Safeguarding international schools in South Africa: a DSL guide

In law, an international school in South Africa is usually an independent school. Section 46 of the South African Schools Act says no one may run an independent school unless the provincial Head of Department for education registers it.

The Head of Department must be satisfied that the school's standards will not be lower than those of comparable public schools. The Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for education in each province sets the other grounds for registration.

Accreditation sits on top of registration, and your school chooses it. Bodies such as the International Baccalaureate (IB), the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) set their own expectations. They apply only if your school has joined or been authorised by them, so ask your Head which ones do.

Some schools also join the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA), which runs a child protection programme with a handbook and practice groups. The province decides whether you may run a school, and your accreditor checks your practice against its standards.

The main law is the Children's Act 38 of 2005. Section 17 sets the age of majority at 18.

The Act also keeps the National Child Protection Register. Part B lists people who are unsuitable to work with children.

Section 123 bars anyone on Part B from working with or having access to children at a school. Section 126 tells the person who runs a school to check the register before a person starts.

Only listed officials can see Part B. Section 126(4) says to send the enquiry in writing to the Director-General of the national department for social development. The reply is due within 21 working days.

A second law covers sexual offences. It is the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007. It set up the National Register for Sex Offenders.

Under section 45, a school that hires staff to work with children must apply to the Registrar for a certificate. The certificate says whether the person is on the register. A school may not employ anyone who is, and failing to comply is an offence.

This guide used the Department of Justice copies of the Children's Act and the Sexual Offences Act, which are dated May 2025. Ask counsel to check for anything newer.

Yes. Section 110(1) of the Children's Act lists teachers among the people who must report. The duty starts when you conclude, on reasonable grounds, that a child has suffered abuse causing physical injury, sexual abuse or deliberate neglect.

You report to a designated child protection organisation, the provincial department of social development or a police official. The report goes on the prescribed form. Failing to report is an offence under section 305.

Good-faith reporters are protected from civil action. Section 110(2) lets any person report a child who needs care and protection.

Section 54 of the Sexual Offences Act goes further. Anyone who knows of, reasonably believes or suspects a sexual offence against a child must tell a police official immediately. Failing to do so is an offence, and a good-faith report is protected from civil and criminal proceedings.

The duty belongs to the person with the suspicion. Telling the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) may not meet it on its own, so ask local counsel how your procedure should handle this. Mandatory reporting laws for international schools compares other countries.

If a child is in immediate danger, call 10111 for the police, or 112 from a mobile phone. Then follow your school's child protection procedure and tell your DSL the same day. Print these numbers where staff can find them.

• 10111: the police, or any emergency, as listed by the news agency SAnews.
• 112: the emergency number from a mobile phone, from the same SAnews list.
• 10177: medical assistance, from the same SAnews list.
• 116: Childline South Africa, listed as open every day, all hours.
• Provincial department of social development: receives abuse reports. Save your local office's number.
• Your DSL: tell them the same day, every time.

Standards built on the International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) ask staff to pass every concern to the DSL. Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) does the same in England. KCSIE has no legal force in South Africa.

South African law puts the duty on the person. A teacher who concludes a child has been abused must report to social services or the police. Section 110 does not name a school DSL.

Section 110(1) covers abuse that causes physical injury, sexual abuse and deliberate neglect. School policies also cover emotional abuse, peer abuse and low-level concerns. Use the wider test inside school, and ask counsel when an outside report is due.

One procedure can serve both. Staff tell the DSL the same day. Any adult may also report to the police or social services directly, and the DSL records every outside report and who made it.

Put both routes on one page, and ask local counsel to confirm the wording before you publish it.

The main law is the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, known as POPIA. Most of it began on 1 July 2020, and a grace period ended on 30 June 2021. The Information Regulator enforces it.

POPIA treats children's information with extra care. Section 34 bars processing it unless an exception applies, such as a parent's consent or a legal right or duty (section 35). A mandatory report may fit the second, so ask counsel which ground you rely on.

Section 14 says records should not be kept longer than needed, unless the law requires it or the school reasonably needs them for lawful purposes. Agree a retention period for safeguarding files with counsel.

Section 22 says you must tell the Regulator and the person affected if there are reasonable grounds to believe an unauthorised person has accessed or acquired the information.

This guide found no rule in POPIA that forces records to stay in South Africa. Section 72 sets conditions for sending personal information to a third party in another country. The recipient must be bound by similar protections, or the person must consent, or another listed ground must apply.

Ask counsel whether storing records with a foreign cloud supplier counts as a transfer.

Staff, parents and students speak many languages at home. Section 6 of the Constitution names official languages that include English, Afrikaans, isiZulu and isiXhosa. Write the reporting route in the languages your staff read, and test it with the people who will use it.

The Children's Act speaks of parents, guardians and care-givers. Check who holds legal responsibility for a child before you share information with an adult.

Corporal punishment is unlawful in South Africa, at school and at home, according to the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children. Section 10 of the South African Schools Act bans it in schools and makes it an offence.

The Basic Education Laws Amendment Act 32 of 2024 later changed section 10 and the penalty in section 46(4). Ask counsel for the current wording.

The Constitutional Court confirmed in September 2019 that the old defence of reasonable chastisement no longer stands. Tell new staff on day one, especially those hired from places where it is still allowed.

Safer recruitment needs local checks and overseas ones. In South Africa, add the sex offender register certificate and the Part B check described above, and ask counsel what other local checks your school should run.

A South African certificate will not show records from other countries. Ask for checks from every country a candidate has lived in, and read safer recruitment for international schools.

The South African Council for Educators (SACE) is the professional council for teachers. Ask it whether your teachers must register, including those with overseas qualifications.

Work through these steps in your first month. Share the list with your Head and your deputy DSL.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws and phone numbers change, so confirm current law with local counsel and the relevant authority. The legal texts were read on 19 October 2026.

• Find your school's registration with the provincial education department and read its conditions.
• Ask your Head which accreditors and curricula your school holds, and what each asks on child protection.
• Write one reporting route with 10111, 112, 116 and your provincial social development office.
• Ask counsel how section 110 of the Children's Act and section 54 of the Sexual Offences Act apply to your staff.
• Check new hires against the sex offender register and Part B of the Child Protection Register.
• Ask each supplier where it stores safeguarding records, and agree your POPIA ground with counsel.
• Ban corporal punishment in writing for staff and contractors.