Safeguarding at Harrow Beijing

Safeguarding is an integral part of school life and includes securing the wellbeing, welfare and safety of the whole community.

Harrow Beijing Safeguarding Team

The Harrow Beijing Safeguarding Team consists of multiple highly-qualified Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) across the school, supported by key Learning Support Specialists and a highly qualified counselling team led by our own in-house Educational Psychologist. Our phase Safeguarding Teams are in regular communication discussing the needs of all students to ensure students feel happy, safe and secure in our community. 

Our Assistant Head of School and Designated Safeguarding Lead, Mr Peter Lynch, has joined the FOBISIA Executive Safeguarding Committee and was recently appointed as the Regional Representative for FOBISIA Schools in China. Mr Lynch will work as part of the Executive Safeguarding Committee and will liaise closely with member schools’ DSLs to represent regional and individual school needs, formulate the Safeguarding Policies and Guidelines to provide a level of quality assurance, and lead development of safeguarding practices.

Safeguarding Practices at Harrow Beijing

The Safeguarding Practices at Harrow Beijing are built on strong foundations that are all centralised around the explicit Harrow Values and AISL Harrow Safeguarding Standards, focusing on the safety, wellbeing, health and protection of all children within our community. This framework also includes the robust training of our staff and safer recruitment procedures to ensure that every professional that works with students at our school is suitable and qualified. Harrow Beijing is also guided by international standards and we work closely with local Chinese Protection Law, Children and Family Social Care, and The UN Convention on the Rights of a Child. Each year the team undergo both internal and external audits by the Lead DSL, as well as AISL Safeguarding Governor Inspections. This ensures that full quality assurance and compliance is evident based on the Harrow Standards.

The start of this year has been fast paced with a lot of initiatives and safeguarding staff working behind the scenes to review, refresh and develop policy and safeguarding practice at the school. We have begun talks and put plans in place for the formation of a Whole School Online Safety Steering Committee which will focus on digital wellbeing safety strategy for the coming year. We have also introduced clear guidelines that indicate levels of need for students and families and targeted intervention to support them. Each phase within the school now has its very own Pastoral Safeguarding Committee that is chaired by the phase DSL with a multi-agency focus. This committee includes a wide array of different professionals from across the school.’ Mr Lynch introduced future safeguarding construction at Harrow Beijing.