FIRST FOBISIA SAFEGUARDING CONFERENCE SEES OVER 130 DELEGATES TAKING PART FROM ALL ACROSS ASIA!

Iain Hope Deputy Head of Primary, The British School Jakarta

From Kazakhstan to Indonesia; from Haileybury Almaty to the British School Jakarta; from online to in-person, 18-20 May was when Safeguarding took centre stage for FOBISIA.

The British School Jakarta (BSJ) and Haileybury Almaty hosted the FOBISIA Safeguarding and Pastoral Conference 2023. This was the first opportunity since the pandemic to get Safeguarding Leads together and there was a fantastic turnout! Over fifty schools across Asia sent delegates or had delegates tune in online.

From a FOBISIA perspective, the Safeguarding Committee is the new kid on the block. This year BSJ provided the venue for the AGM and first in-person Conference. With the ambition to highlight Safeguarding to its rightful place as the most important consideration for FOBISIA schools and schools worldwide, BSJ and the Safeguarding Executive Committee supported an in-person and online programme that allowed as many as possible to connect and be part of the experience.

Over the three days, there were both workshop options and presentations. Keynote presentations by Jonathan Taylor MSc (former Met. Police Child Abuse Investigation Command), Siobhan McGrath (Executive Principal at Southbank International School) and Lindy Macgregor (Living Works), focused on Online Safety, School Safeguarding Culture and Suicide Prevention. Workshops also covered a range of high priority areas from Gender Indecision, Vicarious Self Care and Eating Disorders to Affluent Neglect, Mental Health and Safer Recruitment. A huge thank you goes to all presenters from across FOBISIA schools, with a special thank you to event sponsors: The Safeguarding Alliance, Clipboard.app and Mind Your Health, who also provided excellent resources and workshops.

The key message from the Conference and AGM was that we need to build a network of Safeguarding Leads who connect and support each other to protect our staff, students and communities. The Conference itself provided an invaluable time to do just that. Long may this continue!

With the honour to host this inaugural Conference in 2021, it has been quite the journey! Despite numerous challenges stemming from the pandemic and ongoing travel restrictions, the brilliant team behind the Conference managed to pull together and welcome over 140 participants to the FOBISIA Pastoral Care and Safeguarding Conference in May of 2023.

However none of this would have been possible without the overwhelming support of David Butcher (Principal at BSJ & FOBISIA Board Member), Iain Hope (Deputy Head of Primary at BSJ) and the outstanding team in Jakarta. BSJ’s stunning campus, welcoming staff and pupil body and enviable resources, provided the facility to ensure the Conference was a success; for participants in-person alongside those joining remotely.

So much so that, looking ahead, John Gwyn Jones MBE has already pencilled involvement from both schools into the diary!

The chance to network was well received with many delegates connecting; across regions and in partnership within their locality. Facilitating discussions between newly fledged relationships relating to key threads such as:

. Importance of Low Level Concerns in adopting a proactive approach to establishing a culture of safety in schools

. Growing prominence of Online Safety in a developing world and in response to new legislation in the UK

. Continuing focus on Wellbeing, Emotional Health and Suicidal Ideation

Inspiration from the Conference has already led to initiatives at Haileybury Almaty such as a parental engagement series for the wider community and a renewed look at Online Safety. Coupled with an upcoming programme covering the Development of the Adolescent Mind in conjunction with the University of Cambridge and Mental Health First Aid training for staff and pupils alike, the Safeguarding Committee at the school are looking forward to an exciting future ahead.

Through collaboration and cooperation, both BSJ and Haileybury Almaty have demonstrated their commitment to professional development and a framework for children in both Indonesia and Kazakhstan to aspire to the most competitive universities in the world. With ever more schools across the network involved at the next iteration on the Vietnamese horizon, the possibilities are endless!