When discussions about this arise in classrooms, they can be accompanied by intense emotions. Some teachers may therefore avoid such a discussion, even though they consider it important. Stichting School & Veiligheid can support them.

Not having to stand alone

Conducting a safe classroom discussion requires more than the individual skills of an individual teacher. This teacher also wants to know that they can rely on colleagues when starting such a difficult classroom discussion.

So, in fact, you conduct a safe classroom discussion as a team. Together, you determine which vision you want to convey – and which behavioural agreements go with it. This enables every team member to feel supported during such a difficult discussion. A shared vision (with corresponding agreements) is one of the six building blocks for creating a safe school climate. School & Veiligheid supports schools in shaping these building blocks. We also support teaching teams with training in pedagogical dialogue on socially sensitive topics.

Tailor-made projects

Christian Orthodox schools also want to have safe conversations with pupils about sensitive topics. Among other things, they can receive support through a tailor-made project. This project creates space within a school to jointly explore which steps are necessary and possible for a high-quality conversation about gender and sexual diversity, both among the pupils and within the team itself.

With this approach, we want to respond to the questions pupils experience around faith and sexual diversity. Within a teaching team, the discussion often concerns the tension between, on the one hand, the school's religious vision and core values and, on the other, a safe environment for all pupils to discover and develop themselves.

These tailor-made projects consist of a combination of a performance that can evoke recognition of questions about identity among all pupils, teacher training focused on practising a safe classroom discussion, and a meeting with Christian Orthodox LGBTQ young people who recently completed secondary school. For this purpose, School & Veiligheid works together with Theater AanZ and the Christian educational organisation Homo in de Klas, commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The projects, collectively called ‘Stil Verdriet’, are developed and carried out in close cooperation with the schools. A school can begin with the component that feels safest or best suits the school: tailor-made support for a safe conversation in every school.

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