What is Report and Support?
Report and Support is an online tool for staff, students and visitors to report issues of harassment, bullying, sexual misconduct, hate crimes, and other problematic behaviours. Users can either report with their name and details to receive support from the University, or they can report anonymously. Report and Support is also home to content about the types of behaviours that are #NeverOK, the support that is available, and our policies and procedures.
Who can make a report?
Making a report via Report + Support is not appropriate if you are reporting something that requires immediate action. For example, if you are reporting that you or someone else is in immediate danger please contact emergency services by dialling 999.
Please note that local residents are encouraged to report neighbourhood problems to community@reading.ac.uk or by calling 0118 378 3279.
The University's Security Services operates a non-emergency telephone line: 0118 378 7799.
For students, a helpline is available to provide ‘in the moment support’ to compliment our on campus student support services. Call 0800 023 2466, it is available 24hrs a day, 365 days a year and the call can be anonymous. It also includes a translation service.
University of Reading students, staff, and visitors can all make a report through Report and Support. Reports can be about what you have experienced or on behalf of someone else, including something serious you have witnessed.
Please note that reports submitted to Report + Support are only accessed during normal working hours (Monday to Friday) and is not continuously monitored by the University.
How do I make a report? Do I need to log in?
You do not need to log in.
Simply visit www.reportandsupport.reading.ac.uk and click ‘Tell us anonymously’ or ‘Report with contact details’ to select your preferred reporting route. The differences between the two options are explained below. Staff, students, and visitors all follow the same process.
What should I include in my report?
The report takes you through a structured set of multiple-choice questions which ask for mostly optional details like the location and type of behaviour. There is also an open-ended answer section in which you can tell us what happened in as much detail as you feel is relevant. You can review your answers and edit them before submitting.
Which option should I choose, 'Tell us anonymously' or 'Report with contact details'?
'Tell us anonymously': If you 'Tell us anonymously', the University of Reading won't have information about who you are, and therefore cannot provide support or contact you. This option is for people who do not wish to be identified but would still like to make an incident known. 'Report with contact details': If someone wishes to receive support or consider their informal or formal options to address a concern, they can choose to report with contact details, instead. A staff member from the appropriate team will then contact the person who has made a report to arrange a meeting to discuss options for support, what could happen next, and the courses of action that can be taken.
What happens if I report anonymously but identify myself or someone else?
Any personal data captured within reports will be handled in confidence and kept securely until it is no longer required. If you identify yourself within an anonymous report, we will still assume you wish to remain anonymous, and treat as an anonymous report. If you wish to report with your details instead, there is an option at the end of the form to convert your report to include your details.
Why can't the University investigate anonymous complaints?
Anonymous reports help the University to get an understanding of the experience for employees and students. The information you provide in an anonymous report will remain confidential and will be used to monitor issues of concern across the organisation and understand the impact of initiatives run by the University. Where there is a weight of reporting that relates to a particular theme or location, the responder team will follow up with the relevant Head or Director.
The report will remain confidential, the exception to this will be when there are safeguarding or welfare concerns and when the reporter has provided sufficient information for the necessary protective action to be taken. If you name someone in your report, you will not receive feedback if there is further investigation while you remain anonymous.
Remember that the "Report with contact details" option does not automatically initiate a formal complaints process but allows us to provide you with appropriate support and information on your options.
What happens after my anonymous report is submitted?
The report will be viewed by one of the administrators:
- Student Support Services Manager
- Student Complaints & Appeals Manager
- HR Advisory Lead
The administrators will review the report and decide what if any, action can be taken with the information provided. The information kept will be for data monitoring and trend analysis purposes, and to inform prevention strategies.
No further formal action will normally be taken but consideration will be given as to whether information from your report needs to be shared with the Head or Director of the area to consider taking informal action to address the concerns raised.
In certain circumstances, where there are safeguarding or welfare issues, administrators may take action using confidential information supplied by a reporter. Where appropriate, we may alert the reporter to this and seek their consent, but we acknowledge that in some circumstances, this may not be practical or possible.
What happens after my named report is submitted?
The report will be viewed by the administrators who will assign it to the appropriate University staff member.
Depending on the nature of the report, that member of staff could be part of the HR Advisory team, a member of the Student Appeals, Complaints and Discipline team, or the Student Welfare team. That person will only be able to access the cases that are specifically assigned to them. The relevant staff member will receive an email notification that a case has been assigned to them by an administrator. No identifiable information is provided within this email alert. The staff member then logs into the secure Report and Support platform to access the information provided. The staff member will then contact you to arrange a meeting to discuss your options for support, what could happen next, and which course of action you wish to take. Will I have a say in how my report is handled?
What happens next will depend on what you’ve experienced, the information provided, and what you want to happen. It may be that you choose to speak to a relevant staff member and then decline to take any further action. That is completely acceptable and we will support your choices.
In exceptional circumstances, where there are safeguarding or welfare issues responders may take action using confidential information supplied by a reporter. Where appropriate, we will alert the reporter to this and seek their consent, but we acknowledge that in some circumstances, this may not be practical.
Given the nature of an anonymous report, the University cannot provide a response to you after you have submitted an anonymous report.
How soon will I hear back from someone about my report?
If you have reported giving contact details one of our staff members will reach out to you within 3 working days, through your preferred contact method.
If you have reported anonymously the University of Reading won't have information about who you are, and therefore cannot reach out to you.
Why does the form ask for details about me such as my ethnicity, gender and age?
We request personal data about you so that we can monitor and identify whether negative trends are disproportionately affecting specific communities. This is an important resource for creating safer and more inclusive environments. You can still complete the submission if you choose not to answer these optional questions.
Why does the anonymous form still ask for details about me?
We ask these questions to gain insights about issues taking place while preserving your anonymity. The more we know about what happened, the better we can identify patterns and trends that must be addressed. If any information provided is considered to identify you, it will be held securely in confidence for no longer than we require it to perform this equality monitoring.
Is Report and Support replacing #NeverOk?
We continue to take a stand against behaviours that are #NeverOK and the campaign will continue unabated. Report & Support enhances #NeverOK by providing a quick and easy way to report incidents.
What action can the University take based on anonymous reports?
Information provided within anonymous reports will be treated as statistical data to understand what is happening and to inform proactive prevention work.
In certain circumstances, where there are safeguarding or welfare issues responders may have to take action using confidential information supplied by a reporter. Where appropriate, we will alert the reporter to this and seek their consent, but we acknowledge that in an certain circumstances, this may not be practical or possible.
How will the University of Reading manage 'malicious' or 'vexatious' reports?
This refers to reports that are deliberately intended to unduly falsify, mislead or harass. The University has an existing set of policies for dealing with malicious or vexatious reports and these will continue to be followed. Please see our student and staff procedures for more information.
What do you do with the information gathered from reports?
The University of Reading will produce anonymised reports to identify trends, based on the data from reporting, including anonymous reporting. These reports will be viewed internally to help with the effective resourcing and planning of our support services. The reports would include the number of cases, most reported types of harassment, and locations.
How secure is the data and information sent through the system?
Data held on Report and Support is GDPR compliant and further information about how data is collected and stored is outlined in the Privacy Notice. The security of the system has been reviewed and approved by the developer, the licensor (Culture Shift Communications Ltd), and by the University of Reading. Culture Shift Ltd (the licensor of the platform) provide technical support and work under our explicit instructions as our Data Processor. Information within the system is encrypted.
How long is data stored on the system?
We will only retain personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we have collected it for. We will keep records of reports one year from case closure on the Report and Support system as outlined in the Privacy Notice. All personal data will be kept according to the Records Retention Schedule.
Why is the University of Reading adopting Report and Support?
We believe this quick and simple reporting solution will encourage all members of our learning community to feel able to report problematic behaviours to us, creating a safer campus environment for everyone.