Training

Birmingham Newman University is committed to fostering an inclusive culture which promotes equality, values diversity and, inclusion and to nurturing an environment which is free from harassment (including sexual harassment and misconduct). 

To support this commitment, the University offers a comprehensive training programme for all staff on the topic(s) of harassment, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct awareness. 

 The training programme includes a blend of both online and in-person training, mandatory depending on your role within the institution and, in summary, is designed to ensure that you: 

• Recognise behaviours that may constitute harassment, sexual misconduct and sexual harassment in both yourself and others, 

• Understand how you may access support if you are experiencing unwanted behaviour and/or if you believe that you may be a perpetrator, or are accused of being a perpetrator of these behaviours, 

• Understand how you may support a student who discloses or reports an unwanted sexual incident to you (with specialist follow up disclosure training dependant on role) and,  

• Have an awareness of what it means to be an ‘ally’ to others within the Birmingham Newman University, being an ‘active bystander’ and supporting individuals within groups that are different from your own, particularly within communities that may still be experiencing marginalisation and/or were historically marginalised, 

• Understand how to appropriately conduct workplace investigations for both staff and/or students (specialist training dependant on role) and how to conduct trauma informed investigations (specialist training dependant on role),  

• Understand what is meant by ‘Freedom of Speech’ principles and how to comply with these principles, 

The table below provides an overview of the training programme offered by the University, broken down by staffing group.  

Where you have been assigned training within the table below, this training is mandatory. In completing this training, you are confirming your understanding of its content. If you have any questions in relation to the scope and content of the training following its completion, please contact training@newman.ac.uk.  

Trigger Warning: 

Please note that these training courses include discussions on various topics, including but not limited to sexual harassment, sexual abuse, sexual violence and domestic abuse. The University therefore recognises that the content of this training may be difficult and/or triggering for some members of the staffing community.   

If you have any concerns in relation to completing this mandatory training which means you feel you are unable to complete any of the mandatory training modules within this suite of training, you are encouraged to contact your line manager and/or a member of the Human Resources department at humanresources@newman.ac.uk.   

All mandatory online training will be automatically assigned to you via the Staff Development Team, however, you can book onto in-person training via your iTrent self-service, accessible here (login via the small login button rather than the big login button). Mandatory online training includes: 

• Responding to disclosures of unwanted sexual incidents 

• Sexual Harassment Awareness in Higher Education 

• Safeguarding in Higher Education 

• Freedom of Speech 

• Allyship and Active Bystander 

• LGBTQIA+ Awareness 

• Cultural Awareness 

• Neurodiversity Awareness 

Alternatively, please contact training@newman.ac.uk about upcoming training dates.

The University is constantly looking to evaluate and improve its training provision available to the staffing community. Feedback from staff in relation to this training is therefore strongly encouraged and can be sent to training@newman.ac.uk.

• View the University’s full training schedule.

Please note that in completing this training, you are confirming your understanding of its content. If you have any questions in relation to the scope and content of the training following its completion, please contact mailto:training@newman.ac.uk

All Staff Training Matrix

   

The University has set up training opportunities for you to learn more about sexual misconduct, consent and harassment.

As well as helping to make our campus and society and safer place, taking part in this training is also a great way for you to increase your knowledge in a subject that can affect personal and working lives in many ways.

From August 2025, some training is compulsory for students to complete and so you must make sure that you get this done. You will receive information of how to do this, but can also access some useful information through this webpage.

We know that for some people, taking part in training can be difficult, especially if they have experienced sexual violence or harassment in the past. Whilst we know it can be difficult, the university is here to support students and we have specially trained staff to help support you if you are in this situation. Please do reach out to us by emailing to access this support. You can find out more information on the Student Support webpages.

Training available to you

Misconduct, Consent and Tackling Harassment Training

This online module covers loads of information about sexual misconduct, consent and harassment. You can complete it in your own time and you will get a certificate for completing it, which you can then include in any portfolios.

Information on how to access the course will be sent to you in August 2025. You will also be able to access the training from this page – so please feel free to bookmark this page.

Tackling Harassment Workshops

During the academic year, you may see that there are workshops running to gain more understanding into this topic. These will be delivered in different ways, but some will be open to all students. They may be particularly beneficial to students on professional courses who have additional standards to meet as part of their course. More information will be available on this page in due course but other information will be circulated to students too.

Campaigns and Events

Throughout the year, we’ll also be promoting a range of campaigns and events to students to help build understanding and awareness around sexual misconduct and harassment.

Opportunities for you

We welcome involvement from students in this work and are looking for Student Champions to help get the messages about sexual misconduct and harassment out to our students in an easy to understand and accessible way. If this is something that you are interested in being part of, please email studentsuccess@newman.ac.uk for more info.