Safeguarding international schools in Thailand: country guide

The Office of the Private Education Commission (OPEC) is a unit of the Ministry of Education. Its About us page says its powers and duties come under the Private School Act of 2007 and other laws.

A Ministry of Education notice of 28 January 2019 tells every international school to run its own quality assurance system. A school that teaches one country's national curriculum follows that country's government standards.

Any other school must apply to join a recognised accrediting body within one year of getting its licence. It must finish an evaluation by that body within five years of joining. Schools that teach only pre-primary are exempt.

Schools report on these steps to the authority that licensed them. Central schools report to OPEC, and regional schools report to the provincial education office.

Three notices name the bodies the Ministry recognises (see the Ministry's list). Check which one your school uses, because its standards add to Thai law.

• Royal Gazette, February 2019 (annex to the notice of 28 January 2019): Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), Council of International Schools (CIS), Education Development Trust (EDT) and New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).
• Royal Gazette, October 2023: Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS), Cognia, Accreditation International and the National Day Nurseries Association.
• Royal Gazette, September 2025: Council of British International Schools (COBIS) and the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI).

The main law is the Child Protection Act of 2003. Its English translation defines a child as a person under 18, apart from those who reached adult status through marriage. UNICEF commissioned that translation in 2004, so later changes may not appear in it.

Article 26 forbids anyone to abuse a child's body or mind, whether or not the child agrees. It also forbids withholding what a child under your guardianship needs to live and stay healthy. The translation uses the word "torture" for abuse and defines it to include mental harm and sexual abuse.

Article 63 asks schools to set up guidance, counselling and training systems that promote pupils' safety and behaviour, under ministerial rules. The Act names no designated safeguarding lead (DSL). The ITFCP standards expect clearly defined safeguarding leads, so appoint one.

A replacement law is in progress. The Cabinet approved a new Child Protection Bill in principle on 10 June 2025. No source read for this guide says it has become law, so check its status before you rely on article numbers.

Yes. Article 29 of the Child Protection Act names the people who must report. They include teachers, instructors and employers who care for a child who is their student or employee, and health staff who admit a child for treatment.

The trigger is that abuse, or illness from unlawful care, is apparent or suspected. The report goes without delay to a competent official, or to an Article 24 officer such as a provincial governor or district chief. The English translation also lists administrative officials and the police, so ask your lawyer who may receive a report.

A report made in good faith is protected from civil, criminal and administrative liability. The penalties chapter of the English text sets no penalty for missing a report under Article 29. Treat the duty as real anyway, and take advice on other laws that may apply.

The duty sits with the individual teacher. A rule that says staff may report only to the DSL could conflict with it, so ask your lawyer how your procedure should handle outside reports. Read more on mandatory reporting laws for international schools.

Immediate danger: call 191 for the police or 1669 for an ambulance first. 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.

Ask your lawyer which office counts as a report to a competent official in your province. Write its name and number into your procedure. The 1300 line is described in a 2022 report, so check it is still current.

• 191 (police) and 1669 (ambulance), as listed in UK government travel advice.
• 1387: SaiDek 1387, the child helpline of the Childline Thailand Foundation. Child Helpline International describes it as free and open 24 hours, and Childline Thailand says it is not associated with any government agency.
• 1300: the 24-hour national helpline of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, described in UNICEF's Disrupting Harm report as taking reports of violence, abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking.
• Your DSL: tell them the same day, every time.

Thai law and international standards share one aim, which is to get a child at risk to someone who can act. They differ on who receives the report and how early.

The ITFCP expectations ask schools to define safeguarding leadership roles. They also ask for central reporting that includes telling local authorities as appropriate. Thai law sends reports to officials.

Write one route for both. Staff tell the DSL the same day. The DSL and the Head decide how the school reports to the Thai authorities, and no rule stops a teacher from reporting directly.

Thai law applies when abuse is apparent or suspected. International practice also asks staff to pass on small worries early. Train staff to report the first sign, and let the DSL and counsel decide which Thai category fits.

Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) is guidance for schools in England and has no legal force in Thailand. See which parts of KCSIE travel abroad.

Thailand's data protection law is the Personal Data Protection Act of 2019. In the unofficial English translation, a school that decides how student data is collected, used or shared is a data controller.

Safeguarding files often hold health data, sexual behaviour or criminal records. Section 26 treats these as sensitive and asks for explicit consent unless an exception applies, such as protecting life or handling a legal claim. Section 24 lists other bases for ordinary data, such as a legal duty and legitimate interests.

Section 20 covers consent for children. For a minor below ten, the unofficial English translation says the person with parental responsibility must give consent. The Thai text on Wikisource says "not over ten", so check the exact age line with your lawyer.

Section 28 allows data to go abroad if the destination has adequate data protection standards, or if an exception applies. The transfer must also follow rules set by the Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC). Ask your lawyer which PDPC rules apply now, because the sections reviewed do not require data to stay in Thailand.

Section 37(4) asks a controller to tell the PDPC Office of a breach without delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours. The duty does not apply if the breach is unlikely to put people's rights at risk. Ask every supplier where your data sits and who can read it.

Check which languages your drivers, security officers, cleaners, kitchen staff and nurses use. English-only training leaves out anyone who works in Thai. Give them the reporting route in Thai, and ask them to say in their own words what they would do.

Read more on translation and localisation of safeguarding training.

Corporal punishment is banned. The End Corporal Punishment report says Ministry of Education rules have excluded it in schools since 2000. The same report says an amendment to Section 1567 of the Civil and Commercial Code extended the ban to the home and other settings on 25 March 2025.

Put the rule in your own policy anyway. Staff and parents may hold different views of discipline, so write the rule down and train staff on it.

The Thai Embassy in The Hague explains how to apply for a Thai police clearance certificate from abroad. Thai nationals give fingerprints at the embassy, and other nationals give them at a local police station. It warns of delays if documents are missing or a record is found.

Nation Thailand reported in July 2026 that criminal record checks on foreign nationals now need fingerprints and an official letter. Rules change, so check with the police or your embassy before you promise a start date.

Also ask candidates for police certificates from every country where they have lived. See safer recruitment for international schools.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Confirm current law with local counsel and the relevant authority. The Thai texts are the authoritative versions, and the English translations linked here are aids.

Then work through this list in your first weeks. Each item is a document or a phone call.

• Find your school's licence and check which accrediting body on the Ministry's list you answer to.
• Post 191, 1669, 1387 and 1300 where staff and students can read them.
• Ask your lawyer which office counts as a report under Article 29 in your province, and write it into your procedure.
• Make sure no rule stops a teacher from reporting directly to an official.
• Write one procedure that covers Thai law, ITFCP and your accreditor.
• Check where safeguarding records are stored, who can read them and who handles a breach report.
• Put your corporal punishment rule in writing and train staff on it in Thai and English.