Modern Slavery Statement

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes the National Film and Television School’s slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 July 2023.

Introduction

The National Film and Television School is committed to working with our supply chain to acquire goods, services and works without causing harm to others. This statement relates to the period 1 August 2022 to 31 July 2023, which is the financial year of the School. It sets out the steps that the School has taken in this financial year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any of its supply chains or in any part of its own business.
Organisational structure

The School’s core business is teaching, learning and research. We have a student population of approximately 800 attending our full time Master’s and postgraduate diploma courses, part-time diploma courses and certificate courses. We also have in excess of 2,000 participants per annum who attend CPD-focused short courses at our main campus in Beaconsfield and across our regional hubs in Glasgow, Leeds and Cardiff.

The School employs approximately 132 FTE staff.

In the financial year 2022/2023, the School’s turnover was £22m.

Our supply chain

We are committed to conducting business in a socially responsible and sustainable way.

Our main supply chains fall under the following categories:

• Professional services including marketing, media, and post production services
• Estates and facilities including catering, cleaning and security services
•  IT equipment and services
• Corporate services

Colleagues with any concerns about potential modern slavery abuses can report this in two ways:

• Internally via the School’s Public Interest Disclosure and Whistle-blowing Policy; and / or
• Externally to the anonymous National Reporting Line at 0800 0121700 or via the National Modern Slavery Helpline.

Policies

The School will not tolerate modern slavery or human trafficking in its supply chains or in any part of its business. It has workplace policies (including employment), procedures and codes of conduct in place which have relevance to how this issue is addressed within its business by members of its staff.

These include:

• Procurement Policy (see Financial Regulations)
• Supplier Code of Conduct
• Ethics Policy

Due diligence

In order to prevent Modern Slavery and embed Modern Slavery awareness within our School and in our supply chains, the following due diligence processes are undertaken:

• Any supplier refusing to agree to comply with the Supplier Code of Conduct will be removed from our supplier database; and
• All procurement tenders now include a requirement to provide a Modern Slavery Statement or evidence that appropriate modern slavery prevention procedures are in place.

Training

To make sure there is a high level of understanding of the modern slavery and human trafficking risks in the School’s supply chains, the School has:

• Published its Modern Slavery Statement on the School’s intranet site available to all staff and students; and
• Provided specific training to relevant Heads of Department who may be involved in the procurement of goods and services under tender.

Actions completed in 2022/23

• Living Wage – in September 2022, we reviewed those outsourced services which were deemed to be at a higher risk of modern slavery practices, namely catering, cleaning and security. Contract uplifts were agreed so that all contracted staff were paid at a level aligned to rates published by the Living Wage Foundation, as a minimum.
• Suppliers – we engaged those suppliers whom we deem to be at a higher risk of modern slavery to confirm that they had appropriate modern slavery procedures in place.
• Policies and Regulations – we reviewed all our policies and regulations to ensure that specific reference is made to the Modern Slavery Act, where relevant.

Approved by the NFTS Board of Governors on 28 November 2023.