Safeguarding Policy Statement
The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
In our work we meet many children and adults who are potentially at risk for a variety of reasons. We aim to create a safe environment in which no child or adult will experience harm or exploitation during their contact with us.
We will, where reasonably practicable, follow relevant UK and International laws and standards, as well as ensuring local legal compliance.
The British Council is committed to:
- valuing, respecting, and listening to children and adults, maintaining confidentiality, and acting proportionately.
- maintaining strong safeguarding systems, to reduce risk and manage situations where abuse and harm could occur.
- share best practice and information regarding safeguarding concerns with relevant parties, involving children and adults where appropriate.
- conducting thorough assessments where abuse is suspected or has occurred.
We require all staff to ensure their behaviour is consistent with this policy. We also require that clients, customers, partners, and suppliers are made aware of this policy and operate within it.
We will provide adequate and appropriate resources to implement this policy and will ensure it is communicated throughout the organisation and understood by all staff.
Summary
This Policy sets out the broad framework and expectations relating to safeguarding children and adults. It articulates why safeguarding is important and the actions the British Council will take to meet its responsibilities when interacting with children and adults. The policy does not cover staff concerns which are addressed under Human Resources and other organisational policies.
The British Council promotes a zero-tolerance approach to inaction. In practice this means that all necessary efforts must be made to comply with the policy, irrespective of cost implications or operational inconvenience.
The British Council requires all staff to immediately report safeguarding concerns to an appropriate Manager, Safeguarding Focal Point, or to the Global Safeguarding Team. The external reporting form, the raising concerns policy and Safecall are additional reporting mechanisms that can be accessed.
This policy is in line with our values, forms part of our Code of Conduct and is referred to within both to support compliance and risk management.
This policy is intended to compliment and reinforce other British Council Policies and Procedures that are relevant to Safeguarding – including Code of Conduct, Health & Safety, Equality, Teaching Quality Standards, E-Safety and Data Protection.
The British Council will review this policy annually to reflect new legal and regulatory developments.
Reviewed on August 2024
Las familias y el personal del colegio pueden acceder a la política completa en el School Community Site.