Student Safety UK has launched a new service to provide welfare, cultural integration and safety support for international students.
The products are primarily aimed at international higher education and pathway students, but packages for boarding school and English language school students are also offered.

Stephen Helliwell , Co-Founder and Director of Operations at Student Safety UK, told Study Travel Magazine, “Students are looked after by a team of experienced regional coordinators located throughout the UK delivering student support services personally, dealing with matters such as accommodation, personal safety, health, crime and a host of other issues that affect student life in the UK.”

He continued, “Being available 24/7 allows our students to feel reassured they have a network of professionals looking after their welfare, not only in time of crisis, but throughout their educational journey. Our objective is to ensure they achieve their goals and have a positive experience at the same time, and we are here for the parents back home too.”

Services include personal safety plans, personal insurance plans, a GPS tracker, safety and security assessments, pre-departure briefings, local risk induction and 24/7 support.

Student Safety UK is already working with agents to promote services to international students, and Stephen said with the rollout of vaccine, they were expecting strong demand for the 2021/22 academic year.

The company had been aiming to launch its services for the September 2020 academic intake, but was delayed by Covid-19.

Paul Telford, Co-Founder of Student Safety UK, said, “We had everything prepared and were ready to receive a large number of overseas students in September 2020, but due to the pandemic, the majority of these students were unable to travel.

“However, the virus and the issues suffered by overseas students across the UK, has brought student care and welfare into sharp focus and is now a serious consideration for parents when they are sending their child to the UK to study. Ironically, it has elevated the status of our business to the forefront of parents’ primary concerns, in that we are now experiencing a significant demand for our services from all over the world.”

The founders of Student Safety UK have backgrounds in the police and personal security sectors, and Paul said that prior to the Covid-19 pandemic they conducted thorough market research, examined similar business models and established that “there was a global demand strong enough to sustain this new concept”.