Safeguarding international schools in Switzerland: country guide

Education is a matter for the cantons. The Federal Constitution (Article 62) makes them responsible for school education. Eurydice, the European education information network, reports that private schools need approval and face state supervision in every canton.

Geneva shows how this works in one canton. A private school in compulsory schooling needs authorisation from the canton, with some exceptions, and the canton publishes a directory of authorised schools. It says it does not guarantee the content or quality of the teaching.

Your own canton may set different rules. Ask its education office which approval your school holds and which rules come with it.

Some Swiss international schools also hold outside accreditation. The canton of Zurich's own list of international schools (November 2023) names the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). It also names the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Swiss Group of International Schools (SGIS).

Yes, for many staff. Article 314d of the Swiss Civil Code has applied since 1 January 2019. It names professionals in medicine, psychology, care, education, counselling, religion and sport who have regular contact with children.

They must report when there are clear indications that a child's physical, psychological or sexual integrity is at risk, and they cannot remove the danger within their own work. The report goes to the child protection authority.

A person meets the duty by telling a superior (Article 314d, paragraph 2). Your procedure should name that superior, for example the Head or the designated safeguarding lead (DSL), and say who then files the report with the authority.

Anyone may report. Article 314c lets any person notify the child protection authority when a child's integrity appears at risk. Staff bound by professional secrecy under the Criminal Code may report in the child's interest, but the duty in Article 314d does not apply to them.

Cantons may add further duties (Article 314d, paragraph 3). Under the Criminal Procedure Code, any person may also report an offence to the criminal justice authorities (Article 301).

If a child is in immediate danger, call 112 first, or the police on 117. Then follow your school's child protection procedure and tell your DSL the same day. Keep these numbers where staff and students can read them.

The police deal with offences. The child protection authority orders measures to protect a child (Civil Code, Article 315). Your procedure should say who decides which route to take, and when to use both.

Article 315 sets the responsible authority, normally the one where the child lives. If waiting is risky, the authority where the child is staying can act too. Ask counsel which one covers boarders whose parents live abroad.

• 112: the main emergency number, answered by the police emergency control centre. Police are also on 117.
• 144 for an ambulance and 118 for the fire service, per the ch.ch emergency list.
• 147: the Pro Juventute helpline for children and young people. It is free and confidential, in German, French and Italian.
• The child and adult protection authority (KESB in German): cantons organise it themselves, so use the Conference for Child and Adult Protection (KOKES) to find an address list.

School safeguarding standards and Swiss law use different thresholds. The English guidance Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) tells staff to speak to the DSL about any concern. Swiss law sets its reporting duty at clear signs of danger.

That gap is easy to close. Ask staff to tell the DSL at the first sign of worry. The DSL, with counsel where needed, then decides whether the Swiss threshold is met and which authority to tell.

The federal provisions reviewed for this guide do not name a designated safeguarding lead. The role usually comes from your accreditor and your own policy. KCSIE has no legal force in Switzerland, so say so in your policy.

The International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) publishes expectations that accreditors and inspectors can use. Compare them with your Swiss reporting route.

The Swiss duty applies when staff cannot remove the danger within their own work. A school can often act first. Write down your reason whenever you decide not to report.

For the wider picture, read which parts of KCSIE travel abroad and mandatory reporting laws in international schools.

The Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) of 25 September 2020 has applied since 1 September 2023. It covers private persons and federal bodies (Article 2), so a private international school falls under it. Cantonal bodies follow cantonal law.

The Act has no rule that data must stay in Switzerland. You may disclose data abroad if the Federal Council has found that the country gives adequate protection (Article 16). Without that finding, you need safeguards such as approved standard data protection clauses.

Article 17 lists exceptions, including explicit consent. Consent can be a weak base for safeguarding files, so ask counsel before you rely on it.

The Federal Council lists adequate countries in Annex 1 of the Data Protection Ordinance. In the version reviewed (status of 1 December 2025), the United States counts only for organisations certified under the Swiss-US Privacy Framework. Check the current list before you sign with a supplier.

Safeguarding files often hold sensitive data, such as health data and data on criminal proceedings (Article 5). A breach likely to put people at high risk must go to the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (Article 24). Ask each supplier where your data sits and who can read it.

Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh (Constitution, Article 4). The cantons decide their official languages (Article 70). Expect the authority you contact to work in your canton's official language.

Teaching staff in an international school may work in English, while other staff work in German, French or Italian, depending on the canton. Put the reporting route in every language your staff use.

The 147 listing names German, French and Italian only. Tell students what to expect, and make sure an adult can help with the first call.

Read more on translation and localisation of safeguarding training. Write your canton's name and contacts into the procedure, and review them when the school opens a second site.

Since 1 July 2026, Article 302 of the Civil Code says parents must raise children without violence, and names physical punishment and other degrading treatment. The change comes from a federal act of 26 September 2025.

That rule covers parents. For schools, the October 2025 report on End Corporal Punishment treats physical punishment as unlawful. It adds that the rules sit in a mix of cantonal laws, regulations and school rules.

Write a plain rule into your staff code of conduct: no physical punishment. Say it again in induction, because new staff may come from countries where it is still allowed.

Switzerland has two criminal record extracts for private persons. The standard extract (Privatauszug) lists convictions for a set period. The special private extract (Sonderprivatauszug) lists only bans on certain work or contact that protect minors and other vulnerable people.

An employer that offers work with regular contact with minors may ask for the special extract (Criminal Records Register Act, Article 55). The employer first completes an official form. The candidate then orders the extract from the Federal Office of Justice.

An extract only shows what a court has recorded. Candidates who lived or worked abroad need checks from those countries too. Combine extracts with references and an interview about gaps, as set out in safer recruitment for international schools.

This list suits a school in any canton. Work through it in your first term.

This guide gives general information, checked against the sources below on 19 October 2026. It is not legal advice. Swiss and cantonal rules change, so confirm the current law with local counsel and the relevant cantonal authority.

• Find your canton's school office and confirm which approval your school holds.
• Look up your child protection authority and save its contact in the procedure.
• Write down who files a report under Article 314d, and who does it when the DSL is away.
• Post 112, 117, 144 and 147 where staff and students can read them.
• Check where safeguarding records are stored and which country each supplier uses.
• Decide whether new hires must show a special private extract, and put it in your recruitment policy.
• Add a no-physical-punishment rule to the staff code of conduct.