There have been a number of high profile cases in recent years that have directly addressed child safety in schools. Two of the worst have been associated with international schools.
As we have witnessed, media attention of such cases can reach a global scale. Whether the publicity is accurate or not, what it does do is raise awareness of potential risks to schools and parents, which can be a catalyst for helping to raise standards and increase the responsibility of vigilance.
The challenge for international schools
There are challenges international schools face when it comes to safeguarding children, but none of these challenges are an excuse for a school not to have a child safeguarding policy in place. All school employees, including the board of governors, caretakers, teachers, drivers, cleaners, caterers, senior leaders and teacher assistants, have a duty of care to the children in their school. The most common challenge for international schools lies in location. International schools operate under a wide variety of governments and, as a result, face different legislation (such as age of consent), as well as different standards, behaviours and support provision.
In many countries, if a school leader has a concern about possible child abuse, they will know how to access professional services within social welfare, law enforcement and child health to gain advice and support where such services are in place. However, in some countries these services are not always available, or to a standard that an international school might require. In these cases, the responsibility for child safeguarding will have to fall entirely on the school. International schools in these locations are potentially the most vulnerable to child abuse, particularly those schools that are ill-prepared.
In addition, the nature of international school life means that there is a higher than normal transition of both teachers and leaders. This, along with language barriers between staff members, can create challenges for sustaining a well-informed child safeguarding culture throughout a school.
Being prepared
A school can never be 100% sure that a child abuse incident will not happen within its walls, but a school needs to be able to say with confidence to its parents that it is doing everything it can to prevent any incident ever occurring.
Some international schools are doing some incredible work, but for others, the child safeguarding policy is something that is kept in a drawer and only referred to when an incident occurs. A child safeguarding policy should be a part of the whole school culture so that everyone is alert to possibilities, and everyone, including parents, know the school’s standards, expectations and procedures.
Child safeguarding – whose responsibility is it anyway? Everyone, at all levels, has a responsibility for child safeguarding in a school. Senior leaders have the responsibility to ensure procedures are established and practised daily, that all staff within the school is suitably trained, and that the culture of the school is a proactive child safeguarding one. Particular roles within the school, such as Human Resources or those people who manage extra-curricular activities, have another level of responsibility. Teachers and teacher assistants need specific disclosure training as they are the person most children will turn to for help.
Procedures that should be in place
Every international school should have a child safeguarding policy, a code of conduct, and robust reporting measures in place. This does not simply mean having a set of documents on a shelf; it is about having procedures and a culture that are implemented and practised day in, day out by every single member of the school, in every area of operation.
All members of school staff should receive adequate training, so that they know what signs of child abuse to look for, and what to do if they are suspicious. Appropriate training helps the school community to adopt a spirit of vigilance that becomes a first line of defence.
A well prepared school will be visibly recognisable as a proactive child safeguarding organisation; something that every parent / visitor should see evidence of.
A selection of our recent work and clients:
• Harrow International group of Schools
• Shanghai American School
• Dulwich International group of Colleges and Schools
• Bangkok Patana School
• Shrewsbury International School Bangkok
• NIST International School Bangkok
• ISB Bangkok
• North London Collegiate Jeju South Korea
• UNIS New York USA
• UNIS Hanoi Vietnam
• United World College (UWC) Singapore
• Discovery Bay International School Hong Kong
• Taipei European School Taiwan
• ASIJ Tokyo Japan
• St Marys International School Tokyo
• Seisen International School Tokyo
• St Christopher’s Bahrain UAE
• International School Toulouse France
• Haileybury International Schools Kazakhstan
• The International School of Azerbaijan
• Colegio Anglo Colombiano Bogota
