The safety of children in school is of paramount importance. It is one of the hallmarks of a good school and provides an environment in which children can study more effectively. Recent figures from the Nord Anglia Education Annual Parents’ Satisfaction Survey stated that 95% felt their child was happy and 97% declared them to feel safe. We are very pleased with those headline figures, but we are never complacent.
Child Protection and Safeguarding is a key focus. Every staff member, from cleaners to Principal, must undergo regular training in Child Protection. It is in this vein, that we have organized a conference for parents and for the wider education community, supported by the Department of Education and Training here in Hanoi. It is becoming an important discussion topic in all schools, international and local, and I warmly invite all parents to attend this.
The conference will be hosted by the British Vietnamese International School, with the lead speaker Barry Armstrong who has global reach as the Head of Safeguarding for the Nord Anglia family of schools. Barry brings with him over 30 years of experience in education with particular expertise in child safeguarding. Before joining Nord Anglia Education in 2016 as Head of Safeguarding, Barry worked for the Oxfordshire County Council in the UK, ensuring the safety of children in education settings. While working in leadership positions in the public sector, Barry worked with local authorities and a range of private services and schools to identify areas of weakness and target areas for improvement in safeguarding. Barry has extensive experience working with governing bodies and staff groups and has a methodical and clinical approach to ensuring that Nord Anglia Education schools uphold the highest standards in child safety.
I encourage all parents to attend this short conference, as it underpins so much of our philosophy as a school, and is also the direction of travel for all schools within Vietnam and abroad.
