Disclosing a criminal conviction to the University

You need to tell us about any relevant unspent criminal convictions so we can support you in complying with any conditions or restrictions you have. We also need to balance our obligations towards applicants with criminal convictions with the safety and welfare of the wider student and staff community, and those visiting the University or attending events.

By agreeing to our Conditions of Registration, you formally confirm that you’ll tell us of any current legal restriction, condition or arrangement.

Assessing how we can support you can take up to 10 weeks, depending on how quickly we receive information from your probation or reporting officer. 

The criminal convictions you need to tell us about 

Relevant unspent convictions include: 

• Offences listed in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (in the United Kingdom or equivalent Act for outside of the United Kingdom). 
• Any kind of violence including (but not limited to) threatening behaviour, offences concerning the intention to harm, or offences which resulted in actual bodily harm. 
• Offences listed in the Terrorism Act 2006 (in the United Kingdom or equivalent Act for outside of the United Kingdom). 
• The unlawful supply of controlled drugs or substances where the conviction concerns commercial drug dealing or trafficking. 
• Offences involving firearms, weapons, crossbows and knives. 
• Offences involving arson. 
• Fraud. 
• Offences of human trafficking, slavery and forced labour.

You don’t need to tell us about fixed penalty offences such as minor motoring offences.

If you're unsure whether a conviction is spent or not, and therefore whether you need to disclose it, you can check using the conviction caution tool on gov.uk 

We also consider relevant convictions for students under 18 considered a child under English law. 

Telling us about criminal convictions during registration

You’ll be asked to disclose any unspent criminal convictions as part of the registration process.

You'll be contacted by a member of our specialist advice team who supports students in prison, secure hospitals and those with legal restrictions, conditions or arrangements related to criminal convictions. Our Students in Secure Environments (SiSE) team will provide guidance and support to help you get the most out of your study. Your conversations with them are confidential.

You’ll be asked for more information including permission to contact your probation or reporting officer. This information will be used to assess if access to some activities should be restricted and suggest alternative modules if your first choice is impractical due to your conditions or restrictions. 

Telling us about criminal convictions after registration

You must tell us at any point during your studies if you receive a conviction after your module has started. To tell us about a conviction once you’ve started studying, contact our specialist advice team who’ll support you through the process. 

Incorrectly ticked 'yes' to disclosing a criminal conviction when registering

If you ticked 'yes' to the question asking if you have an unspent criminal conviction as you went through the registration process but you didn't mean to, you'll receive an email asking you to complete and return a form. On that form, you can formally tell us that you do not have anything to disclose. We'll then correct your record. If you do this within seven days, your registration will continue uninterrupted. We're not able take this information over the phone as we need written confirmation from you. Please remember that failing to disclose an unspent criminal conviction may lead to disciplinary action.