Photo with kind permission of Ludgrove School
Dale Wilkins Director of Safeguarding, Professional Development and Accreditation, BSA Group
TURNING MINIMUM STANDARDS INTO EXCELLENCE The Boarding Schools’ Association
At the heart of the Academy offer are
Specific training content is also designed
(BSA) is committed to supporting
core skills for all practitioners, especially
to meet the needs of prep schools, senior
those who are new to boarding, through
schools, state schools, sixth-form boarding
‘Essentials for Boarding’ for teachers,
and international colleges. In 2020 all of
matrons, nurses, gap and graduate
this content was moved online, with the
quality guidance and training that
assistants and secretaries, as well as
immediate advantage that we are now
benefits schools, their staff and,
‘Leading a Boarding Team’, ‘Updates
more accessible than ever to our member
for Governors’, ‘Prep School Issues’ and
schools, both in the UK and internationally.
‘Preparation for Inspection’. In addition, we
A small number of face-to-face events will
offer more specialised seminars on a wide
be reintroduced in 2022.
everyone involved in boarding – adults and children – offering high
perhaps most importantly, the children and young people who board. Our primary objective is to raise professional standards and we have an extensive and diverse continuing professional development (CPD) and training programme through the BSA Academy for all staff working in boarding environments throughout the UK and beyond.
range of specific issues, particularly relating to safeguarding, through both BSA and our
Our work is centred on the requirements
sister organisations, the Safeguarding and
of the relevant Boarding Schools: National
Child Protection Association (Sacpa) and
Minimum Standards (NMS), but these are
the Health in Education Association (Hieda).
only a starting point, with member schools
A number of day conferences are also run
aiming for excellence across a range of key
throughout the year for heads and for other
areas relating to the day-to-day experiences
boarding practitioners, as well as those
of the boarders, and also including
looking at specific issues such as mental
important considerations such as policies,
health, immigration and safeguarding.
procedures and premises. By working
