  • Between students
  • Between staff members
  • Between students and staff
  • Involving third parties or visitors


For the sake of clarity, this relates to possible incidents reported of harassment or sexual misconduct that take place both on and off Central’s premises, including those that occur outside of standard timetabled hours will be supported. The policy extends to any setting or context considered part of “normal Central business”, which includes but is not limited to:
  • Field trips or placements
  • Extra-curricular activities, whether on or off campus
  • Work-related functions or industry-facing events facilitated by Central School of Ballet
  • Online platforms, including Central-sanctioned social media groups or learning environments
  • Third-party managed halls of residence/ accommodation


Central’s responsibilities also apply to digital communications and online harassment involving members of the Central community, where the behaviour breaches this policy or impacts the wellbeing or safety of students or staff.

Our Student Handbook also outlines our commitment to preventing and reporting harassment and sexual misconduct.

All our students are required to complete training on harassment and sexual misconduct when they are studying with us and this training is refreshed every year. Our staff also undergo training so they can detect, report and support students.
Central is committed to addressing any incidents of sexual misconduct and harassment and encourages the reporting of any such incidents for investigation.

Students and staff can disclose the witnessing of or experience of incidents of bullying, discrimination, harassment, hate crime, sexual misconduct or any safeguarding concern via the Report and Support tool.

You can choose to report anonymously or request to speak with a member of the Safeguarding team or another trained support officer to get information on the reporting options and support available so that you can understand next steps.

We encourage students and staff to use the Report and Support tool to coordinate and monitor our response and support effectively. If you believe that you or others are at risk and need emergency help, call the Police or Ambulance Service on 999.

Central will respect your decision and support you, whatever you decide to do next in terms of reporting any form of sexual violence.
Students and staff can disclose how they have been affected by harassment and sexual misconduct by using Central’s Report and Support tool. You can choose to do this anonymously or request support from a trained Support Officer.

If you request to speak to someone from the Safeguarding team or another Support Officer they will provide tailored, confidential guidance. All Support Officers have received specialist training to handle disclosures sensitively and effectively.

Support is also available for students who are facing allegations. In line with Central’s Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Related Behaviours, students will be assigned a named staff contact for support.

To help ensure informed decision making and co-ordinated care, we encourage students and staff to use the Report and Support tool as the first point of contact.

A range of support is available within and outside of Central for students and staff who have experienced harassment and sexual misconduct.

What support is available if I have been bullied, harassed or experienced sexual misconduct?

Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour involving the misuse of power that can make a person feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined or threatened. Harassment is when someone intentionally or unintentionally violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, which interferes with an individual’s learning, working or social environment.

Harassment may involve sexual harassment or be related to a protected characteristic such as age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Some forms of harassment are considered a Hate Crime. A hate incident or crime is any act of violence or hostility against a person or property that is motivated by hostility or prejudice towards a person due to a particular protected characteristic.

If you think you have been the target of sexual misconduct, assault or harassment, it may be hard to know what to do or how to feel. What happened was not your fault. What you do next is your choice.

Think
  • Are you in immediate danger? If you are in immediate danger or seriously injured, you can contact the emergency services on 999 (or 112 from a mobile phone)
  • Find a safe space. If an incident has just happened try and find somewhere you feel safe.
  • What is bullying and harassment? It might be useful to think about what is meant by bullying and harassment and how these behaviours are described.
Report Get support
  • The Samaritans provide emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope, or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. Call 116 123, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
  • TalkCampus is a global mental health support network which provides students with free and instant support for your mental health. Support is available 24/7 so you never have to feel alone.
Mental health and wellbeing
  • It’s important that you take care of yourself. If you’ve heard something distressing or if something is troubling you, Central’s Health and Wellbeing Team offers confidential support options for students.
  • The Director of Finance and Operations who leads on Human Resources can arrange for staff members to receive counselling support if helpful.


What support is available if I have been accused of misconduct?

It can be very distressing if allegations of bullying and harassment, discrimination, hate incident/crime, and/or sexual misconduct have been made against you. Please, read the information below carefully before you take any further action.

If allegations of misconduct have been made against you, it is essential that you clearly understand what you are being accused of.

The first thing to do is to seek advice and support. Please, consider the following:

Support at Central:
  • You can arrange to speak with a staff member from the Medical and Wellbeing team. They can help you make sense of the situation and support you as you navigate the next steps, including during a disciplinary investigation.
  • Central has a Privacy policy explaining how it will use your information. There are limited circumstances where Central will be required to share information with the Police, therefore, if you wish to discuss anything in confidence, it is important that you understand the limits of confidentiality and how the information you provide might be used later.

Other Support:
  • If allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against you and you would like to discuss this in a confidential and anonymous way, you can do so by contacting Respect Phoneline UK.. You can also consult the resources in the ‘External Support’ Section on this webpage.
  • Family and friends: You may want to share information regarding the allegations that have been made against you with family and friends. We encourage you to do so, and to ask for their support. However, please bear in mind that, once information is shared with others, you will lose control over it, so we would also recommend that you only share details of the allegation with your closest network and remind them of the importance of confidentiality. This is to protect any party involved, including yourself.


What is going to happen now?

Central has a duty of care towards all members of our community. This means that if allegations of misconduct are made against one of our members, it is our responsibility to investigate the matter and take appropriate action to ensure that all members of our community can feel safe.

The student who has disclosed the incident to Central is called the complainant and the student that the allegation has been made against is called the respondent. All allegations made against students about behaviour that breaches the policy on Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Other Related Behaviours will be dealt with under that policy.

If an allegation is made against you, you will be informed in writing of the nature of the allegation; who has made the allegation (other than in exceptional circumstances); and an outline of the next steps. There will be an investigation under the Policy for Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Other Related Behaviours. As part of the procedures of the policy, you will be given the opportunity to respond to the allegation and provide information to support your case.

Central will not make assumptions on the relative merits of an allegation. No party will be considered ‘at fault’ until an allegation has been investigated. All those involved in an investigation will be treated fairly and offered advice and support.

In some instances, where the alleged behaviour is considered to be particularly serious, Central may have to take immediate precautionary action – this means that you may be temporarily excluded or suspended. This will be communicated clearly to you including details of what you may or may not be allowed to do in relation to your studies until your case has been investigated and an outcome reached. Precautionary action is not a penalty or sanction and will not form part of the case against you. It is just to keep all parties involved safe, including yourself.

If you are contacted by Central because allegations of misconduct have been made against you, please ensure you seek advice. Do not attempt to contact the reporting student directly, even if you believe that there might have been a misunderstanding.

Am I being accused of a criminal offence?

Central’s Policies and Procedures expect higher standards of behaviour than is usually required by the law and therefore a breach of our policies, procedures and rules will not necessarily constitute a criminal offence. You can find more information about some related criminal offences on the CPS website.

Central will not ordinarily report a matter to the police. Instances where it may do so are detailed in the Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Related Behaviours Policy. However, if a student believes someone has committed a criminal offence against them, Central will support them if they decide to report it to the police.

If you are reported to the police, then Procedures for complaints/ allegations that have been reported to the police (Appendix D of the Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Related Behaviours) will start. This means some or all action or proceedings under the procedure will normally be delayed until a police investigation has taken place. Following a police investigation or criminal proceedings, Central will consider the most suitable action to take.

If you are accused of something which could also be a criminal offence, you may want to consider seeking legal advice.

What should I do if someone directly accuses me?

In some cases, a student may choose to discuss the matter with you directly, rather than formally reporting the incident to Central, if they believe that misconduct was not the result of malicious behaviour but, rather, the result of lack of education and understanding on the matter. This might be the student who experienced the harassment first-hand, or someone who witnessed the unacceptable behaviour.

In dealing with the allegation informally, you will need to listen carefully and calmly to what is being said. If you find that you have unintentionally caused offence, or you believe that your words or actions have been misinterpreted or misjudged, then you will need to keep calm to try to reach an understanding with the person accusing you. If you come to realise that you have unintentionally bullied or harassed another student, be ready to immediately change the behaviour causing offence.

You may wish to seek support in understanding how to best prevent that behaviour from happening in the future. Central provides annual training on this topic. You may also want to seek advice and support from one of the external support agencies listed on this page.

Whilst we encourage students to engage in constructive criticism and act as active bystanders, there might be instances where the matter cannot be resolved informally, especially if the allegation is around discrimination or sexual misconduct; or if the unacceptable behaviour is thought to have been carried out consciously and maliciously.

In this case, we would encourage all parties to seek support and advice regarding next steps from Central, instead of taking things into their own hands. This might create further tensions and risk escalating the matter.

Should you find yourself at the receiving end of any form of harassment due to an allegation that has been made against you, you are strongly encouraged to report the incident via the Report and Support tool and to seek support and advice from Central’s Medical and Wellbeing team. Whether you are responsible for the alleged misconduct or not, you should never be subjected to harassment because of an allegation made against you.

What happens after an investigation?

If your case cannot be resolved at Stage 1, it might proceed to Stage 2 (Alternative Resolution: by Agreement or by Panel- see Appendix B of the Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Related Behaviours). You will be able to respond and provide information to support your position at all stages of your case.

There are a broad range of outcomes and sanctions available at all stages of the process, and you will have the opportunity to appeal any outcome or sanction that you may be given if the allegation is found proven. For further information regarding this process, please read our policy.
The following policies are relevant to how we investigate allegations of student harassment and sexual misconduct:

The Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Related Behaviours defines what harassment and sexual misconduct are and sets out Central’s approach to preventing and addressing harassment and sexual misconduct.

Investigations into allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct are carried out in accordance with other related policies, as outlined in the Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Related behaviours:
    • The Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Related Behaviours will be used to investigate allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct against students.
    • The Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Related Behaviour will be used to investigate allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct made by students against staff.
Any Preliminary Enquiry through Stage 1 that merits further action will then be subject to the Staff Disciplinary Procedure.
Ensuring confidentiality is a key principle in creating a culture where those affected feel safe to make a disclosure about harassment and sexual misconduct.

Central takes all reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality and privacy of those who disclose harassment and sexual misconduct. However, there may be circumstances (e.g. in order to protect an individual at risk) where it is necessary to share information with other agencies or internally with colleagues.

Further details about confidentiality and information sharing are provided in the Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Related behaviours and Privacy Policy.
In accordance with the Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Harassment and Related Behaviours, where it is reasonable and practicable to do so in accordance with its duties and obligations under data protection legislation, Central will provide the student that has raised an  allegation of harassment or sexual misconduct with an outcome of the investigation and/or an explanation of any actions that Central has taken, or not taken. This includes where the outcome is changed for any reason. However, it may only be possible for Central to provide limited information depending on the circumstances.

When a disclosure is made to ensure effective co-ordination over allegations by students against staff, the case will be triaged to HR who will deal with the staff component of the complaint. The case will be considered under the Staff Disciplinary Procedure.
Central is committed to ensuring that all our students understand what constitutes harassment and sexual misconduct and how to report it, the support available to them, what consent is and how to intervene effectively.

We are developing interactive training to begin during the 2025/2026 academic year for students to develop their understanding around consent, harassment and sexual misconduct and being an active bystander.

After completing the training, we hope students will be confident making a stand against harassment and sexual misconduct and advocating for others, be an active bystander, understand what does and doesn’t count as consent, and be able to dispel myths about sexual assault.
Everyone on the course will be invited to complete a survey to help us evaluate and improve it.
We are launching training for all our staff that explains the definitions of harassment and sexual misconduct along with their role in supporting students and dealing with disclosures.

Staff involved in specialist roles such as student support and investigations will have in depth training on dealing with sexual violence and harassment.
We are committed to protecting students from any actual or potential conflict of interest and/or abuse of power that may arise from intimate personal relationships with staff.

Our Student- Staff Personal Relationships policy bans personal relationships between staff and students, except for pre-existing relationships which must be declared so any conflicts of interest can be managed.
We are committed to taking steps that will make a significant and credible difference to protecting students from harassment and sexual misconduct. These include:

Since September 2024 the Office for Students has prohibited Higher Education Providers from using Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) in relation to student allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct.

This means that we will not use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in relation to complaints of sexual harassment, abuse, misconduct, or other forms of harassment and bullying.
As well as the internal support available for students that report an incident it is important to be aware of external agencies that can provide specialist advice and support. Below is a list of organisations and support agencies that can provide support. Please click on their links for further information.