How can universities protect their students’ safety and wellbeing?

At the height of summer break, as many are enjoying vacations, spending time with family, or simply unwinding from the busy year, safeguarding universities might not be the first thing on everyone’s mind. But the start of the academic year is just around the corner, and now is the perfect time to start considering this critical topic. At a time when academic institutions are facing increasing challenges, such as evolving safety threats, the growing importance of mental health support, and the need for inclusive and secure learning environments, it’s more important than ever to ensure that our campuses are safe and secure environments for students, staff and faculty.

What is safeguarding and why is it important for universities to take it seriously?

Safeguarding is simply the act of protecting vulnerable people from harm. People with vulnerabilities are often unable, or less able, to protect themselves from abuse, manipulation or exploitation. This is why it’s so important for universities to develop a comprehensive approach to safeguarding.

How can VinciWorks help?

Our comprehensive guide, Protecting Safety and Wellbeing: Guide to Safer Universities, along with the accompanying Safeguarding Policy Template, will help you develop a comprehensive strategy to protect your university community. The guide provides an in-depth introduction to the topic with definitions, and includes practical steps and best practices for identifying potential risks, implementing effective safeguarding measures, and creating a culture of safety and awareness on campus. Whether you’re updating existing policies or starting from scratch, these resources are designed to support you in creating a secure and supportive environment for everyone.

Download guide

Download policy template

In addition to our free guide and policy template, VinciWorks is proud to offer a one-stop-shop safety and compliance training package for higher and further education institutions, including a new video course on Safeguarding Universities.

The brand-new Safer Universities course from VinciWorks explores the safeguarding risks and responsibilities for UK universities in much greater detail. The course clearly defines the challenges universities are facing now, in a post-pandemic and technologically reliant world.

Learn more

How are you managing your GDPR compliance requirements?

GDPR added a significant compliance burden on DPOs and data processors. Data breaches must be reported to the authorities within 72 hours, each new data processing activity needs to be documented and Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) must be carried out for processing that is likely to result in a high risk to individuals. Penalties for breaching GDPR can reach into the tens of millions of Euros.

“In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.”