Health, Wellness and Safety | Pearson College UWC

Health, Wellness and Safety

Pearson College UWC has a strong commitment to the health, wellness and safety of students and all campus community members. Our commitment to a safe and supportive campus environment includes several measures:

All new staff at the College must first successfully complete a Criminal Records Check prior to start of employment and every five years thereafter.
All students receive the College’s Student Handbook before they arrive on campus. The handbook, including a key section on “Learning to Live Responsibly and Independently”, is reviewed and discussed during orientation week and again during the second term.
As noted, the College maintains a full-time on campus resident nurse service whose office includes access to all physical and mental health support resources.Nursing staff can confidentially discuss concerns, provide support and work with students in accessing appropriate assistance and/or agencies as needed.
The nurse’s office also organizes and advises student-led groups including those supporting LGBTQ, women, men, and other groups.
All employees and residents (adults and students) are required to sign the College’s Respectful Campus Policy on joining the institution and to review and re-certify this commitment each September.
Through our Dean of Students office, the College continually reviews and incorporates leading practices in pastoral and residential student wellness and living.
The College initiated a comprehensive accreditation process through the Council of International Schools in 2015/16. This is designed to assess our overall approach to areas including student safety and health. Recommendations on further improvements will be reviewed and incorporated.
In June 2016, our Dean of Students and School Nurse led a multi-day educational conference focused on residential health and wellbeing on campus for staff and faculty in student care leadership at worldwide UWC schools to share leading practices and learn from experiences in institutions.
The College maintains several policies and procedures designed to support the concepts of health, wellness and safety which are available to students, staff and alumni. These complement the College’s EthicsPoint process that enables private telephone and online reporting to an independent third party in order to report and, as necessary, facilitate investigation of concerns.

Student Wellbeing and Support

We are passionate about wellbeing at Pearson—both personal and community. In fact, since the College’s founding, all aspects of life here have been guided by a simple principle: consideration for others.

The Pearson College UWC Student Handbook includes Student Support and Consideration for Others sections and we encourage everyone to review these. We also encourage all students to take time to regularly contemplate their role within the Pearson community and their participation in all aspects of the program. This includes actively thinking about how they interact with others and taking responsibility to build a respectful, progressive and joyful community.

To ensure that the College is a safe, secure, healthy, happy and respectful place for everyone and to follow the rule of law in Canada, all members of the community are required to abide by the school policies both in spirit and in action at all times. Read the UWC Code of Conduct.

There are a number of individuals on Campus to help ensure student wellbeing, as well as that of the community as a whole:

Houseparents

Houseparents and their families live in an apartment attached to each of the five student residential houses. They play an integral part in the life of each residence and are key members of the support community for students.

Advisors

Each student has an advisor to assist him or her with balancing the overall program. This person is usually a teacher and is available for both personal and academic support.

Dean of Students

The Dean of Students is responsible for the overall wellbeing of students. The Dean also works with advisors, houseparents and other campus adult residents and members of the community to support a healthy community for living, learning and working together.

School Nurse

The College employs a full-time nurse who has access to a full range of supporting medical and healthcare professionals and community services. Students can work with the campus nurse and access community support services directly.

Safeguarding

Pearson College UWC is committed and obliged to provide a safe and respectful environment for all its youth, child and adult populations; and all employees, volunteers, students, and other campus residents of Pearson College UWC.

The College is committed to providing a respectful working, living and learning environment that is free of discrimination, supportive of personal growth and achievement and one that upholds the dignity, self-esteem and fair treatment of all members of the College Community, including employees, volunteers, students, campus residents, contractors and visitors. This commitment represents the right and responsibility of every member of the College Community.

Pearson College UWC is a respectful community and an organization that does not tolerate harassment, bullying and/or discrimination of any kind and builds and sustains a community of respect and consent between its members to prevent, educate and assist in all matters.

Our Taking Our Responsibilities Seriously and respectful community policies web pages provides comprehensive information on measures such as mandatory community safety and well-being training, consent education, mental health support and resource awareness to help ensure we maintain a respectful and meaningful culture of safety and wellness.

Our Special Advisor-Respectful Community reports directly to the President and Head of College and is a dedicated contact to assist any individual who wishes to inform the College, in confidence, of any experience and seek support and can be reached through respect@pearsoncollege.ca.

If an individual prefers to speak to another UWC entity about an experience of misconduct, harm, abuse or neglect, the following reporting mechanisms provided by UWC International can be used: