Earlier this year, the Spanish Congress approved Rhodes Law (Ley Rhodes), a ground-breaking legislation in Spain to increase protection for children. This law, which now must pass through the Spanish Senate, has been described as one of the most advanced child protection legislations.
Though the law has not yet been instated, it highlights the need for greater protection for children in some international locations. According to Jennie, "the safeguarding and duty of care training package, as part of Tes' online training platform Develop, has been fantastic for ensuring staff have the set of tools they need to follow best practice to help keep children safe in schools."
Helping keep children safe
Jennie explains:
"As a safeguarding lead, the safeguarding and duty of care training is extremely helpful in making sure we have established safeguarding processes, and that all staff have completed their required safeguarding training courses by reporting back on staff progress.
"By instating this training programme I became confident that each staff member knew what to do and who to speak to if they had a concern about a student, whether the concern was big or small. It helps staff feel comfortable to report things when they aren't sure whether they need to, which is important in an unfamiliar cultural setting, where social cues and behaviour are different from what you're used to back home. The safeguarding and duty of care courses helped change the conversation in our school to ‘better safe than sorry’.
"The safeguarding training covers the bases teachers need to know to work with children, as well as best practices to ensure we’re doing our due diligence to look after children’s safety. I don’t expect my teachers to know all the laws but I do want them to know to come to me so we can set up a plan."
Training that's accessible and engaging
"What really makes the training packages from Develop stand out is the range of courses available, and the flexibility and accessibility of the format. You can take the courses whenever suits you, and there are many additional courses as part of the professional studies and subject knowledge packages that teachers can choose from, based on what's interesting and relevant for them.
"My school is based in Almeria, a small city in Spain, where setting up high quality in-person training can be challenging. It's hard to find experts who can facilitate a training session, and we find the format is a bit outdated (and expensive). Teachers I've worked with have much preferred the Develop format, where they can access the training when and where they need to.
"What teachers also really like is access to so many different training courses. As an international school this helps teachers feel their needs are being met, as there isn't as much access to English speaking courses. The access Develop gave us to a wide range of safeguarding, professional studies and subject knowledge training made staff feel valued."
How we can help
Our online course, Child Protection for International Schools, developed in partnership with the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), is designed to raise awareness of abuse, neglect and other forms of harm, help staff recognise early signs that might indicate a problem, and learn how to take appropriate action. It's available as part of our safeguarding and duty of care training package, Tes Safeguarding.
For more information on Tes Safeguarding and how it can support your school, or to book a demo, just fill in our short form and we'll be in touch.
