Why Colleges now play a far Bigger role in Keeping Young People Safe

Further education colleges have always been places of opportunity, environments where young people develop skills, confidence and independence as they prepare for adulthood. But over the past decade, the role colleges play within their communities has evolved significantly.

Today, colleges are not simply education providers. They are large, open, public-facing institutions supporting thousands of young people from a wide range of backgrounds and circumstances, often with increasingly complex needs. As that landscape changes, so too does our responsibility to safeguard and support the students in our care.

At West Herts College Group, we see first-hand how the challenges affecting young people have become broader and more interconnected. Mental health concerns, online harms, exploitation, youth violence, social pressures and vulnerability do not exist separately from education; they increasingly shape students’ experiences both inside and outside the classroom.

That means colleges must think differently about safety and wellbeing than they may have done in the past.

Much of the public conversation around campus safety understandably focuses on visible security measures such as CCTV, access controls or security staff. Those measures do have an important role to play, and like many colleges, we continue to invest significantly in ensuring our campuses are safe, secure and well-managed environments.

However, modern safeguarding goes far beyond physical security alone.

Keeping young people safe today requires a much more holistic approach, one built around prevention, partnership working, staff training, student education and early intervention. It means maintaining strong relationships with police, local authorities, safeguarding agencies, youth services and community organisations so that concerns can be identified and addressed before they escalate.

It also means recognising that colleges increasingly sit at the centre of wider community challenges. As public spaces welcoming thousands of students, staff and visitors each day, we have a responsibility to be prepared, informed and responsive.

This is why preparedness matters.

Recent national discussions around Martyn’s Law have helped highlight the importance of robust emergency planning and security awareness across publicly accessible spaces. In many ways, however, the direction of travel reflected in the legislation aligns with work already taking place across the education sector. Colleges have long understood that creating safe environments requires ongoing review, investment and adaptation.

At West Herts College Group, that includes everything from safeguarding training and emergency preparedness to student awareness programmes covering online safety, personal safety, violence reduction and wellbeing. It also means ensuring that our campuses remain welcoming, calm and supportive environments where students feel safe without feeling intimidated or restricted.

Striking that balance is important.

Young people thrive in environments built on trust, belonging and support. While colleges must be realistic about the challenges facing society today, we must also avoid creating cultures driven by fear or alarmism. Safety should provide reassurance, not anxiety.

A huge amount of work in this area happens quietly behind the scenes, often without public visibility. Yet it has become one of the most important responsibilities modern colleges carry.

For parents, students and communities, that should provide reassurance. Colleges today are not only preparing young people for the future through education and training; they are also working harder than ever to create environments where young people feel safe, supported and able to succeed.

By Gill Worgan CBE, Principal and CEO at West Herts College Group