Sacpa/BAISIS – Safeguarding international students conference

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• Date: April 25 2023
• Time: 09:00 – 16.45
• Cost: Sacpa/BAISIS Member – £195, Sacpa/BAISIS Full Member Additional Delegate Fee – £100,  Affiliate Member – £295, Affiliate Member Additional Delegate Fee – £130, Non-Member – £390, Full Member Whole School Fee – £450
• Audience: Suitable for any member of staff / particularly useful for staff in leadership roles
• Platform: Zoom (online)

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Safeguarding international students remains a complex and challenging area of work. This conference brings together expert speakers with specialist knowledge and experience who work with international students. It aims to inform and support colleagues managing safeguarding in international contexts and focusses on emerging themes and concerns including conflict resolution between groups of students and its links to the child-on-child safeguarding agenda.

We will facilitate questions directly from members to our experts throughout the day and encourage delegates to come prepared with questions for our panels.

Training Topics will include:

• Global Safeguarding: current themes, future challenges
• Resolving conflict: the role of restorative approaches
• Uncovering the hidden hierarchies: working with student `leaders’ to reduce child-on-child abuse
• Managing safeguarding concerns: case studies from international contexts
• Summer schools: out in the cold and flying blind
• International risk and reputation management.

Learning outcomes:

Delegates will:

• Have the most recent updates from evidence and practice to support their work with international students
• Be able to consider the value of enhancing their approach to conflict and challenging group dynamics
• Explore the what, who and how of hierarchy analysis and consider the benefits of further development of the approach in their own contexts
• Have the opportunity to consider how induction and partnership work may impact ongoing development of this strand of safeguarding work
• Have the opportunity to incorporate knowledge and learning from summer school safeguarding practice into their policies and processes ahead of this year’s summer school season.

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Programme:

09:00 – 09:45

Global Safeguarding: current themes, future challenges

Our keynote speaker explores the current and emerging themes on what we know about the development of global and local safeguarding practice. Delegates will have the most recent updates from evidence and practice to support their work with international students.

• Chair: Claire Dan, Director, Sacpa and Director of Safeguarding, BSA Group
• Speaker:
  • Elaine Ryan, Global Head of Safeguarding, British Council

09:45 – 10:00

Break

10:00 – 11:00

International risk and reputation management

Exploring the risks linked to international student recruitment and how best to manage you reputation when it goes wrong.

• Chair: Bethan Waddington, Director, BAISIS and Programmes Director, BSA Group
•  Panel:
  • Kate Hollyer, Legal and Public Affairs Director, BSA Group and Director, BSA Legal Services Ltd
  • Mark Taylor, Verisio
  • John Murphie, COO, ISBA

11:00 – 11:30

Break

11:30 – 12:30

Uncovering the hidden hierarchies: working with student `leaders’ to reduce child-on-child abuse

Uncovering hidden hierarchies in groups of students is key to addressing some child-on-child abuse incidents. Speakers describe how incident analysis and other intelligence can support identification of hidden leaders within the student body and methods of engagement that have supported a reduction in child-on-child abuse incidents. Delegates will explore the what, who and how of hierarchy analysis and consider the benefits of further development of the approach in their own contexts.

• Chair: Claire Dan, Director, Sacpa and Director of Safeguarding, BSA Group
•  Panel:
  • Elena Hesse, Principal, Abbey College Cambridge
  • Lisa Morton, Pastoral Deputy Head, Cardiff Sixth Form College

12:30 -13:30

Break

13:30 -14:30

Managing safeguarding concerns: case studies from international contexts

Navigating the international context in safeguarding remains complex and challenging. Speakers in this session focus on guardianship, the management of safeguarding concerns and the management of position of trust concerns within the context of different societal norms, understandings of safeguarding and safeguarding systems in home nations. Delegates will have the opportunity to consider how induction and partnership work may impact ongoing development of this strand of safeguarding work.

• Chair: Bethan Waddington, Director, BAISIS and Programmes Director, BSA Group
• Panel:
  • Lorna Clayton, Academic Families
  • Susanna De Beer, DSL, MPW

14:30 – 15:00

Break

15:00 – 15:45

Summer schools: out in the cold and flying blind

Summer schools are unique in that they host international students within the residential context yet have very little contextual and safeguarding information about this short-term cohort. Speakers in this session explore safer recruitment, pre and post summer school knowledge of students and the possibility of summer school being used as a device for the trafficking of children. Delegates will have the opportunity to incorporate knowledge and learning from this session into their policies and processes ahead of this years’ summer school season.

• Chair: Bethan Waddington, Director, BAISIS and Programmes Director, BSA Group
• Panel:
  • Mario di Clemente, Principal, Bishopstrow
  • Emma Jennings, Director of International Recruitment, Mill Hill
  • John Zhang, Managing Director Connexcel, BSA agent and guardian

15:45 – 16:00

Break

16:00 – 16:45

Resolving conflict: the role of restorative approaches

Speakers will examine the current trends and causes of conflict between groups of students, the influences, role of restorative approaches and an understanding of group dynamics. Delegates will be able to consider the value of enhancing their approach to conflict and challenging group dynamics.

• Chair: Claire Dan, Director, Sacpa and Director of Safeguarding, BSA Group
• Speaker:
  • Michelle Stowe, Director, Connect RP

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Speakers:

Elaine Ryan, Global Head of Safeguarding, British Council

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Kate Hollyer, Legal and Public Affairs Director, BSA Group and Director, BSA Legal Services Ltd

Kate is Legal Director of BSA Group and Director of BSA Legal Services Ltd. As a qualified solicitor with more than 10 years’ experience advising clients on UK immigration law, Kate assists members with all immigration and safeguarding legal matters. Prior to joining BSA in 2022 Kate was Partner and Head of Department at a leading full-service UK law firm. Having resided in state, preparatory and senior school boarding houses since 2014 with her Housemaster husband, Kate has a unique perspective of boarding life.

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Mark Taylor, Verisio Ltd

In a previous reincarnation Mark founded The Taylor Partnership – supporting U.K. independent schools in meeting the compliance demands of their UKVI sponsor licences and training many school staff. More recently, after travelling the world, Mark has identified the increased risk to independent schools as a result of the need for greater probity and due diligence in financial awareness of school suppliers, parents and agents. Mark’s interest in this field was first sparked in 2016-17 when he supported a number of schools following the disappearance of students from Vietnam.

Mark is working in partnership with Verisio, a specialist organisation concentrating on integrity and due diligence checks on corporations and individuals.

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John Murphie, COO, ISBA

John has been with ISBA since February 2017.  He is responsible for the head office internal organisation and functions and he is the main point of contact for advice and guidance to schools. John spent 31 years in the Royal Navy, retiring in 2007.  Since then, he has worked as the Chapter Clerk in Portsmouth Cathedral, managed a Barristers’ Chambers in London and been Bursar in two schools before joining ISBA.

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Elena Hesse, Principal, Abbey College Cambridge

Ellen has worked in a variety of educational settings; all girls’ day and boarding school in Kent, an all-through co-educational school in Surrey, a sixth form college in Oxford. She is currently the Principal at Abbey College Cambridge and an experienced ISI inspector. Ellen will draw on her nine years’ experience as a DSL, during which time she dealt with a few high- level safeguarding cases. She has worked with staff on identifying the group dynamics within boarding houses and understanding cultural differences, cultural sensitivities and positive and negative leadership that underlined some safeguarding cases.

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Lisa Morton, Pastoral Deputy Head, Cardiff Sixth Form College

Lisa has been working in education for many years and during her time at Cardiff Sixth Form College she has implemented a number of pastoral programmes and initiatives and is passionate about increasing resilience, confidence and self-care amongst the student body. In 2018 Lisa founded the CREATE© Portfolio which was awarded the Welsh Independent Schools Council Award in 2019 for Wellbeing Initiative and in 2020 won the Independent Schools Association Award for Excellence in Pupil Personal Development. Lisa is dedicated to providing the very best in pastoral care for all Cardiff Sixth Form College pupils and remains committed to continuously striving for excellence in this area. Lisa is from Cardiff originally and when not at the College she enjoys spending her free time with her three favourite people – her husband and their beautiful children, Sam and Lilly.

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Lorna Clayton, Academic Families

Lorna founded Academic Families in 2012 following her 13 year overseas career in Australia, South America and East Africa. In 1998, she founded a Kenyan education charity, Assist a Child To School (ACTS), which funds and places needy students in education. With 20+ years’ experience in business and as an expat mother, Lorna leads the Academic Families team to deliver our premier personal and professional service. As a British Council Trained Agent, Lorna’s knowledge and expertise ensures that our students receive the best possible advice and support leading to their educational success.

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Susanna De Beer, DSL, MPW

Susanna de Beer has worked in international education in the UK for 14 years.  In her roles as assistant principal pastoral and international and designated safeguarding lead, Susanna has developed a range of core ideas about the unique safeguarding needs of international students as they inhabit spaces where their cultural value systems, identities and the challenges of global citizenship overlap. Susanna holds that it is through collaboration and reflective conversation that safeguarding practitioners not only make sense of the challenges of their vocation, but also expand their capacity for empathy and their skills to support others.

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Mario di Clemente, Principal, Bishopstrow

Mario joined Bishopstrow College in January 2022.

Mario has 35 years’ experience of independent education, with a focus on international students.  His experience includes roles in boarding schools.  With a background in modern languages, from September 1986 to August 1987, Mario was Head of Spanish and Assistant Head of House at Woldingham School.  Then, from August 1997 to August 2007, he was Director of Studies and then Vice Principal of MPW in London, Mario then moved to Cambridge Tutors College (CTC) in Croydon, initially as Vice Principal from 2007 to 2008 and then as Principal from 2008 to 2014.  From CTC, Mario progressed to Principal of CATS College in London, an almost entirely international college with 55+ nationalities represented.  After 5 years in this role, Mario was appointed Chief Operations Officer of Chancery Education Trust, a Multi Academy Trust consisting of three schools in South London.

With two children of his own currently going through IGCSE and A Level and his background in languages and international education, Mario understands deeply the needs and concerns of international students and parents planning the next stage of education.

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Emma Jennings, Director of International Recruitment, Mill Hill

Emma Jennings is Director of International Pupil Recruitment for the Mill Hill School Foundation. Emma has over 20 years’ experience of managing Spring and Summer School programmes. She is a qualified teacher with experience of teaching in England and abroad.

Emma is passionate about travel, languages and all things international.

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John Zhang, Managing Director Connexcel, BSA agent and guardian

John Zhang has lived in the UK for 20 years. Graduating from the University of Leeds with a master’s degree in Finance, he was employed by two FTSE 100 international companies as a procurement director before starting his own business. Since establishing Connexcel, he has devoted himself to helping elite private schools in China and the UK form partnerships through sister schools and cultural exchanges. John has supported schools in China with setting up new curriculums in collaboration with UK partners and training senior education personnel. He also acts a consultant for UK schools seeking advice on expanding their brand within the China. Through his consultancy work, John has built an extensive network within the Chinese Education Bureau along with schools in the UK and China, always taking the needs of each school to best allocate resources to support them.

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Michelle Stowe, Director, Connect RP