The international teaching community is “grappling with more concerns and reports than ever before” around safeguarding, a Tes report has found.
Most educators surveyed believe there are more safeguarding concerns now than five years ago.
While technology often fuels such difficulties - nearly nine in 10 of those surveyed believe safeguarding has been made harder because children are online more - it may also provide solutions, the report advises.
‘Vital’ to ease pressure on staff
“It’s vital that reporting processes are firmed up, modernised and pressure on the shoulders of staff reduced,” states the Tes report, which draws on responses mostly from Africa, Asia and Europe.
It points to “clear warning signs highlighted around training”, with significant minorities stating that training in their setting is inadequate and that they do not always feel confident dealing with a safeguarding concern.
However, in comparison, a previous survey of UK-based teachers found that few would describe their training as inadequate and most felt confident dealing with a safeguarding concern. This, says the new report, “shows the impact that a focus on training can have on staff confidence and ultimately, the safety and wellbeing of students”.
‘Many positives’ around safeguarding
The report highlights “many positives”, including a workforce that is “very aware of the key issues”, adding “it’s clear that no one cares more about the safety of children than our teachers around the world”.
A number of educators are directly quoted in the report - which is based on around 200 responses - including Liz Free, CEO and director of the International School Rheintal, in Switzerland.
“We have seen an increase in reporting, in recent years, of relatively low-level incidents, such as a teacher noticing that a child is not provided with a full lunch,” she said. “This lower reporting threshold has made the visibility of students far more transparent for the safeguarding lead and we have a full log of concerns from which we can identify trends and patterns.”
Mark Leppard, headteacher at The British School Al Khubairat, in Abu Dhabi, said: “One challenge is that staff must appreciate that we are all responsible for the welfare of children and keeping the environment safe, regardless of our role in school.”
‘Pressing matter’ of embracing technology
Most schools are still reliant on students reporting concerns to staff face to face.
“This traditional approach to safeguarding places a workload and responsibility burden on staff without any other support options, creating safeguarding risks in itself,” states the report. Continuing widespread reliance on non-digital approaches “presents an unsustainable trajectory that is testing the limits of safeguarding and the wellbeing of staff”.
The report advises that “embracing technology” could “very quickly improve students’ reporting confidence while taking pressure away from safeguarding leads and wider staff”; it would allow “more agile logging of key case details and tracking of reports”.
Around a quarter of respondents are “leading the way in adopting a technology-supported route in their school”, with the report advising: “Being left behind in this space is going to become an increasingly pressing matter for all international schools.”
More than half cited social media as a factor in rising safeguarding concerns, while more than eight in 10 viewed online or cyber bullying as a “major issue”.
Some less commonly discussed factors were also highlighted. For example, “students in very wealthy households often not spending time with parents who are away travelling a lot” has a big impact on students, said Kausor Amin-Ali, principal of Frontline International Private School in Ajman, United Arab Emirates.
When asked to name the main safeguarding and child-protection concerns they saw, most respondents selected psychological and emotional abuse.
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