Search by subject?
Type your subject here
Social safety at school.
It is important that your child feels happy and safe at school. This makes your child's school time more fun and helps your child develop better. What is social safety exactly? How does the school ensure it? What rules apply? And what can you do if your child does not feel safe? Read it here.
What is social safety?
A school is socially safe when your child can be themselves, is not afraid, and feels safe. This means your child feels ‘free’ and there is a positive and safe atmosphere at school.
What does the school do for a safe environment?
Every school must provide a safe environment. This is stated in the law on safety at school. The school must work hard to create a nice atmosphere and clear rules. They must act against inappropriate behavior, intimidation, bullying, theft, and aggression.
Obligations for the school
The school must:
- Have an active safety policy to stop bullying.
- Check if students feel safe at school.
- Make sure a person is responsible for the anti-bullying protocol.
- Provide a contact person whom parents and students can talk to about bullying.
Policy about safety
Schools can decide how they ensure a safe environment. But they must have a policy about safety. This includes social safety.
The school writes in a safety plan how they ensure a safe environment. The school guide also has information about this. For example, who the contact person for bullying is, what actions the school takes for a safe environment, and what happens if something bad occurs at school.
Research on social safety at school
Schools must keep track of how safe students feel. Every school must check social safety every year.
The school asks in this research at least about:
- How your child experiences safety at school
- How your child feels at school
- Preventing incidents at school
How does the school research social safety?
Every school chooses how to research social safety. Most schools use a tool made by an external party. For example, a questionnaire for students and parents.
If the school uses another method, the research tool must be valid and reliable and meet legal requirements. The research must also give a good picture of students’ experiences.
You can find a list of tools that meet legal requirements on the website of the education inspectorate.
Contact person bullying and anti-pest coordinator
Is your child being bullied? It is good to know that every school must have a clear contact person for parents and pupils. The school must also make someone responsible for the anti-bullying policy. Preferably, this is not the same person.
Supervision social safety by the education inspectorate
The education inspectorate checks if schools follow the rules about social safety.
If the school does not follow the rules, has incidents, or the inspectorate gets signals that the school is unsafe, they will talk with the school to improve the situation. In serious cases, the education inspectorate gives sanctions.
For serious situations, the education inspectorate has a special team with trust inspectors who can support you and your child.
Related Subjects
Paarse vrijdag
What is purple friday and how do primary schools, secondary schools and mbo pay attention to it? Read everything about it.
Read moreGender identity at school
Gender identity: what does it mean? How can you handle it as a parent? And how does the school pay attention to this?
Read moreWhat works against bullying at school?
Bullying can be hard to stop. What works and what does not?
Read moreAll about cyberbullying
What is cyberbullying exactly? How can you recognize it? And what role does the school have?
Read more