“We hear from parents and children how positively they experience Spring Fever Week. This is also because schools inform and involve parents well,” says Elsbeth Reitzema, an expert in relationship and sexuality education at Rutgers.
More than 40% of primary schools take part in Spring Fever Week every year. From 4 to 8 March, lessons were given on relationships, resilience and sexuality. Many schools will continue with their lessons in the coming weeks. The aim of Spring Fever Week is to support schools in providing these lessons throughout the year. Once again this year, schools and municipal health services committed themselves with great enthusiasm and expertise. Rutgers is extremely proud of that commitment. Without the hard work of the schools, teachers and municipal health services, Spring Fever Week could not exist.
Students
Children say that they sometimes feel uncomfortable talking about relationships and sexuality in class. But they also consider it important and have many questions. Elsbeth: “Children do not develop only at home, but also at school. They spend time there, discover and learn in groups, imitate one another, are curious, try things out and have many questions. That is why schools have a duty to create a safe environment where children can be themselves and grow up healthy. Relationship and sexuality education that is appropriate to children’s age and experiences contributes to this.”
The theme for 2024 is ‘resilient online’. Children spend a lot of time online. There, they also encounter things that are not intended for them and are unsuitable for their age. For example, 70% of children aged 9–12 sometimes come across nude or sexually explicit images online. This is often accidental and unintentional, because they click on something or because someone else forwards something to them.
Children often have questions about this theme too, as shown by a survey conducted by De Kindertelefoon. Jitse says in a broadcast of the Youth News: “Sometimes people send very strange photos that you actually do not want to see. Then I think: ‘Huh? What is this? I don’t know him; how am I supposed to deal with this? What should I do?’ I think it is very important to learn what you should do and how to feel safe.”
Disinformation and hate campaigns
This year, considerably less disinformation circulated compared with last year. Nevertheless, falsehoods were spread again this year, causing parents and other stakeholders genuine concern. For example, Gezin in Gevaar launched a hate campaign against Rutgers, with new messages every day and even a petition against the Week. They also sent a flyer containing disinformation to all schools in the Netherlands, calling on them to stop taking part in Spring Fever Week. Many schools reported to Rutgers that they did not appreciate this and immediately threw the flyer in the recycling bin. Unfortunately, we also receive reports from schools that teachers are being intimidated by parents on the basis of this disinformation.
Rutgers regrets this troubling development. On the one hand, because teachers and school leaders deserve our fullest confidence and support, as Minister Paul (Primary and Secondary Education) shared in a video message in the run-up to Spring Fever Week. Teachers and schools should be free from intimidation so that they can carry out their important work. On the other hand, because this disinformation prevents us from having important conversations about the importance of relationship and sexuality education and about different perspectives and views on sexual and public health.
The municipal health services
Municipal health services throughout the country made extra efforts this year to inform and involve schools and parents. From a municipal health service in North Brabant: “After every parents’ evening, I felt that parents went home feeling positive. Parents do not always agree with what is being discussed, but they do go home with the feeling that they have been heard and taken seriously. That they can genuinely engage in dialogue with the school. They are also often pleased to gain insight into the teaching materials being used. This removes a great deal of uncertainty.”
The municipal health services see that schools sometimes find it challenging to take all cultures, religions, norms and values into account in their lessons and in their communication with parents. The North Brabant municipal health service: “While one parent may not think it is acceptable for educational illustrations to be shown in class, another considers it normal and important to show them. These can be difficult decisions for teachers to make. This makes it all the more important to inform parents properly before the lessons take place. We see that some schools consciously choose not to participate in the Week, but instead broaden their lessons and address these subjects structurally in their curriculum throughout the year.”