Child safety is the single most important responsibility of every adult working in a boarding school environment. For boarding staff, the duty of care extends beyond classroom hours. We are not just educators or supervisors—we are carers, protectors, and trusted figures in a child’s life, especially when home is far away.
Many of our schools are really committed to providing safe, nurturing environments, but commitment alone is not enough. The risk landscape is evolving, and we must ensure our practices evolve with it. This means raising our standards, deepening our knowledge, and embedding a culture of safety that goes beyond compliance—one that is lived every day by every member of staff.
Understanding the Unique Risks in Boarding
Boarding houses are unique settings. Students live where they learn. They sleep, eat, and socialise under the supervision of adults who are not their parents. These blurred boundaries require special vigilance. Risks can range from physical and emotional abuse to neglect, peer bullying, and online exploitation. In many cases, students may not report issues, either out of fear, shame, or simply not knowing who to talk to.
That is why child safety in boarding environments demands more than a general awareness. It requires targeted understanding, proactive leadership, and systematic response mechanisms tailored to the realities of residential care.
Awareness: Recognising Risks Before They Escalate
Awareness is the first step toward prevention. Boarding staff must be able to recognise signs of harm, no matter how subtle. This includes changes in behaviour, withdrawal from peers, expressions of fear or discomfort, or physical indicators of abuse.
Importantly, awareness also means recognising risks not only from adults but from peers. In a boarding environment, unsupervised peer interactions can present risks that must be monitored sensitively and consistently. Staff should feel confident in their ability to identify red flags early and equally confident that their concerns will be taken seriously and acted upon quickly.
Training: Equipping Staff for Real-World Scenarios
Even the most vigilant staff can be ineffective without proper training. Child safety is not just about having the right instincts—it’s about having the right skills.
Every boarding school must invest in ongoing, high-quality training for all boarding staff—not just senior leaders or pastoral care teams. This training should cover:
- Recognising and responding to abuse
- Mandatory reporting requirements in each jurisdiction
- Cultural sensitivity and working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and International students
- Gender and sexuality inclusion
- Boundary-setting and professional conduct
- Managing disclosures of harm
- Trauma-informed care
- Mental health first aid
Training should be practical, scenario-based, and especially tailored to residential settings. It is not a ‘one size fits all’. Specific child protection and boundary training for boarding schools is imperative. Further, it must be refreshed regularly, not treated as a one-off.
Leadership also has a role here. School principals and Heads of Boarding must lead from the front, attending training themselves and setting clear expectations of conduct and vigilance.
Knowledge: Embedding Safety in Systems and Culture
Creating a safe boarding environment is not just about individual action, it is about organisational culture and culture is shaped by what we know, value and reward.
Staff need to understand not just what to do in a crisis, but why certain practices exist. Why are there visitor protocols? Why is it important to document disclosures meticulously? Why are shared sleeping spaces supervised in specific ways?
This knowledge must be embedded into everyday practice - from how rooms are allocated, to how rosters are structured, to how technology use is monitored.
Crucially, students must also be educated. They should know their rights, understand what is and is not appropriate behaviour from adults and peers and feel safe reporting concerns. Schools must build trust through transparency and consistency.
The Role of the Boarding Standard AS5725:2015
To help guide schools in this work, the Boarding Standard for Australian Schools and Residences (AS5725:2015) provides a national benchmark for best practice.
This standard sets out clear expectations around governance, staffing, physical environments, health and wellbeing, cultural safety, and child protection. It is a comprehensive framework that helps schools ensure they are not just meeting their legal obligations, but going beyond them.
Key child safety components in the standard include:
- Screening and suitability of all adults in contact with boarders
- Supervision practices appropriate to age, gender, and vulnerability
- Formalised policies for responding to complaints and disclosures
- Clear separation of staff accommodation and student spaces
- Cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and International students
- Confidentiality and privacy protections for students
Meeting this standard is not just about avoiding risk, it is about signalling to students, families, and regulators that your school takes safety seriously.
For schools that have already met the standard, the next step is using it as a launchpad for continuous improvement. For those yet to adopt it, it is time to make it a priority.
A Shared Responsibility
Child safety is not the responsibility of a single staff member, or even just the boarding leadership team. It is a collective, shared commitment.
It means fostering a culture where concerns are raised early, where questions are welcomed, and where every adult sees themselves as part of the safeguarding framework.
It means acknowledging that child safety is not “extra” work, it is the work.
What Comes Next
As a boarding school sector, we must continue to invest in:
- Clearer national alignment on boarding care standards
- Stronger onboarding for new boarding staff
- External audits and continuous feedback loops
- Platforms for student voice and participation in safety planning
- Peer support networks for boarding staff to share challenges and strategies
The days of informal, ad hoc approaches to safety are over. Our duty is to be proactive, not reactive.
Final Thoughts
Parents trust boarding schools with their most precious responsibility, their children. That trust is earned, and it must be protected.
By strengthening our awareness, training, and knowledge, and by fully embracing AS5725:2015 Boarding Standard, we build not just safer environments, but stronger communities.
The goal is not simply to prevent harm—but to create spaces where children thrive, feel protected, and know they are valued.
Safety is not a checkbox. It is a culture. And it starts with us.
