Out now: Tes Safeguarding Report 2026 international edition | from compliance to culture: building a proactive safeguarding culture.

Safeguarding in 2026 is no longer defined only by policy documents and requirement checklists. It’s defined by whether a school can build a culture that catches concerns early, responds consistently, appropriately and quickly, and creates enough trust for concerns to be reported before they escalate. In an international school, that challenge is more complex than it sounds.

International schools cannot rely on compliance alone when the compliance environment itself is variable. Law, mandatory reporting obligations, local child protection services, cultural definitions of harm, police response quality and social care infrastructure vary significantly across countries. That variability means the school’s own governance, culture and systems must carry more of the safeguarding burden that children and families depend on.

In early 2026, Tes asked the industry to share their insights in the Tes Safeguarding Survey, combining evidence from 2,415 respondents with the most current guidance from COBIS, CIS, ITFCP, ECIS, UNESCO and UNICEF to produce their Tes Safeguarding Report 2026, international edition.

These findings are also translated into operational training material in the accompanying Tes Safeguarding Toolkits 2026, available for UK and international schools to download for free.

Extracted key findings:

1. Proactive safeguarding culture excels in British International schools but falls below UK school averages.

61% of British International schools place their school at Stage 4 (culture-led) or 5 (a proactive ecosystem) on the five-stage safeguarding culture maturity model. This is greater than the average of 56% among all international schools but falls behind the UK school average of 67%.

2. The confidence–consistency gap indicates a need for greater consistency in practice

While 87% of international staff feel confident in their ability to recognise concerns, and 84% are confident in their reporting process, only 72% feel that practice is consistent across all staff.

One respondent reported, “Sometimes teachers or support staff hesitate to report small observations because they are unsure if they are significant enough. Normalising that conversation changes everything.”

The report encourages “scenario-based training, clear induction, visible reporting routes and a culture where it’s normal rather than exceptional to raise concerns” to help close the gap.

3. Parental engagement is the defining international challenge

In the UK, parental engagement ranks eighth on a list of top safeguarding pressure points. Internationally, it ranks third, with 39% of respondents identifying it as one of their top safeguarding challenges.

The report highlights the unique challenge international schools face, navigating “different cultural assumptions about privacy, disciplinary norms, the role of the school, definitions of harm and the appropriate age for autonomy”.

One international school noted, “Some parents see it as interference. Some think the school has no business asking about home life. Building that partnership is one of the most important and most difficult things we do”.

The report emphasises that this is a safeguarding issue, not a communications problem, going on to explain how schools can work to nurture culturally competent family relationships. Schools should also be explicit with families about their legal obligations and professional duties to combat mistrust and offer anonymous reporting routes for students and family members.

Extracted report takeaways

Based on the report’s evidence, key next steps for international schools to be prioritising are:

1. Strengthen staff induction

A staff member who starts without safeguarding induction is a risk from day one, and schools cannot trust their ability to respond to any scenario without confidence in everyone in it.

2. Protect DSL strategic time

Operational overload was identified in both the UK and international reports as the single greatest barrier to effective culture‑led safeguarding.

3. Build culturally competent family partnerships

Take time to translate and explain your safeguarding communications to families and repeat with clarity and consistency. Create multiple routes for families to raise concerns.

4. Invest in scenario‑based, context‑specific training

Generic UK‑style training is not enough to equip staff for international complexities such as boarding dynamics, cultural diversity and parental engagement challenges.

5. Go beyond simply recording data

ITFCP expectations are clear, and while 77% of respondents are confident in their record-keeping, 71% still say better reporting tools would help identify concerns earlier. Recording data is the crucial first step, but most are not yet converting it systematically into early warning.

Within the report, next steps are broken down for:

·       Heads and principals

·       Boards, proprietors and group owners,

·       Group safeguarding leads and regional directors

·       Safeguarding leads and DSLs

The report’s conclusion is powerful: “Safeguarding culture in an international school isn’t defined by what the host country requires. It’s defined by what the children in your care deserve.”

British international schools are already leading globally on safeguarding ambition. The next step is ensuring that ambition becomes consistent, confident, whole‑school practice and removing the structural barriers that prevent it. Every day, in every context, for every child.

Download the full international and UK editions of the Tes Safeguarding Report 2026 at tes.com/for-schools/content/safeguarding-report-2026.