Safeguarding international schools in Denmark: country guide

Most independent and international schools in Denmark run under the Free Schools Act (Friskoleloven). The Ministry of Children and Education (Børne- og Undervisningsministeriet) sets the rules.

The Agency for Education and Quality (Styrelsen for Undervisning og Kvalitet, STUK) checks that free schools give teaching that matches public schools. It also checks pupil welfare, freedom and democratic values.

Many international schools also hold accreditation from CIS, COBIS, NEASC or the IB. Some British schools use the voluntary BSO inspection scheme. These bodies add their own child protection standards on top of Danish law.

Denmark's main child welfare law is the Children's Act (Barnets lov), Act No 721 of 13 June 2023. It took effect on 1 January 2024 and replaced the child chapters of the old Social Services Act (Serviceloven).

Section 133 sets an enhanced reporting duty (skærpet underretningspligt). It binds people who work closely with children in public duties or private services, including teachers, heads and staff at free and private schools (frie grundskoler).

Staff must tell the local council (kommunalbestyrelsen) at once when they have a concern. The list below shows what counts.

• Suspected physical, sexual or mental abuse, or degrading treatment.
• Living conditions that may harm the child or young person.
• Signs that a child under 18 needs special social or welfare support.
• Unlawful school absence of 15% or more within one quarter.

Yes. Under section 133 of Barnets lov, the duty to report rests on each person who sees or hears the concern. Telling the Head or the DSL does not lift the personal duty if no report goes to the commune.

In daily school life, the DSL can help write and send the report (underretning) through the commune portal on Borger.dk. Every staff member must still know they can and must report directly if the school delays.

Section 135 also gives every adult in Denmark a general duty to tell the commune if a child faces neglect or degrading treatment. Read mandatory reporting laws for international schools to see how personal duties fit into one school policy.

If a child is in immediate danger, call 112 at once. Then tell your DSL the same day so the school can record the action and follow up with the commune.

Each Danish commune has a child and youth team and an out-of-hours social watch (Den Sociale Døgnvagt in larger cities). Save the number for the commune where each pupil lives, because reports go to the home commune, not the school commune.

• 112: acute danger, ambulance, fire or urgent police help.
• 114: the Danish Police for non-urgent matters and advice.
• 116 111: BørneTelefonen, run by Børns Vilkår, free and anonymous 24/7 in Danish.
• Your pupil's home commune (kommunalbestyrelsen): for statutory child welfare reports under section 133.
• Your DSL: tell them the same day so the school logs the step.

Accreditors such as CIS, COBIS and the IB expect a named DSL, annual staff training and a clear log of concerns. Many schools also use England's KCSIE as a reference, even though it has no legal force in Denmark (see KCSIE for international schools).

Where a British policy asks staff to wait for the DSL before talking to outside agencies, Danish law differs. The policy must state clearly that section 133 of Barnets lov is a personal legal duty and that no staff member needs permission to file an underretning.

When a child discloses possible physical or sexual violence by a parent or carer, do not call the parents first. Notify the commune and the police so they can use a Child House (Børnehus) without tipping off a suspect.

Under the Child Certificate Act (Børneattestloven), a school needs a child check, called a Børneattest. It must get one before hiring anyone who will work directly with children under 15. This covers teachers, teaching assistants, coaches, caretakers and regular volunteers.

The school orders the Børneattest digitally from the Danish Police (Rigspolitiet), and the candidate approves the check in their digital postbox (Digital Post) with MitID. It is free and usually takes a few days.

A Danish Børneattest checks the Central Criminal Register for sexual offences against children, incest and child pornography. It does not cover every crime or time spent abroad. Pair it with police checks from past countries and reference calls, as set out in safer recruitment for international schools.

The GDPR applies directly in Denmark, backed by the Danish Data Protection Act (Databeskyttelsesloven), Act No 502 of 23 May 2018. The national regulator is Datatilsynet.

Safeguarding files hold sensitive data. A legal duty under Barnets lov lets the school share the facts with the commune without parent consent.

Keep safeguarding files separate from general pupil folders, limit access to the DSL and Head, and check where your cloud software stores records. Any transfer outside the EEA must follow Chapter V of the GDPR.

This guide gives general information checked on 10 November 2026, not legal advice. Confirm how Danish rules apply to your school with local legal counsel and STUK, then complete these steps in your first month.

• Map the home communes for your pupil roll and save their section 133 reporting links and out-of-hours numbers.
• Name a Danish speaker on the safeguarding team who can file reports on Borger.dk and speak with commune caseworkers.
• Update your policy so staff see their personal duty under section 133 of Barnets lov alongside the internal DSL route.
• Add the 15% quarterly unlawful absence trigger to your attendance tracking so the DSL gets an early alert.
• Verify that every staff member, coach and regular volunteer working with under-15s has a logged Børneattest on your SCR.
• Post 112, 114 and BørneTelefonen 116 111 on staffroom boards and pupil wellbeing pages.