Child Protection Training at International Schools: The Differences
No matter if you’re new to working in international schools, or have a wealth of experience; the safeguarding of your students is always a priority. Here at EduCare, we seek to equip every one of our learners with the very best tools for the job. This blog should help to inform you why safeguarding training is so important at international schools — and why it can be more complicated, too.
For some people, the world of international teaching might seem incredibly alien. But in a lot of ways, it doesn’t change anything. There are a large number of international schools around the world that follow a British curriculum. These schools must adhere to the same standards as schools in the UK do to be AOBSO (Association of British Schools Overseas) approved. In addition to this, the Council of International Schools has an accreditation process which “drives a school’s continuous improvement”.
As a teacher, you are always supported in what content you teach. This is also true of the safeguarding standards set. But what you’ve learnt about child welfare in the UK might not always be transferable in different countries and different cultures. So, let’s look at some of the differences and explain why our child protection training can support you anywhere in the world.
The International Relevance of Safeguarding Training
Regardless of where you teach, promoting child welfare is always vital. It’s what you promote and how you promote it that varies. You must remember to be considerate of the cultures and traditions that exist around you. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the school to have working practices for safeguarding its students — and you must make yourself familiar with these policies before you begin working there. In addition, researching the country/region in which you are teaching should be obligatory.
Unfortunately, not all systems laid down to protect students are as thorough, up to date, or complete as they need to be. The nature of international schools (with higher staff turnover and multi-national locations) makes safeguarding harder, but these complications can provide us with a lesson to learn and a way to improve our profession.
The Complications for Child Protection Training
Child protection training is certainly more complicated at an international level. Every country has its own view of what constitutes ‘welfare’. There may be standards to keep, but that can’t always protect a child.
For example, while teachers in the UK will all be trained in the government’s Prevent strategy, is this still relevant when teaching in other countries? Can you still protect your students from radicalisation in alignment with the national laws of that country? Would that country define ‘radicalisation’ or ‘terrorism’ in the same way that the UK does?
Your safeguarding training should also include FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) Awareness. Perhaps you’ve never encountered it in your previous jobs, but unfortunately, there are large parts of the world where this is still common practice. Every case has different circumstances, but when it is considered ‘normal’ within a community to practice certain traditions, your responsibility for that child’s welfare becomes more complicated and, ultimately, more important.
It can also be the case that what you teach (and how you teach it) can put you at risk. Certain standards in the UK curriculum can be seen as offensive to other cultures.
Our online child protection courses will show you how to help. This way, if you feel there is something wrong at your school or in certain situations, our training is always there to help. Just remember to trust your instincts, but to always ask about a situation before acting upon them.
EduCare has recently developed 2 of our most popular safeguarding courses in partnership with the Professional Development team at COBIS to reflect the diverse student population and the broad variety of cultures and traditions unique to international schools.
Safer Recruitment for International Schools and Child Protection for International Schools are included in our bestselling EduCare for Education® online learning service which combines up to 20 different courses into one cost-effective bundle.
As well as Child Protection for International Schools and Safer Recruitment for International Schools, EduCare for Education® also covers important Duty of Care topics such as Online Safety, Use of Reasonable Force and Preventing Bullying.
Each course within the package is designed to impart essential information and motivate staff to take action if they suspect something is wrong – whatever their role or responsibility.
