Knowledge Hub

Our Knowledge Hub is a place for topical, practical support and guidance for the British international schools community

Here you will find advice on safeguarding, well-being, speaking to children on world issues, sustainability and EDI.

This page will be updated regularly, so do please check back.

We are focused on providing the best care and support to our member schools. So, we're asking you to reach out and let us know what you need, and how we can support you. Email us and share your thoughts and concerns, and we'll do what we can to help. We have a number of support resources and information and guidance in our Members Area, and you can also register for upcoming COBIS webinars or listen to previous recordings.

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COBIS in the Middle East - supporting resources

Safeguarding support

Safeguarding support

The Safeguarding Alliance has produced a Critical Response Checklist that you may find useful at this time.

Further Resources from The Safeguarding Alliance

Talking to children about scary world events - Guidance from the Mental Health Foundation

We are grateful to our Supporting Associates below who have generously made a range of free, high-quality resources available to support COBIS schools in the Middle East.

ABRSM

Take a look at some of their online platforms which may aid remote-learning for classroom teachers and music teachers.

Classroom 200 - this is a free platform containing 200 free lesson plans with guidance and learning materials that can be used online or in person. The platform can be filtered by subject and age group. If you type "mental health" in the search bar there are a few lessons in there that would be suitable for ages 6-11 around calming music.

The Teacher Hub - another free platform full of training courses, guidance and videos for music teachers, and we have a short course on "Improving your Mental Health". Students are also welcome to create their own Teacher Hub ABRaccounts to help in preparing for their digital music exams.

AGBIS

Read the latest briefing paper from AGBIS International about the role of governance in times of conflict.

Chartered College

Discover a distance learning resource pack along with various articles and resources for teachers talking to students about conflict.

DEfactoED

Free access to LIGHTBULB, a digital learning programme inspiring 14-18 year olds through expert insights on the global issues shaping their future.

Dryad Education Group

Explore their 'How to guides' to assist with home learning.

Educate Ventures

Check out their various resources on AI.

FlashAcademy

Explore their resources to support multilingual learning when studying from home.

GEC Academy

Learn more about their online research programme: 'AI in Business', available at a reduced rate.

Komodo Wellbeing

Evidence‑based, trauma‑informed resources supporting wellbeing in times of uncertainty.

Grounded in neuroscience and trauma-informed practice, this library of psychologist-created resources is designed to support the nervous system during times of high collective stress. We move away from "quick fixes," acknowledging that in times of conflict, wellbeing isn't about "perfect calm", it is about finding small pockets of steadiness, connection, and safety.

Life on Time

Free access to youHQ, supporting schools with innovative wellbeing tools and mental health training.

myHappyMind

Take a look at their short video and 1-page guide to help adults support children in a calm and supportive way.

The guide shares five helpful approaches, including:
• Starting conversations with curiosity so children feel heard
• Keeping explanations simple and contained
• Reassuring children and anchoring them in safety
• Making space for feelings while modelling calm
• Leading conversations with sensitivity and shared values

You can download the one-page guide and watch the short video for additional guidance.

Just click here for the resources

Pearson

Keep checking their website for latest updates, guidance and FAQs for navigating upcoming teaching, learning and assessment activity.

PSHE Association

A set of free, research‑led PSHE resources supporting schools to address distressing events and embed age‑appropriate mental health and wellbeing education from early years through secondary.

https://pshe-association.org.uk/guidance/ks1-5/talking-to-pupils-about-distressing-events - Free guidance document exploring how to talk to pupils about distressing events, including practical advice on handling difficult, in-the-moment conversations, ensuring age-appropriateness, and taking a whole school approach.

https://pshe-association.org.uk/foundations-for-wellbeing-curriculum - A research-led mental health and wellbeing curriculum for 4–11 year olds that helps pupils learn to manage their emotions, attention, thinking habits, responses and reactions (includes a comprehensive teacher handbook, 35 fully resourced lessons, PowerPoints and pupil-facing materials, classroom posters)

https://pshe-association.org.uk/wellbeing-for-life - A research-led mental health and wellbeing curriculum for 11-16 year olds that helps students manage emotions, distractions and thinking habits, and explore healthy and unhealthy coping strategies (includes a comprehensive teacher handbook, 15 fully resourced lessons, PowerPoints and pupil-facing materials, classroom posters).

ReadCloud

Read these practical guides on transitioning from print to digital textbooks, and how to use digital tools to support inclusive teaching practice across diverse school communities.

Seneca

Ready‑to‑use online teaching and revision resources, including content, quizzes, exam questions and study notes for all core subjects.

For teachers, the resource hub includes content, auto-marked quizzes and exam questions for all core subjects. These can easily be used as homework or an assessment in an online teaching scenario.

For students, revision notes include summaries & revision tips for all core subjects. These can easily be used for independent studying and exam prep in a remote learning scenario.

The Wellbeing Hub

A collection of resources designed to help school communities during these difficult times.

Veema

Some free CPD to help educators achieve their best.

Wellio Education

Use these pre-planned wellbeing lessons to help your students navigate uncertainty, manage their emotions and have constructive conversations in the classroom.

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Speaking to children about world issues

COBIS Support for Schools in Times of Conflict
General websites

COBIS Support for Schools in Times of Conflict

Resources for conflict in Ukraine:

COBIS CEO Colin Bell wrote a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on behalf of COBIS Member school The British International School, Ukraine, based in Kyiv.
Liz Saville Roberts MP echoed these sentiments in her own letter to the Prime Minister, which you can read here.
COBIS remains committed to the safety and security of both staff and students at The British International School, Ukraine, and continues to lobby the UK government on their behalf.
The COBIS Black Seas School Group had set up a fund for donations to aid refugees fleeing the Ukrainian crisis. If you would like to contribute to this fund, of which all proceeds go to the Red Cross in Romania, then you can do so here.
Stephen Priest, Principal of the British International School of Tbilisi, wrote an article for International Teacher Magazine on the support they are providing to BISU, to refugees and to students. You can read it here.

General websites

We know that children and young people may be worried or upset when hearing news about global conflict and other sensitive topics, so we have created a list of resources and organisations that can help.

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Safeguarding

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View resources

The Department for Education have a guide to Keeping Children Safe in Education, which is always worth a read. Watch this video which provides more information about the 2025 guidance.

SouthWest Grid for Learning have published a support page on Safeguarding and Planning for School Closure including resources and policy templates. You can also download the flyer on Safe Remote Learning here.

EduCare have a news page dedicated to Safeguarding and Duty of Care specifically. Keep an eye out for updates.

The Safeguarding Alliance have created a template for schools to use as a safeguarding policy. You can download it here.

Andrew Hall, a Specialist Safeguarding Consultant, has put together a list on how to use Zoom safely.

Rugby School Thailand share how they have developed a progressive ‘Early Help Intervention Model’ in this blog.

Kai Vacher, Principal of British School Muscat, a COBIS Accredited Member School, and COBIS Board member, shares how following England’s Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance is a key component of the school's safeguarding work in this blog.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children have created these resources on safeguarding children with additional needs and disabilities.

The International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children have shared advice on Essential Recruiting Practices for international schools, FAQs on safer recruitment, a safer recruitment checklist and information on background checks.

COBIS has compiled a useful Q&A with ACRO and The Safeguarding Alliance on criminal record checks for overseas schools.

Single Central Record (SCR) template

Have a read of this safeguarding guide on AI created by the NCA and IWF.

Critical Response Checklist

Talking to children about scary world events | Mental Health Foundation

Well-being

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View resources

The mental health charity MIND have a mental well-being hub, full of useful info.

YoungMinds have a host of resources for supporting a whole school's approach to wellbeing. Read more here.

Komodo have delivered some COBIS wellbeing webinars on 'Exam Stress: What is Happening and How to Support Students' and ‘Managing Student Wellbeing in International Schools’.

The British School of Bucharest presented a webinar on the science of sleep and how it links to the wellbeing of both staff and students in our schools. View the recording here.

Phil Armstrong, Head of Regional Development, South & International at Early Excellence explores the key principles in making sure the child's well-being is at the centre of EYFS teaching in this blog.

Kellett School - The British International School in Hong Kong was awarded Beacon Status by COBIS for their excellence in wellbeing. They share some tips and insights into their initiatives in this blog.

Pierre de Mirman, Deputy Global CEO at Pacific Prime, discusses the policies and measures schools should consider to address long-term, pandemic-related risks in this blog.

Stephen Rogers, former head and co-founder of 49 Thirty Two Education, writes about senior leaders in school needing to ensure that their own mental health is attended to whilst supporting students and colleagues in this blog.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

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View resources

Read our EDI statement

COBIS Accredited Member, Doha College have shared their journey towards EDI in this article with ISC Research.

Diverse Educators have further resources here and also information on EDI in international schools here.

The BAMEed Network has a resources database that can viewed on their website.

AGBIS have produced a helpful guide for governors on EDI.

The ISC have compiled a very useful set of resources and links which can be found here.

Sustainability

View the resources

View the resources

COBIS recognises its responsibility to protect and improve the state of the environment for future generations. We are committed to reducing our impact upon the environment. Read about our commitment to sustainability here.

We have been awarded The Planet Mark Accreditation, demonstrating our commitment to environmental education and protection. We work closely with The Planet Mark to ensure our carbon footprint is minimised and encourage our schools and Supporting Associates to do the same. Visit our partners page.

The Eden Project have written a blog on teachers rising to the challenge of climate change. It highlights how education can help to equip young people with the necessary skills and knowledge at the time of a climate emergency.

Tudor Atanasiu, Head of Innovation and Technology at British School of Bucharest, explains the schools' Project Zephyr, an electric car scratch build kit in this blog.

Junior School Vlaskamp, one of the Primary campuses at The British School in The Netherlands, shares how it is promoting sustainability in the school community in this blog.

Planet Mark and Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar, Malaysia presented a COBIS webinar on ‘Unlocking the Benefits of Sustainability and Carbon Footprinting in Schools’. View the recording here.

St George's International School, Luxembourg signed a climate pledge to reduce its emissions with the goal of net-zero. Read about the pledge here.

Tatiana Popa, Head of Global Education at Heritage International School, Moldova, shares how her school is developing a whole-school approach to sustainability in this blog. She also presented a COBIS webinar on ‘Teaching about Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals through Project-Based Learning’. HE Steven Fisher, British Ambassador to Moldova was a guest speaker. View the recording here.