The changing face of international schools
In a speech at the Westminster Forum, the former Director of Academic Development of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), Sakina Zafar, stated that “traditionally international schools serve the children of ex-pat workers for whom the local education system wasn’t appropriate or couldn’t be accessed. Now through the course of the
Sakina went on to say:
“there is an insatiable appetite for English medium western style education for children and this continues to expand around the world. Today it is the aspirational and growing middle classes of developing economies that are key drivers of growth within this sector. The attraction is learning in English, gaining a recognised qualification and a starting a pathway to gaining a place at a reputable UK university.
"With this changing demographic it will become increasingly important for British International Schools to reflect the local history, culture and laws. Whilst many international schools are keen to follow the British Schools Overseas Standards, the revisions that take effect from September 2017 will mean that some standards are not practical, or even legal."
International schools often find themselves in a unique and difficult position
“International schools receiving safeguarding training to British standards, often find themselves in a unique and quite often, difficult, position" commented Robin Watts, a former detective from the Metropolitan police, and EduCare’s partner for training content for International schools.
Robin continues:
“Staff at international schools must bring their concerns to their Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) who must act to ensure the safety of the child involved, whilst conforming to the laws of the countries they are in. The DSL must make decisions based on the context of the country’s infrastructure; which can range from countries having clear legislation to protect children to a complete absence of laws. Likewise, services available to support the children and family have an equally extensive range, from many to nothing. The cultural context of a country can also have an impact upon the choices made by a DSL. There are many countries where if certain allegations were made ‘openly’ by a child, this may result in increasing the risk to the child and his/her family. Whilst not always being able to create a perfect solution for a child, a school must learn to be creative and flexible in terms of the support that it is able to offer as sometimes, this will simply be all the help that a child can access.
“To this end, it is imperative that all schools should have in place good, usable policies and procedures to protect children. These need to be completely comprehensive and include everything from procedures relating to the lowest and highest levels of concern, to safer recruitment and safeguarding children in and out of the school environment.
“In the UK, there is statutory guidance and numerous laws that dictate how a school should act and the country is arguably the lead in the world in respect of this. I strongly believe that British International schools should follow the UK’s stance on safeguarding and actively promote safeguarding in their schools. Nearly all the laws and procedures in the UK have come from mistakes that have been made that have ultimately resulted in the death of children. The learning that has emerged from the ensuing detailed enquiries is hugely relevant to all organisations working with children, irrespective of the country or culture it is based in.”
Safeguarding and duty of care training in international schools
EduCare
As our presence in the international sector continues to grow we have adapted our bestselling EduCare for Education® service to reflect the changing needs of international schools.
EduCare for Education® combines a broad variety of online safeguarding and duty of care training courses with a robust reporting suite that can evidence learning to inspectors. We have tailored several versions of our courses to reflect the diverse student population and the broad variety of cultures and traditions unique to international schools.
Members of COBIS, FOBISIA, AAIE, AISA and BSME are entitled to a preferred discount off EduCare for Education®.
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EduCare for Education: International
