Newsletter No. 14

Illusion vs reality.

Channel Tunnel, 2 July 2026

"Hello, I'm calling you from UK Immigration...” – said a male voice over the phone.

Unknown number, obviously – the only reason I picked up was that I tend to have a strange urge to waste scammers’ time. And, as always, I had one of my standard scripts ready to be deployed:
 
"Hello, it's the Prince of Wales speaking, how can I help?"
 
But just before the undeniably witty words could roll off my tongue, the male voice added: “…from Heathrow."
 
And then it clicked: it was, on this occasion, the actual Home Office calling.

The number was unknown, but the process rang familiar.

Summer has officially begun, and, according to the UK Border safeguarding playbook, the voice on the other end of the phone had to ensure that a driver was indeed waiting for my student on the other side.

The first junior summer school student of the busiest season in Angolnyár’s history.

Is this safeguarding for real?

Now, if you’ve ever worked with me, you’ll know that I do take safeguarding seriously.

You’ve probably never heard me explain to Hungarian parents the safeguarding culture of the UK – but trust me, I like to make sense of every process, even when the audience is not receptive.

So, UK Border agents exercising their duty of care is music to my ears.

Except for one tiny detail in their playbook, which has been bugging me for years, through dozens of similar calls – whether I received them as an agent or a school.

Why is this enquiry into the safety and wellbeing of a minor satisfied by someone saying “yes, of course they’re there” over the phone?

If the Home Office are so concerned, would it not be more appropriate for them to chaperone the minor in question through the airport, and into the safe hands of the very adult waiting for them?

Or is it just me picturing this whole scene as a Monty Python sketch with a clearly dodgy-looking person reassuring the immigration officer over the phone, while driving around in a run-down white van?

Apologies for painting a disturbing scene – but I’m really struggling to understand this process.

Are we just ticking boxes?

Here’s the lesson: if part of your job is safeguarding, please stop for a second and think through whether your processes are still making sense, or they have just become box ticking exercises.

Are you just copy pasting and signing risk assessments or do you really think them through?

Do you rely on a bit of luck in things not going wrong or have you actually worked through every eventuality?

The list goes on…

But my test for safeguarding processes is very simple: if whatever I do under the umbrella (or disguise) of safeguarding feels like a burden rather than something genuinely preventative and/or useful, then I’ve stopped safeguarding and I’m only ticking boxes.

Here’s to a great summer!

With the peak season in full swing, I’m wishing you a great summer ahead, with happy students and staff, healthy margins and world peace.

All the best,

András

András Sztrókay
Founder and International Educational Consultant

Mobile/WhatsApp: +44 (0)7523 385655

WeChat: andras_sztrokay