The situation highlights the importance of identifying rising tensions between young people at an early stage. A school cannot do this alone; cooperation with the police – and in some cases with the local tripartite consultation body – is therefore indispensable and valuable. All parties then work together to restore a sense of safety, with each having their own role to play.

Even when no concrete threat of violence against a school has been identified, it can still be a difficult situation. What do you do about the unrest and uncertainty among teachers, parents and students? You want to acknowledge those concerns as well. It is understandable that school management may decide to keep the school doors closed for a while if this helps to reduce the unrest. You can make this decision yourself or do so based on advice from the tripartite consultation body.

It goes without saying that at times like these, attention should be paid to the impact of this threat – which is not always concrete – and to the sense of insecurity experienced by all students, parents and staff. School & Veiligheid advises schools to restore predictability and regularity when the school doors reopen. Trust needs to grow again, and careful, clear communication from the school can help with this.

How School & Veiligheid can help you

As an education professional, you can contact School & Veiligheid if you would like advice or information on how to deal with this at school. Questions may arise such as: what should we communicate and what should we not communicate? And who should we inform, and who should we not inform? How do we respond to questions from the press? How do we prevent rumours on social media? The staff of the Advice Centre of School & Veiligheid can advise you on these matters based on the situation.

In a crisis situation, School & Veiligheid can also deploy one of its crisis advisers. They help restore the normal daily school routine as quickly as possible.

Preventive measure: make sure your protocols are in order

There is no single protocol for all schools. However, you can have a crisis plan that includes a step-by-step procedure. Based on risks that depend on the school and the situation, you can include various scenarios in it. This ensures that everyone within the school knows who should do what in each situation. It is also clear whether and when other parties should be involved.

Scenarios you can prepare for:

  • It is unclear whether or not there is a threat.
  • The level of threat is uncertain.
  • The level of threat is low.
  • The level of threat is serious/acute.

School & Veiligheid advises you to get these scenarios in order during ‘peacetime’. Fortunately, we see that this is usually already the case. However, maintaining the protocols is necessary to ensure that all those involved are familiar with them; make time for this as well.

Gut feeling tool

As part of its preventive work, School & Veiligheid developed the Gut Feeling Tool. Its purpose is to piece together information by sharing information and observations and comparing interpretations. This creates a more complete picture of a young person. Your foundation is good contact with your students and creating a positive school climate in which you can also address one another when things are not going well.