Free and Safe Education Act strengthens social safety

1. Having a clear overview

The Act requires schools to register safety incidents and immediately report serious cases to the inspectorate. Examples include violence, sexual harassment, discrimination, threats and drug use. Registrations may not contain names, but may nevertheless indirectly include personal data.

The duty to report, consult and notify the authorities (MOA) in cases of sexually inappropriate behaviour is being expanded. In future, this will also apply to cases of sexual harassment by people working within the school directed at pupils and students, including in secondary vocational education and higher education.

In addition, the student safety monitor will be expanded with more specific questions about issues such as bullying. Primary school pupils from year 6 onwards will take part, provided they are able to do so.

2. Support and guidance

Schools are required to appoint both an internal and an external confidential adviser for pupils, staff and parents. Small schools (with up to 150 pupils) only need to have an external confidential adviser. These individuals must be able to work independently and professionally and must report annually.

Schools must also have an internal complaints procedure, clearly stating how complaints are submitted and handled. In addition, affiliation with a national complaints committee is mandatory. The committee’s decision must in principle be adopted, unless compelling reasons require otherwise.

3. Evaluation

Schools must include social safety as a structural part of their policy. The safety policy is evaluated annually on the basis of, among other things, incident registrations, pupils’ and staff members’ perceptions of safety, and advice from confidential advisers. This evaluation must be discussed with the participation council.

In addition, appointing a safety coordinator will become mandatory. This person is responsible for the entire safety policy, including the anti-bullying policy.

The Act strengthens existing measures and emphasises the importance of the joint efforts of staff, pupils and parents to create a safe school culture. Stichting School & Veiligheid provides various practical resources and support for this purpose.

Read the complete article of School & Veiligheid here.