Duty to report abuse rests with the teacher, circular says

Local child abuseschoolsteachersTop News Duty to report abuse rests with the teacher, circular says Education Ministry Demands Western Limassol School Board Reverse Work Suspension Relevant News Duty to report abuse rests with the teacher, circular says 17 August 2026 A 16-year-old swaps the beach for the courtroom 17 August 2026 Aigialousa fell without a fight on August 17, 1974 17 August 2026 newsroom 17 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The legal duty to report suspected abuse of a child rests with the individual who learns of it, not with the school, according to a Primary Education circular issued ahead of the new school year starting on September 14. Educational bodies, among them the Ministry of Education, report frequently that children who have suffered violence of any kind, whether inside or outside school, confide in their teachers. That points to the role teachers play and the relationship of trust they can build with pupils, as well as the school’s own responsibility on these questions. Telling a head teacher does not discharge a teacher’s own legal responsibility to report the case or pass the report to the authorities, the circular says. “The legal obligation to report does not belong to the school, but to the person who comes to know of the abuse of the minor,” it states. Where a child discloses abuse to a teacher, the school management should work with that teacher to make the reporting process easier. Every case of family violence against a minor, as set out in the relevant legislation, is a criminal offence and must be reported to the competent authorities, the circular says. Schools are required to report any incident of violence or suspected violence against a minor pupil to the relevant Social Services Office or District Welfare Office, in a named, written report, within three days of it coming to their attention. The school phones the local office first and then sends the written report, with a copy to the Attorney General immediately and no later than seven days. Informing parents or guardians is not a legal obligation of the school, according to the circular. The school sends the written report to the Social Welfare Services with or without the consent of the adults involved, and decides whether and when to tell the pupil’s parents or guardians about it, even where those parents or guardians are considered the perpetrators. The local Welfare Office handling the case informs them of the report. What a teacher should do Where a child tells a member of staff that they are subject to violence at home, the circular says the teacher receiving the disclosure should reassure the child that they were right to speak up, give them particular attention and note carefully anything the child wishes to disclose. The teacher should report the incident immediately to the head of the school’s Family Violence Case Management Team, who informs the other members. The team then works on the case together with the person the child spoke to. The teacher should record anything considered important, including the date, time and place of the incident, the name of anyone the child mentioned or who was present and may have seen or heard something, and any observations about the child’s physical condition. The notes should be substantive and as accurate as possible. The teacher should then explain to the child what happens next, reassure them, and confirm again that they were right to report it. The written reporting procedure follows. A different route applies where a child reports that another child has been abused. The same reassurance is given, and the information goes verbally to the head of the team for further investigation. If that investigation points to possible violence against the child, the team proceeds to a written report as soon as possible. The same applies when any other person tells teaching staff that a child is being subjected to violence, or may be. The member of staff informs the head of the team immediately, who activates it to look into the information, and a written report follows if the investigation points to possible violence. The Family Violence Case Management Team The circular refers to the Revised Manual of Interdepartmental Procedures for the Management of Family Violence Incidents, which contains a separate chapter for the Ministry of Education and covers the handling of incidents reported on school premises. Every public and private school, from nursery and primary through special schools to general and technical vocational secondary education, must appoint a team under this name. The team is responsible for handling family violence cases reported on school premises, and is activated only for that purpose. Information given to its members by individuals or services is confidential and handled in strict confidence. In nurseries and pre-primary education the team consists of the head of the nursery as team leader, a nursery teacher, the relevant educational psychologist and a School Health Service officer, either a health visitor or a school doctor. In primary and special schools it is the head teacher as team leader, a teacher, the relevant educational psychologist and the same School Health Service officer. In general and technical vocational secondary education it is the head teacher as team leader, a school counsellor, the relevant educational psychologist and the same School Health Service officer. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News A 16-year-old swaps the beach for the courtroom Aigialousa fell without a fight on August 17, 1974 Giving voice to the women raped in 1974 Fire guts abandoned Limassol house, arson suspected Firefighters free trapped driver after Nicosia crash Paphos resurfaces its worst roads in three months Cypriot businesses accept cash least in the eurozone Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.