Suspensions Won’t Protect Our Children - Prevention Will

The recent suspension of seven teachers in the Eastern Cape for alleged sexual harassment has once again thrust the issue of learner safety into the spotlight. [1] 

These stories have become all too familiar: allegations surface, officials respond with disciplinary action, and communities are left to pick up the pieces. The cycle repeats, but little changes.

The hard truth is this: suspensions are reactive. They address the problem after harm has already occurred. For learners, that is too late. For parents, it undermines trust. For schools, it damages reputations and exposes them to legal liability.

It is time to acknowledge that our education system has a prevention problem.

The Legal Duty of Schools

South African law is unambiguous about the duty schools have to protect children. Section 45 of the Sexual Offences Act prohibits anyone listed on the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) from working with children. Similarly, the Children’s Act prohibits individuals listed on the National Child Protection Register (NCPR) from occupying positions of trust in environments where children are present.

Schools, School Governing Bodies (SGBs), and principals are not just encouraged — they are legally obliged - to ensure that all staff are screened against these registers. Failure to do so is not a minor oversight; it is a breach of duty that places learners at risk and could carry legal consequences for institutions that ignore it.

And yet, many schools still rely on outdated, piecemeal, or informal checks. This is why stories like the Eastern Cape suspensions continue to emerge.

The Cost of Reactivity

When schools fail to screen effectively, three outcomes follow:

1. Learners are exposed to preventable harm.  Allegations only surface after abuse has occurred, l leaving children to endure trauma that might have been avoided.

2. Communities lose faith in schools. Every scandal chips away at the trust between parents and educators. That trust, once lost, is hard to rebuild.

3. Institutions are exposed legally and reputationally. A single lapse in compliance can damage a school’s reputation and raise serious questions about negligence.

Suspensions may seem like decisive action, but they do nothing to address the underlying weakness: failure to screen and prevent unfit individuals from entering the system in the first place.

A Preventative Solution: Sentinel Sure

This is where Sentinel Sure offers a path forward. Sentinel Sure is a programme designed to help schools meet their compliance obligations while safeguarding learners in a practical, reliable way.

Through Sentinel Sure, schools can:

• Screen staff, volunteers and contractors against both the NRSO and NCPR registers.

• Integrate compliance into recruitment, ensuring only fit and proper individuals are employed.

• Maintain ongoing checks, so protection is not a once-off event but a continuous safeguard.

• Document and prove compliance, giving schools a record of due diligence to protect against liability.

In short, the Sentinel Sure programme is both a deterrent and a solution. For potential offenders, the knowledge that screening is mandatory may discourage them from even attempting to enter the system. For schools, the process offers peace of mind, knowing that they are doing everything legally and ethically required to protect learners.

Changing the Culture of Safety

Child protection cannot be an afterthought. It must be embedded into the culture of every school. That means:

• Proactive screening of all staff and service providers.

• Transparent policies communicated to parents and communities.

• Regular audits to ensure compliance is not only claimed but demonstrated.

Tools like Sentinel Sure make this possible by transforming legal obligations into a manageable, structured process. But ultimately, it requires a shift in mindset: from reacting to scandals, to preventing them.

A Call to Action

The suspensions in the Eastern Cape should not be seen as an isolated incident. They are a symptom of a broader systemic gap in how we approach child protection in schools.

Suspensions will not protect our children. Prevention will.

It is time for every school, every SGB, and every education authority to make child protection non-negotiable. Implementing systems like Sentinel Sure is not simply compliance — it is leadership. It is what our children deserve, what our communities expect, and what the law requires.

[1] Daily dispatch, Friday September 19, 2025