From Commitment to Culture: Making Safeguarding Visible

On October 17, our Head of School, Lorne Schmidt, and Whole-School Safeguarding Lead, Gareth Owen, joined a powerful lineup at the City University of Macau for a seminar hosted by Cradle of Hope and CityU. Their keynote, “Implementing the Whole-School Approach in Safeguarding Student Mental Health,” reframed safeguarding as a culture—not a department. A shared, daily responsibility.

At our school, that commitment is reflected in our daily-life: from classroom culture to staff training, to signage to well-established, confidential systems for reporting safeguarding concerns. It’s designed to be accessible, trusted, giving students and staff clear pathways to speak up and seek support. It’s not just about responding, it’s about creating a climate where care is visible, and wellbeing is protected through shared responsibility. Because when children know they’ll be heard and protected, we create the conditions for real wellbeing.

They also joined a panel discussion on challenges and solutions in student mental health safeguarding, alongside clinical psychologists, educators, and social workers. Every voice reinforced the same truth: children thrive when home, school, and community work together.

Thank you: We’re deeply grateful to the organizers City University of Macau as well as the Cradle of Hope, a local NGO whose work in children and youth continues to shape safer, more inclusive communities across Macau. Their mission reminds us that safeguarding is a commitment that spans every space a child inhabits.

We’re proud to have contributed to this vital dialogue, and prouder still to stand alongside those who make safeguarding real.