Over the past school year and also in the months before that, we have mainly seen the students frequently via a screen. Has this changed the image you as a teacher have of your students? Have you seen home situations that provide you with more information about the student’s context? And has that information led to a different perception of your students? Or did communicating online with the students painfully expose the group dynamics in the chat? In any case, there have been concerns about our students’ learning delays and well-being.

Now that we are allowed to see each other again, is contact back to the way it used to be? Have the new insights and qualities gained found a place in everyday life? The ‘With All Due Respect!’ conference is the ideal place to make time for these questions.

Why is it important to have a clear view of the student?

The individual student

When a child feels heard and seen, they are better able to learn, and we therefore provide better education. When time is pressured, we act quickly based on the image we think we have of a student, but is that image accurate? This conference offers time to slow down and reflect on our everyday actions.

The student in the group

And how can you gain a clear view of your class now that research shows that a teacher recognises only 20% of bullying incidents in the classroom? In addition to seeing the individual child, it is also about seeing the group as a whole.

School culture

What (stereotypical) ideas do you as a teacher have about your student? And what does the student’s world look like? Who are the influential peers and role models? In other words, which challenges need to be overcome and which risk factors are present? This is important input for school policy.

As a school leader, you can use this information to gain insight into the school culture and use it as feedback on the safety policy that has been developed. By having insight into the students’ development—their growing abilities, the effects of the lessons, the culture and interactions—you can adjust the policy accordingly. But how do you ensure that this policy is put into practice? And how do you involve the team, and what role will they have?

Objective

With the conference, School & Safety demonstrates that it is possible to maintain a clear view of one another amid the pressures of everyday life. The conference provides an opportunity for mutual exchange and in-depth discussion of social safety. School & Safety views the theme in relation to promoting a socially safe atmosphere in the classroom, within the team and throughout the school. Because feeling seen contributes to a positive self-image, a pleasant group climate and therefore a socially safe school.

Format

The common thread running through the conference is social safety in relation to pedagogical professionalism. This is the basis from which School & Safety develops its knowledge and products. Various workshops during the conference give expression to this. They provide concrete tools for putting pedagogical professionalism into practice. Support for teachers’ pedagogical professionalism comes from the school leader’s leadership. A special masterclass provides school leaders with tools and inspiration for this. There is also a plenary programme, including a keynote, which has a playful character but a substantively relevant undertone. It prompts reflection.

Target audience

The conference is aimed at education professionals (teachers, internal support coordinators, care coordinators, safety coordinators, school leaders and administrators) in primary, secondary, vocational and special education. It is also a valuable conference for teacher educators and students on second-degree teacher-training programmes and primary teacher-training colleges. Based on previous years, it appears that education experts and national thematic institutes are also interested; they will be granted access on a limited basis.

You can register for the conference free of charge here.