Child Protection & Safeguarding

Child Protection & Safeguarding

Last updated: 21 August 2026 · Reviewed annually

The welfare of the child is our paramount concern. Every child at Sunset Montessori School has the right to learn in an environment where they are safe, respected and listened to.

This commitment is not separate from our Montessori philosophy — it is the ground it stands on. A child cannot become independent, curious and confident unless they first feel secure. Safeguarding is therefore everyone's responsibility at this School: proprietor, directors, teachers, administrators, support staff, drivers, volunteers and visitors alike.

What we commit to

• Treating every child with dignity, and protecting them from physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse, neglect and exploitation.
• Listening to children and taking what they tell us seriously.
• Recruiting staff carefully and training them to recognise and respond to concerns.
• Acting on every concern promptly, and recording what we did.
• Working openly with parents, the Ghana Education Service, the Department of Social Welfare and the Ghana Police Service where a child may be at risk.
• Reviewing this policy every year, and after any serious incident.

We uphold the rights set out in Ghana's Children's Act, 1998 (Act 560) and the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, and we operate within Ghana Education Service guidance on the protection of pupils.

How to Report a Concern

If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call the Ghana Police Service on 191 or 112 first. Then tell us.

Raising a concern with the School

Anyone — a parent, a pupil, a member of staff, a neighbour or a visitor — may raise a safeguarding concern, and you do not need proof to do so. A worry is enough. It is our job to look into it, not yours.

• In person: come to the Administration Office and ask to speak to the Designated Safeguarding Lead. You will be seen the same day.
• By phone: 024 451 2060, asking for the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
• In writing: email [email protected] with "Safeguarding" in the subject line, or write to the Administration Office, Box KS 17940, Adum-Kumasi.

Please note that our general contact form is not monitored outside office hours and should not be used to report an urgent concern. Use the phone number above instead.

What happens next

1. The Designated Safeguarding Lead records what you have told us, in your words, on the day you tell us.
2. The concern is assessed the same day. We consider the child's immediate safety first.
3. Where the threshold is met, we refer the matter to the Department of Social Welfare and, where a criminal offence may have occurred, to DOVVSU of the Ghana Police Service.
4. Parents or guardians are informed, unless doing so would place the child at greater risk — for example where a parent may be the source of harm.
5. We keep a written record and follow up until we are satisfied the child is safe.

Confidentiality

Safeguarding information is shared only with those who need it to protect the child. We cannot, however, promise a child or an adult absolute secrecy: if a child is at risk of harm, our duty to protect them comes first, and we will say so plainly at the time.

If your concern is about a member of staff

Report it directly to the Proprietress or a Director rather than to the Administration Office. If the concern is about the Designated Safeguarding Lead, report it to the Proprietress. If you feel unable to raise it with anyone at the School, contact the Department of Social Welfare or DOVVSU directly using the numbers on the Support & Helplines section of this page.

No member of staff, pupil or parent will be penalised for raising a genuine concern in good faith.

Our Safeguarding Team

Every school should name the people responsible for child protection so that parents and children know exactly who to go to. Ours are:

Training

All staff receive safeguarding induction before they begin working with children, and refresher training thereafter. The Designated Safeguarding Lead undertakes enhanced training and keeps it current.

Code of Conduct for Adults

These rules apply to every adult working at or visiting the School. They exist to keep children safe and to protect staff from misunderstanding or false allegation.

Expected behaviour

• Treat all children with respect and consistency, and maintain clear professional boundaries.
• Work in open, visible spaces. Avoid being alone with a single child behind a closed door; where a private conversation is necessary, keep the door open or ensure another adult is nearby and aware.
• Use positive guidance and the Montessori approach to self-discipline.
• Report any concern about a child, or about another adult's conduct, without delay.

Never acceptable

• Corporal punishment of any kind. The School does not permit caning, slapping, pinching or any other physical punishment, whatever the circumstances.
• Humiliating, belittling, shouting at, or verbally abusing a child.
• Any form of sexual contact, sexualised language or inappropriate touching.
• Private contact with a pupil through personal phone numbers, personal social media or messaging apps. All communication runs through official School channels — consistent with our policy that parents also contact teachers through the Administration Office.
• Transporting a pupil alone in a private vehicle, or taking a pupil to a private home, without the express written consent of the parent and the School.
• Giving gifts to, or receiving gifts from, an individual pupil outside of School-sanctioned occasions.
• Photographing pupils on personal devices.

Breach of this code is a disciplinary matter and may be referred to the police.

Safer Recruitment

Keeping children safe begins before a member of staff joins us. For every role that brings an adult into contact with our pupils, we:

• Publish a clear job description that states the post's safeguarding responsibilities.
• Require a full employment history and ask about any gaps in it at interview.
• Take up at least two references, including one from the most recent employer, and verify them directly rather than relying on a letter handed to us by the candidate.
• Verify identity, qualifications and professional registration against original documents.
• Require a Police Criminal Record Check from the Ghana Police Service before an appointment is confirmed.
• Include at least one safeguarding question in every interview.
• Operate a probationary period with safeguarding induction completed at the start of it.

Volunteers, student teachers, contractors and regular visitors are subject to proportionate checks and are never left unsupervised with pupils until those checks are complete.

Visitors sign in at the Administration Office, wear a visitor badge, and remain accompanied while on site.

Photography, Video and Media Consent

Images of children are personal data and can, if handled carelessly, put a child at risk. We treat them accordingly.

Our rules

• Photographs and video of pupils are taken on School-owned devices only, never on staff personal phones.
• We publish an image only where the parent or guardian has given written media consent, recorded on the child's file at enrolment.
• Consent is optional and may be withdrawn at any time in writing to the Administration Office. Withdrawing it will never disadvantage a child.
• We do not publish a child's full name next to their photograph without specific additional permission.
• We never publish a pupil's contact details, home address or class list.
• Group images are preferred over individual portraits for publicity.
• Children who do not have media consent are kept out of shot, not asked to stand aside in a way that singles them out.

Parents photographing school events

You are welcome to photograph your own child at our events for family use. Please do not post images containing other people's children on social media without those families' agreement — some children are protected by court order or family circumstances that you cannot know about.

Removing an image

To have an image taken down from this website or our channels, contact the Administration Office and tell us where it appears. We will act promptly. Full detail is in our Privacy Policy.

Online Safety

Children meet risk online as readily as anywhere else. We address it through teaching, through supervision, and through clear rules.

At school

• ICT lessons are supervised, and School devices are filtered and monitored.
• Personal electronic devices — mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, games consoles — are not permitted on campus. Items found are confiscated and returned only to a parent or guardian after a discussion.
• Online safety, kindness and privacy are taught as part of ICT and of our values programme.
• Pupils are taught to tell a trusted adult immediately if anything online worries or frightens them, and that they will never be in trouble for doing so.

At home — how parents can help

• Keep devices in shared family spaces rather than bedrooms.
• Know which apps and games your child uses, and check the age rating.
• Use parental controls on the home connection and on each device.
• Talk regularly and without alarm, so your child comes to you early rather than hiding a problem.
• Tell us if something that started online is affecting your child at school — we would far rather know.

Communication channels

Official School communication with families goes through the Administration Office, the Communication Book and the Portal. Staff do not contact pupils privately on personal accounts, and any message claiming to come from the School through an unofficial channel should be reported to us.

Anti-Bullying

Bullying is behaviour that is repeated, intended to hurt, and involves an imbalance of power. It may be physical, verbal, social or online. Bullying is not tolerated at Sunset Montessori School.

Our approach

• We teach kindness directly through our SUNSET values — particularly Unity and Nobility of Character.
• Staff supervise the times and places where bullying is most likely: arrival, break, lunch and dismissal.
• Every report is taken seriously and investigated, whether it comes from a child or an adult.
• We support the child who was harmed, and we work with the child who caused harm to change the behaviour rather than simply punishing it.
• Parents of both children are informed and involved.
• Incidents are recorded so that patterns are visible over time.

What a child should do

Tell any adult in the school you trust — your class teacher, another teacher, or anyone at the Administration Office. Telling is not "reporting" and it is never wrong. If it is easier to write it down than to say it, write it down and hand it in.

What a parent should do

Contact the Administration Office. Bringing it to us early gives us the best chance of resolving it quickly. Please do not approach another child or another parent directly — it rarely helps the child and it is covered by our Parent Code of Conduct.

External Support and Helplines

You do not have to come to the School first. If you are worried about a child — ours or anyone's — these services can help directly.

Related School policies

• Privacy Policy — how we handle personal data, including images of children.
• Parent communication and Parent Code of Conduct
• Student expectations and prohibited items
• Student Code of Conduct

The full Parent–Student Handbook, which contains our complete child protection procedures, is issued to every family on enrolment and is available on request from the Administration Office.