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Safeguarding

[DRAFT — awaiting WBS details and solicitor review]

Draft — WBS to confirm every statement below before publishing.

Children's safety comes before everything else in the courses we recommend.

Our role

WBS does not run the summer courses itself. Each course is run by a school or a specialist organiser, and they are responsible for supervising and caring for students during the course under their own safeguarding policy. We help families choose, and we stay in touch before, during and after the course.

What we check before listing a course

In line with our safeguarding policy, we check the organisers we work with before listing their courses and review them regularly. Our checks cover:

  • The organiser has a written safeguarding and child-protection policy and a named Designated Safeguarding Lead.
  • Staff working with students have appropriate background (DBS) checks.
  • Whether the course is accredited, for example by the British Council (for English-language courses) or the British Accreditation Council.
  • Night-time supervision in boarding houses, a 24-hour emergency contact, and arrangements for airport transfers of unaccompanied minors.

We will send you the organiser's safeguarding policy on request.

Questions to ask any summer school

  1. Who is the Designated Safeguarding Lead, and how do I reach them during the course?
  2. Who stays in the boarding house overnight, how do students reach staff at night, and is a member of staff on call 24 hours?
  3. How are unaccompanied students met at the airport?
  4. What is the policy on phones, leaving campus and free time?
  5. How are medical needs and emergencies handled?

Raising a concern

If you have a concern about a child's safety on a course we arranged, contact the organiser's Designated Safeguarding Lead and our safeguarding contact, Iain Howell, Designated Safeguarding Lead, at dsl@whichbritishschool.com. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999 in the UK. The NSPCC helpline for adults worried about a child is 0808 800 5000.