National Safe Schools Framework (NSSF)

The ministry of education, arts and culture has been implementing the Integrated School Health Programme in various forms since before the country attained political independence in 1990. School health goes beyond the physical health of the learner, in that it includes the holistic wellbeing of the individual learner, meaning that the school environment should be safe and conducive to learning.

The National Safe Schools Framework (NSSF) is an exciting dimension of the Integrated School Health Programme. The programme focuses on promoting the health, safety and wellbeing of learners and other school stakeholders in Namibia, and the NSSF was developed to provide practical guidance to the schools and school stakeholders on how to systematically improve the standards of school safety, and how to develop a culture of care in any school.

ROLE PLAYERS IN FRAMEWORK ESTABLISHMENT

The ministry appreciates and thanks the learners, parents, teachers, school principals, nurses, doctors, social workers, police officers and others, and the officials of the ministry of gender equality and child welfare, the ministry of health and social services and the ministry of safety and security, who shared their stories, experiences and expertise to make the NSSF relevant to the Namibian context.

NSSF

In line with its comprehensive approach to school safety, the NSSF offers insight into:

1. The root causes of violence and harmful behaviour in the Namibian context.

2. How to recognise the various types of violence and harmful behaviours taking place in schools.

3. The impact of violence on the educational experience of both learners and teachers.

SCHOOLS AFFECTED BY VIOLENT CULTURE

The following are among the characteristics of a school affected by a violent culture:

Low levels of trust between educators and learners

High rates of truancy

Low commitment to school by learners

Lack of parental and community involvement

Unclear and inconsistent forms of discipline

SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL MODEL

In this context, several United Nations agencies and other organisations use a socio-ecological model to explain violent behaviour in school settings. This model differentiates between risk factors at five levels: individual, family, school, community and society. The more risk factors a person is exposed to, the higher the probability that s/he will become involved in crime and violence – as either the victim or the perpetrator.

RISK FACTORS

INDIVIDUAL

Biological, personal history and demographic characteristics:

Lack of awareness of individual and collective rights.

Sex, age, ethnicity, disability.

Sexual orientation and gender identity.

Low level of education.

Low economic status.

Geographic location.

Lack of birth registration.

Living with or affected by HIV or AIDS.

Previous experience of violence (witness, victim, perpetrator etc.)

FAMILY

Family and other close social relationships:

Low value accorded to the girl child in family settings.

Lack of parental care.

Alcohol / substance abuse in family settings.

Intergenerational violence and tolerance of sexual, emotional and physical violence in the family.

Lack of awareness of SBV and the rights of children and adolescents.

SCHOOL

School-level factors:

Lack of knowledge and awareness around SBV.

Lack of school level capacity to prevent, identify and address SBV incidents.

Lack of effective oversight mechanism and teachers / school staff able to perpetrate violence or abuse with impunity.

Lack of safe, secure and welcoming physical spaces within educational settings.

Teaching and learning strategies and disciplinary methods that reinforce violence.

Curricula and teaching methods that do not equip girls and boys with key knowledge, life skills and attitudes to engage in healthy peer relationships and violence prevention

COMMUNITY

Existing social norms and community-level actors:

Lack of culturally appropriate and accessible services to report and respond to SBV, including child protection health and social services.

Tolerance of emotional, sexual and physical violence in the community.

Persisting patriarchal values that support gender inequalities.

Social norms, which discourage reporting of SBV and offer implicit, or even explicit, social sanction.

Politicisation and opposition to girls’ education.

SBV perpetrators not held accountable through weak institutional response / sanctions from the judicial and security services.

SOCIETY

Larger societal factors that create an acceptable climate for violence:

Lack of legislation banning all forms of violence against children, including SBV.

Lack of a comprehensive policy framework to prevent and address SBV.

Lack of coordination between key sectors around SBV.

Persisting and patriarchal values that support SBV.

Lack of sustained teacher training programmes.

Conflict and insecurity.

Culture of impunity and breakdown of the law.

High levels of inequality or exclusion.

High level of corruption in government systems.

TYPES OF VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS

Bullying (verbal, social, physical, cyber)

Corporal punishment

Physical assault

School-related gender-based violence and abuse

Violence against the self and suicide

Gang-related violence

SEVEN MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR SAFE SCHOOLS

Integrated monitoring and evaluation for safe schools

1. Effective prevention of and response to substance abuse in schools

2. Effective prevention of and response to violence and self-harm

3. Effective school leadership

4. Positive and collaborative practices and attitudes

5. Well-defined policies and reporting and referral procedures

6. Child-friendly school infrastructure

7. Establishing the foundation: Safe Schools Questionnaire

SOURCES

Adapted from Global Guidance on Addressing School-Related Gender-Based Violence, UNESCO and UN Women, 2016, and Happy Schools: A Framework for Learner Well-Being in the Asia-Pacific, UNESCO, 2016.