What We Stand For

Our School Motto: Making a Difference

Our purpose at South Island School is to recognise the ways in which we, as individuals, can make a difference to the world around us. Our learning philosophy and environment promote freedom of thought, expression, and action. We educate all students socially, emotionally, and academically to help them make informed decisions and take action responsibly.

We believe that individual success will be demonstrated when our students are happy, adaptable, and curious thinkers who thrive in an inclusive, diverse, and compassionate community. Our aim is to offer the opportunities and guidance for them to become honest, responsible and courageous global citizens. We want all of our actions as a community to promote learning, diversity, equity and inclusion, and the holistic concept of sustainable futures.

Our Mission

South Island School’s Mission is to promote Well-Being, Learning, Global Citizenship and Sustainability, through all aspects of our school. We expect our students, staff, and community to embed our Mission objectives within everything they do, as they strive to achieve the ESF Vision for every student to be the best that they can be.

Our Values

At South Island School, we :

Nurture : We work to nurture ourselves, our society and our planet and take personal responsibility for a sustainable future.
Respect : We approach and engage other people with respect and honesty.
Practice Self-Awareness : We manage ourselves and our learning by developing self-awareness, resilience and courage.
Commit : We use our initiative and commit to making a difference by being creative, resourceful and reflective.
Are Open-Mnded : We explore our world with open minds and compassionate perspectives.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

ESF upholds every child’s right to learn and live in conditions that protect them from harm.

At ESF we prioritise Safeguarding and Child Protection. Through our actions, we promote the optimum development of our students' intellectual, physical, emotional, and social wellbeing. Wherever possible, we aim to prevent harm through our safeguarding actions, and if harm has occurred, we respond through our child protection procedures.

All ESF staff are trained in preventative and protective measures, with each school having at least two dedicated Child Protection Officers on site to lead on this critical aspect of student life.

Our policy and procedures are based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Hong Kong law, and additional guidance from international sources such as Keeping Children Safe, and the International Task Force on Child Protection.

Our policy is built on four core tenets:

We respond: All our actions are proactive and responsive, guided by strong policy to ensure we do all we can to safeguard and protect our students.
We support: We work in hope, towards a future without child maltreatment, in close collaboration with our students and their families. We understand the specific context they live in, and support them in a culturally sensitive manner.
We connect: We engage and partner with local and international support services, with our communities, and with each other through the ESF Child Protection Officers Network.
We develop: The field of Child Protection is always in motion; we constantly strive to improve our approach. We refine and review our actions, with the aim to constantly better ourselves.

ESF South Island School - Child Protection Officers

Lucie Purves, Vice Principal (Guidance & Well-Being) (lpurves@sis.edu.hk)
Hin-Hey Lam, Head of Phase (Y12 & Y13) (hlam@sis.edu.hk)

Laura Beaumont, Head of Phase (Y10 & Y11) (lbeaumont@sis.edu.hk)
Syrita Nicholas, Head of Phase (Y7-Y9) (snicholas@sis.edu.hk)

By enrolling their children at ESF, parents agree to work in partnership with us and abide by the ESF Safeguarding and Child Protection policy and procedures.

Download ESF Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the centre of who we are at ESF.

We are a community of over 18,000 students and staff from more than 70 nationalities and cultures, with a history stretching back over 50 years. We recognise the importance of creating an environment where everyone is treated equally, with dignity and respect, and appreciated for who they are.

This is integral to our vision, mission and values as a leading international school organisation, committed to developing and inspiring every student to be the best that they can be.

Each school within ESF holds a shared vision to create a welcoming learning and working environment, including online, where everyone is valued and supported, so that each and every person in our community can thrive. We believe this is a key driver of our excellence and empowers our students and our staff to reach their fullest potential.

We are aware of our critical role in shaping the future generation of global citizens and are committed to constantly assessing and challenging our own diversity, equity and inclusion practices to ensure we are doing our very best for our students, staff, parents and the wider community.

Our commitments:

To provide students with an equal opportunity to access education and the support they require to enable them to flourish and truly be the best that they can be.
To embrace diversity and celebrate the uniqueness of each student through our personalised learning approach in all ESF kindergartens, primary, secondary and all-through schools.
To educate students and staff on the importance and impact of positive diversity, equity and inclusion policies, practices and behaviours through normalising speaking up, identifying learning opportunities, and holding regular training, awareness events and campaigns.
To promote equitable practices in all of our operations and be fair in the way we deal with all aspects of recruitment and employment.
Not to tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, including online, against any student or member of staff such as in relation to gender, pregnancy, breastfeeding, adoption, marital status, age, family status, belief, race, disability or sexuality.
To constantly work on improving our focus and accountability in relation to diversity, equity and inclusion; to have personal responsibility and commitment to learning and growth in these areas; to provide regular training and professional development opportunities across all levels of the organisation; to be transparent about our efforts and our progress in reaching our goals; and to highlight and challenge our unconscious biases and be open to ideas for change and improvement.