Security in education - the issues addressed

Whilst rare occurrences, armed attacks on schools, colleges and universities are now a real threat in the UK and beyond.

A conference addressing this issue, entitled Planning for an armed intruder in an educational setting, will take place on 21 September as part of Security Week, a brand new series of four security related conferences organised by Bucks New University from 21 - 25 September 2009 at Missenden Abbey Conference Centre in Buckinghamshire.

Recent incidents in Switzerland, Germany, the USA and Scandinavia have followed infamous attacks in the UK and USA such as Dunblane and Columbine. Each incident of this nature is a tragedy which has merited extensive forensic analysis to identify the causes and seek methods to prevent future atrocities. The experience of the professionals involved in these events and their aftermath is critical to increasing the future safety of our educational establishments and all those who work, study and play within them.

Essential advice for anyone involved in education security, this conference draws on the first-hand experience of such professionals: Alistair Sinclair was the Chief Emergency Planning Officer in Central Scotland at the time of the Dunblane Primary School attack in 1996, which left 16 children and two adults dead, and Chief Inspector Dick Auger, Firearms Commander Tactical Support for Thames Valley Police, was directly involved with the immediate response and subsequent reaction to the Hungerford massacre in 1987.

Security Week is the first event of its kind and will feature a host of renowned industry speakers. Supported by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) and Skills for Security, the themes of Security Week will be safety, sustainability and crowd management, and delegates are invited to attend individual or all four conferences during the week.

Professor Chris Kemp, Pro Vice Chancellor at Bucks New University and the inspiration behind the event, commented: "The nation's awareness of security issues and need for crowd safety has grown extensively in recent times and there is an increasing requirement for events such as these. People involved in security, and those from organisations and venues which hold large numbers of people, can come to hear about the latest techniques and how they can make their environments safer places to be, which is essential advice in today's world.

"As one of the country's leading providers of security, crowd management, police and criminology training, Bucks New University is ideally placed to deliver this series of events, and I would like to thank all of our partners, both industry bodies and companies, for their support in the development of this programme. We hope it is the first of many to come."

Other conferences due to take place during Security Week are:

Sustainable Event Management - Wednesday 23 September
The increasing focus on environmental and green issues will be discussed by a range of industry figures, with key topics including emissions from related traveling, planning sustainable events, and maintaining and developing sustainable initiatives during an economic downturn.

The 8th European Health and Safety Conference - Thursday 24 and Friday 25 September
This will comprise two days packed with presentations, workshops and exercises focused on counter terrorism, crowd-modelling, simulations and emergency planning. Sponsored by G4S, this conference is key for venue managers, local authority personnel, and event and festival organisers, and offers extensive networking opportunities including a gala dinner on the evening of Thursday 24 September.

New educational programme launched

Bucks New University has partnered The Business School, University of Worcester, to launch the first educational programme of its kind, Securing the Future, which is a framework of continuous professional development qualifications for the security sector. Linking a Foundation Degree in Business Management for the Security Industries to a third year top-up and the Leading to Excellence programme, the official launch of this new qualification will take place at Missenden Abbey Conference Centre on the evening of Tuesday 22 September.

Security Week is supported by the BSIA and Skills for Security. Bucks New University is also working in conjunction with Yourope, the European Festival Association, who are generously supporting the Sustainable event management conference and 8th European Health and Safety Conference, and offering Yourope members a discounted rate.

For further information please contact Tom Harrison at Bucks New University on 01494 601 620 or
tom.harrison@bucks.ac.uk