Baroness Ruth Henig becomes ProtectED Patron

(Left to right) Trevor Jones, Dr Luba Pirgova-Morgan, Prof. Allan Walker, Baroness Ruth Henig, Brian Nuttall, Dr Caroline Davey, Andrew Wootton, Dave Humphries, and Dr Lucy Winrow.

We are delighted to announce Baroness Ruth Henig as the new Patron of ProtectED, the first Code of Practice and national accreditation scheme for ensuring the safety, security and wellbeing of university students.

Lady Henig is a historian, political activist, and a Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords. During her 24 years as a Labour member of Lancashire County Council, she chaired the Lancashire Community Safety Partnership and served as Chair of the Lancashire Police Authority, later being appointed President of the Association of Police Authorities.

This work led in 2000 to Lady Henig being awarded a CBE for services to policing, and appointment as a Deputy Lieutenant for Lancashire in 2002.

In 2004, Lady Henig was awarded a life peerage and two years later, then Home Secretary Dr. John Reid MP appointed her as Chair of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) — the organisation responsible for regulating and licensing the private security industry in the UK. In this capacity, she received The Association of Security Consultant’s Award for her work overseeing a regulatory overhaul to drive up standards in the industry. Having stepped down as SIA Chair in 2013, Lady Henig was subsequently appointed as President of the Security Institute in 2016, and is currently non-executive Chair with UK firm SecuriGroup.

Andrew Wootton, ProtectED Director stated:

“It’s a real pleasure be able to welcome Baroness Henig as our new ProtectED Patron. Her insight and considerable experience improving standards of practice in the UK will make a significant contribution to the success of ProtectED."

Talking about her support for the ProtectED initiative, Baroness Henig has said:

“ProtectED brings together a number of issues that I have long been passionate about — ensuring a safe experience for university students; high quality security services; and taking a partnership approach to safety in the higher education sector. The ProtectED Code of Practice offers, for the first time, a student safety, security and wellbeing standard for universities to aspire to, and a practical, robust method of assessing and raising standards across the sector.”

ProtectED launched in February 2017, after three years of research and development by University of Salford academics, professional services staff, and security experts K7 Compliance. Supported by key stakeholders across the sector, ProtectED is founded on the understanding that universities play a critical role in student safety, security and wellbeing — one that does not end at campus boundaries but encompasses the wider student experience. Current practice in this critical area varies widely, while at the same time the sector lacks a cohesive evidence base from which to better understand 'what works'. ProtectED seeks to remedy this.

The ProtectED Code of Practice adopts a modular structure, addressing student safety security and wellbeing across a number of domains: Core Institutional Safety & Security; Student Wellbeing & Mental Health; International Students; Student Harassment & Sexual Assault; and the Student Night Out. All measures are based on existing recommendations and guidance, and supported by case studies of good practice from across the sector. Universities seeking ProtectED Accreditation benchmark themselves against the requirements outlined in the Code of Practice, before submitting their application. Assessment is overseen by a Peer Review Panel, with follow-up verification visit by trained, independent ProtectED Assessors, and student assessors. Successful universities are awarded ProtectED Accredited Institution status — a clear indicator to prospective and current students, their parents and loved ones that the institution takes student welfare seriously.

Development of the ProtectED Code of Practice and accreditation scheme has been supported by significant stakeholders in the areas of security and student wellbeing in the higher education (HE) sector.

The ProtectED Advisory Board includes representatives from: the Association of University Chief Security Officers (AUCSO); the Security Industry Authority (SIA); the National Union of Students (NUS); British Council; the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education (AMOSSHE); Universities UK; Police Association of Higher Education Liaison Officers (PAHELO); Endsleigh Insurance; the National Landlords Association (NLA); the College and University Business Officers (CUBO); the International Professional Security Association (IPSA); and the British Security Industry Association (BSIA).

Ben Lewis, ex-chairman of the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education (AMOSSHE), has said:

“ProtectED gives real potential for institutions to think more strategically about how they structure their security and support services, how they work with one another and how they can improve all aspects of the student experience. AMOSSHE is fully supportive of the work being led by ProtectED and the team at Salford University.”

Dave Humphries, Director of Partnerships & Interventions at the Security Industry Authority, has said:

“As the UK Government’s regulator of private security, we support the ProtectED initiative as it is an innovative way to ensure higher university security standards. We have been pleased to work alongside colleagues at the University of Salford.”

To date, almost 50 universities have expressed an interest in ProtectED membership and becoming 'early adopters' of ProtectED Accreditation.

ProtectED is now seeking to recruit 12 universities to become official ProtectED Founder Member institutions, leading action on student safety, security and wellbeing in the HE sector by example, and committing to support the principles and goals of ProtectED.

Further information on ProtectED can be found at www.protect-ed.org

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For more information: For press enquiries please contact: Dr. Lucy Winrow, ProtectED Communications Manager, ProtectED at l.winrow@salford.ac.uk / +44 (0) 7712 243068;

or Conrad Astley, Senior Press and PR Officer, University of Salford at c.l.astley@salford.ac.uk / +44 (0) 161 2956363.