In today’s growing global education landscape, safeguarding and child protection are of paramount importance, which transcends all borders and cultures. With this principle as the guiding north star, the new British International Schools Safeguarding Coalition (BISSC) was launched in November 2023. This marks a significant milestone and commitment across the British international school sector, to reducing student safeguarding risks worldwide.
BISSC is very much built on shared values and a strong ethos of cross-association collaboration. Council of British International Schools (COBIS) alongside Association of British Schools Overseas (AoBSO), British Schools in the Middle East (BSME), Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA), Latin American Heads Conference (LAHC), National Association of British Schools in Spain (NABSS), and The Safeguarding Alliance (TSA) are BISSC founding members. Each organisation demonstrates an unfaltering dedication to promoting and upholding the highest standards of safeguarding in education. BISSC is an extension of COBIS and other Association’s existing efforts but is a focused and specialised body aimed at unifying, guiding, and supporting British international schools in the critical area of child protection.
BISSC’s primary objective is to serve as a central authority, providing schools with the resources, guidance, and support necessary to implement and maintain robust safeguarding practices. We aim to create a collaborative environment where best practices can be shared, innovative solutions to safeguarding challenges can be developed, and where schools can access expert advice tailored to their unique contexts.
Work through BISSC will include developing comprehensive safeguarding policies, offering training programs, and facilitating regular cross association audits to ensure schools meet and exceed the rigorous standards expected of them. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement, BISSC will empower schools to keep the welfare of their students at the forefront of every decision.
The involvement with BISSC is a natural progression of COBIS’s long-standing commitment to safeguarding. Since 2013, COBIS has been a Founding Member of the International Taskforce on Child Protection (ITFCP), contributing to global efforts aimed at improving child protection in international schools. Plus, the COBIS role as the Founding Global Ambassador for the International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) demonstrates our dedication to reducing risk to children and young people on a global scale.
One of the cornerstones of our safeguarding efforts is the rigorous assessment process embedded in the COBIS accreditation and quality assurance (QA) scheme. Schools accredited by COBIS undergo a comprehensive evaluation that includes a thorough review of their safeguarding, safer recruitment, and child protection practices. This assessment ensures that our member schools not only comply with but also excel in implementing effective measures and operating environments to protect students.
In addition to our QA scheme, COBIS has consistently provided training opportunities for educators, school leaders and governors, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to uphold the highest standards of safeguarding. These training programs are complemented by our regular update newsletters COBIS Connect, which keep our members informed of the latest developments, best practices, and emerging trends in safeguarding and child protection.
As we look to the future, the formation of BISSC represents a significant step forward the crossassociation’s mission to safeguard children across British international schools. By bringing together the collective expertise and experience of our organisations, educators, safeguarding professionals, and child protection experts, BISSC will ensure that our schools remain committed to child protection, where students can learn, grow, and thrive.
The work is supported by our robust framework and our ongoing commitment to the principles of the ITFCP, will set new benchmarks for safeguarding in international education. We are confident that BISSC will not only reinforce but also elevate the standards of child protection across our global community, ensuring that every student is safe, secure, and supported in their educational journey.
Together through collaboration, vigilance and a shared dedication to safeguarding, we will continue to build a safer future for all our students.
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