Child Safeguarding

SALBA MONTESSORI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL regards the welfare of every child as paramount. We commit to a safe, nurturing and inclusive environment in which children can learn, play and grow free from harm. This statement aligns with the Children’s Act 1998 (Act 560), the Domestic Violence Act 2007 (Act 732) and Ghana Education Service safeguarding directives.

The School has nominated:

• Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): [DSL_NAME] — [DSL_EMAIL]
• Deputy DSL: [DEPUTY_DSL_NAME] — [DEPUTY_DSL_EMAIL]
• Safeguarding Governor: [GOVERNOR_NAME]

The DSL is the first point of contact for any child protection concern. They are trained to receive, record and act on disclosures, and to liaise with statutory authorities when needed.

Every employee, volunteer and contractor working with our pupils undergoes:

• Reference checks (minimum two professional references).
• Background screening through the Ghana Police Service where applicable.
• Verification of qualifications.
• Annual safeguarding refresher training.

All adults working at the School follow a written code of conduct that prohibits:

• Being alone with a child in a closed room without visibility.
• Physical punishment of any kind.
• Private contact with pupils outside official channels (personal phone numbers, social media, transport).
• Photographing or filming children without explicit parental consent.

If you are a child, parent, staff member or visitor with a safeguarding concern:

1. Speak to or email the Designated Safeguarding Lead immediately.
2. If the concern involves the DSL, contact the Deputy DSL or the Head of School directly.
3. For an emergency or where a child is in immediate danger, dial 191 (Ghana Police) or 0552 222 333 (Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit, DOVVSU).

Reports may be made anonymously. Every concern is recorded in our confidential safeguarding register and acted on within 24 hours.

We supervise pupil use of digital devices on campus, filter web traffic on the school network, teach age-appropriate digital citizenship from Early Years onward, and partner with parents to extend safe practices at home. We do not collect personal data from pupils through the website (see Privacy Policy).

Trained first-aiders are on duty during school hours. Medication is administered only with written parental authorisation and stored in a secured cabinet. Medical conditions and allergies are logged on each pupil’s record and shared with relevant staff.

We encourage staff and parents to raise issues early. A confidential whistleblowing channel is available via [WHISTLEBLOW_EMAIL]. Retaliation against a person making a good-faith report is itself a disciplinary offence.

This policy and the Safeguarding Register are reviewed annually by the Head of School and Safeguarding Governor. The next scheduled review is [NEXT_REVIEW_DATE].