The International Taskforce on Child Protection (ITFCP) has updated its safer recruitment resources. The update includes a new reflection chapter by Pauline O’Brien of ISS, along with practical templates and tools to help schools put safer recruitment into practice.
As a founding member of the ITFCP, ISS is proud to have contributed to this work.
A Decade of Safer Recruitment
The first ITFCP Safer Recruitment Checklist was developed through a global consultation in 2015 and 2016. At the time, recruitment practices across international schools varied widely, and there was little sector-specific guidance. The checklist was updated in 2024, and we covered that version in our earlier post on the ITFCP Safer Recruitment Checklist.
The new chapter doesn’t replace the checklist. Instead, it looks at how safer recruitment has evolved since 2016. The core principles haven’t changed, but schools now understand much better where recruitment processes work well and where vulnerabilities remain.
As Pauline writes, “It is easy to view safer recruitment as a process. In reality, it is a safeguarding intervention.”
Four Lessons for Schools
The chapter highlights four lessons from the past decade:
- Consistency matters more than policy. Safeguarding is rarely weakened by missing procedures. It is more often weakened when procedures are applied unevenly, assumptions go unchallenged, or questions aren’t followed up.
- Concerns show up in patterns. Warning signs usually appear through gaps, inconsistencies, or omissions rather than a single piece of information, which makes professional curiosity essential.
- Hiring pressure creates risk. When timelines tighten for leadership, specialist, or hard-to-fill roles, safeguarding discipline matters most.
- Responsibility can’t be outsourced. Agencies and screening providers can help, but the school remains accountable for deciding who is suitable to work with children.
The chapter also looks ahead. As AI changes how applications and interview preparation are done, verifying that information is authentic may become as important as assessing a candidate’s competence.
Read the chapter and explore the Safer Recruitment Checklist, templates, and tools →
