Schools are generally seen as spaces where communities of learners are expected to develop in a safe and secure environment. School management, principal, teachers, other staff and students, all spend around 1/3 part of a day and around 220 days in a year in schools across the states/UTs in India. Therefore, if classes are held for six hours a day, 220 days a year, and a child is awake on an average for 16 hours a day, a child spends 22% of her waking time in a year in a day school. In a residential school on the other hand, a child spends 60% of their life during schooling years in the school. Schools are thus accountable for a substantial chunk of the child’s life, and thus have a huge responsibility to make the stay in schools of all children comfortable, joyful, secure and safe. Therefore, it is important for the school that everyone concerned with school education should understand his/her clear roles and responsibility towards school safety and security. This will lead them to take appropriate action, not only preventive but also developmental, so that risk of any kind of incident which harms students or staff will be eliminated. The Whole School Approach (W S A) is based on a humanitarian and developmental approach integrating a collective sense of responsibility and accountability towards children in particular and society in general. Research shows that multi-component whole-school initiatives involving all the school community are more likely to reduce crimes, violence and bullying behaviours, than single-component programs, such as those involving only classroom curriculum or appointing counselors. A whole-school approach recognizes that all aspects of the school community can impact students’ holistic development including health and wellbeing and that learning and wellbeing are inextricably linked. Given that children spend much of their first 15 years in a school environment, school is not only the focal point of children’s academic development but also their social and emotional development, since it is where they make friends and develops healthy relationships. Safety and security are terms often used together to convey the same meaning; however, these need to be understood separately to further understand the essential steps to ensure school safety and security as a holistic process. ‘Safety’ is understood as a protection against undesirable unintentional threats or dangers, while ‘Security’ is understood as protection from undesirable intentional human behaviours or actions.
A safe school environment is, therefore, one that protects against all dangers and creates an environment of harmony promoting the physical, socio, emotional and psychological well-being of all. The school environment can be understood as the total of all features of school that create the learning environment or effective learning spaces. School environment comprises the physical spaces, the norms, practices and culture and relationships that create the psychosocial environment and links the school activities in such a way that not only ensures safety and security but also effective and productive education and achievement of school goals. School’s physical environment encompasses school buildings, school grounds and surroundings as well as service systems; the social environment includes the norms of behavior, the culture, the discipline, the relationships and the interactions; while the psychological environment encompasses the attitudes, feelings, values and behaviours manifested and encouraged. All this put together forms the school climate and is reflected in the perceptions and the demonstrations of its members, positive interpersonal relationships, recognition of individuals’ needs, success and even failures, support for and building of self-esteem in students and staff and health and well-being of entire school community. It needs the collaborative working of School Management (owners in case of private schools) , PTA, SMC/S M D C (in case of government schools), principals, teachers and all school staff, as well as parents, students and the wider community.
Roles and responsibilities of Teachers: Supporting the Principal in gently orienting students towards the safety and security in general. Teachers should also help set classroom norms and standards that support child safety and security. Collaboratively develop (with students) healthy classroom norms and conduct of
behaviour which ensures a safe and secure classroom environment. Encourage the habit of inquiry and sharing through placing of ‘Question box’/ ‘Opinion box’ and addressing regularly the curiosity and problems of all children. Conduct relaxation exercises such as mindful breathing/yoga either in assembly or in between different periods to improve concentration and reduce stress. Being sensitive in the use of language and refrain from passing judgment on child behaviours to nurture positive attitudes and relationships amongst and with children.
(The author is a Resource Person In Education Zone Mawar of Kupwara district .The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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