Safeguarding is a crucial responsibility for those involved in governance. It is basic good practice (and a requirement in some countries and in many accreditation systems) to have one member of a governing body with specific safeguarding responsibility, but it is equally clear that safeguarding must be the business of the whole governing body.

The duty of a school and its governing body for safeguarding has arguably even greater importance in international schools that feel a responsibility to adhere to international standards but where local safeguarding provision and agencies are non-existent, inconsistent or inappropriate for the circumstances. The role of the school, with the watchful, informed engagement of the governing body, becomes even more vital.

Governance oversight of safeguarding is essential as a check and balance, to make sure that safeguarding policies and practices are robust and properly resourced and led, and that the leadership is doing what it can to establish an appropriate culture of safeguarding. An informed and trained governing body will also stand alongside the leadership when challenging situations arise – and the rule to remember in safeguarding is that it is when, not if, situations arise.

Governors should usually expect to receive some safeguarding training at the beginning of the school year. This will often be a refresher, an update on changes in law or best practice and an overview of the systems in place in the school. If you are involved in governance and have not received either training or an update, it would be well worth raising the matter. It cannot be said often enough that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

Organisations providing guidance internationally

Safeguarding standards are, of course, a feature of all international accreditation and inspection systems and there are also safeguarding organisations and consultancies whose purpose is to advise international schools. But there are two sector organisations that have been established to raise the standards of safeguarding practice across international schools and to assist schools in maintaining the highest standards in safer recruitment and safeguarding.

The International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) has a mandate “to apply the collective resources, expertise, and partnerships of its members to help international school communities address child protection challenges. Now a coalition of 90+ volunteers, ITFCP includes leaders of international education organizations, school leaders, counsellors and teachers, working collaboratively across professions with law enforcement officials and the medical community.”

ITFCP was established ten years ago under the umbrella of the Council for International Schools (CIS) with six other founding member organisations. It has well-established Safeguarding Standards which are a helpful tool for school self-evaluation.

Earlier this year, ITFCP published a very useful Safeguarding Governance Briefing for International Schools. The Briefing has been written with the wide variety of governance arrangements in international schools in mind. It covers key issues like: providing strategic oversight of safeguarding; appointing a designated safeguarding board member; child protection induction and training; safeguarding as a standing agenda item; reviewing and approving safeguarding policies and the annual report; legal responsibilities, obligations and cultural expectations; code of conduct; safeguarding audits; the board’s role in overseeing management of critical incidents.

Accompanying the Governance Briefing, ITFCP has a Resource Park to support safeguarding governance. This includes an audit checklist that can be used to check alignment with ITFCP’s Expectations of School Communities.

These tools can help governors to understand their safeguarding responsibilities and to inform their conversations with the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead or equivalent. They should strengthen a school’s overall safeguarding provision and give reassurance to the school’s leadership that the governing body is also well-informed about safeguarding.

British International Schools can get further support from the British International Schools Safeguarding Coalition (BISSC) a “groundbreaking coalition (which) brings together the six UK Government supported and approved British international school associations and The Safeguarding Alliance to focus on and promote an even more joined up approach to safeguarding.” These associations are the Association of British Schools Overseas (AoBSO), British Schools in the Middle East (BSME), the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA), the Latin American Heads Conference (LAHC) and the National Association of British Schools in Spain (NABSS).

Last year, the BISSC Safeguarding Code of Conduct was published. BISSC described this as “a pioneering document (which) represents a major step forward in safeguarding practice – supporting schools in implementing vital policies, reducing risk, and promoting a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. It is our aim that this Code of Conduct will not only raise the standards of safeguarding in schools worldwide but also set a new global benchmark of excellence.” The focus of the Code is on providing evidence of safer recruitment compliance and school workforce onboarding processes and the Code provides a useful tool for board evaluation of both.

It is heartening to find international school boards increasingly tuned in to the importance of safeguarding and safer recruitment. This reflects the emphasis on these areas in accreditation and inspection as well as the sector’s emphasis on wellbeing.

There is now a good deal of safeguarding support available for boards from accreditation agencies, sector associations and the two bodies identified above. The task of embedding a positive safeguarding culture in schools remains as challenging as ever, but the guidance and networks of support available for boards, and for board members with designated safeguarding responsibility, means it is now much less daunting.

Additional Note for Schools following KCSIE Guidance

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), issued and updated annually by the UK’s Department for Education (DfE), has been a foundation document for some international standards in safeguarding and child protection and there are many schools – mainly but not only British international schools – that use it to guide their practice.

Governors in schools that use KCSIE in this way should expect to have training at the beginning of the school year about the most recent changes in the guidance.

This year, DfE made only minor technical amendments. Board members who want to know about these amendments in order to discuss them with their Designated Safeguarding Lead, can find a useful update on the NSPCC website.

The absence of significant revisions this year provides an opportunity to consider how the 2024 changes have settled down in schools. The key elements were:

  • An expanded definition of safeguarding to cover help and support as soon as problems emerge and protection from maltreatment inside/outside the home, including online.
  • Amended early help guidance to reflect the needs of children frequently missing or suspended or with offending parents
  • An extended definition of abuse to include the witnessing of it
  • A requirement that DSL records should include reasons for decisions
  • There was also further data protection guidance arising from Designated Safeguarding Leads’ growing responsibility for students’ safety outside school and especially online.