Simon Hackett is a British academic and former social worker, who specialises in child protection and child maltreatment. He had been Principal of St Mary's College, Durham between September 2011 and 2018.[1][2] From 2008 to 2011, he was Head of the School of Applied Social Sciences at Durham University.[1] Before returning to Durham as a professor, he was a Tutor at the University of Manchester, a lecturer at Durham University, and Professor of Child Welfare at the University of Bedfordshire.[1] He had also worked as a Child Protection Officer and in youth justice.[1]