Longstanding Labour politician, academic and deputy speaker of the House of Lords, Baroness Ruth Henig, has been announced as the new patron of ProtectED, the UK’s ‘gold standard’ accreditation scheme for student safety, security and wellbeing.
Launched in 2017, ProtectED is the outcome of three years of research and development by the University of Salford and K7 Compliance Ltd.
Developers say the scheme is designed to measure the extent to which universities provide services and structures that support student safety, security and wellbeing.
“ProtectED brings together a number of issues that I have long been passionate about”
ProtectED assesses institutions wishing to be accredited across five key areas – core institutional safety and security, student wellbeing and mental health, international students, student harassment and sexual assault, and ‘the student night out’.
A specialist in policing and the development of the private security sector, Baroness Henig has previously served as chair of the Lancashire Police Authority and president of the Association of Police Authorities. In 2002 she was awarded a CBE for services to policing and appointed as a deputy lieutenant for Lancashire.
Her patronage of the scheme is a logical step towards achieving common ambitions.
“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,” she said.
Universities seeking ProtectED accreditation benchmark themselves against the requirements outlined in the scheme’s code of practice and assessment is overseen by a peer review panel.
“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,” Baroness Henig added.
