DISCOVERY TAKES CHILD WELFARE VERY SERIOUSLY, AND IT IS OUR NUMBER ONE GOAL TO MAKE SURE THAT A CHILD IS SAFE AT SCHOOL. TEACHERS AND STAFF ARE ALSO PROTECTED UNDER THE LAW.

​

Rationale​

As an IBO Candidate School, the School Environment Plan promotes well-being, learning and conduct. It also adheres to The Education Act §12. All students are entitled to a safe and positive school environment that promotes health, inclusion, wellbeing and learning. The School Environment Plan identifies the school’s preventative actions, as well as the procedures for following up individual concerns regarding a student’s wellbeing at school. Students, staff and parents/guardians have a shared responsibility to create and maintain a positive school environment. The student’s subjective experience of their school environment and consideration of what is in the best interest of the child, is paramount.

​

The School Environment Plan applies to both School and SFO (When operating). The plan applies to all activities organised by school, regardless of location. The School Environment Plan also applies to the journey to and from school.

​

Preventative Work

Discovery International School works systematically to promote a good school environment. Preventative measures are targeted at the school community.

​

An overarching foundational concept is trustworthiness. Being trustworthy is a building block for everything else we aspire to become. Every student in our school can tell you that our simple definition of being trustworthy is: Doing the right thing even when no one is looking.

​

Additionally, the school community is provided opportunities and guidance to develop Learner Profile Attributes and Approaches to Learning.

​

Learner Profile – we encourage our school community to be:

• Principled – We act with a strong sense of fairness and honesty, taking responsibility for our own actions. We respect the dignity of all members of the school community. We stand up for what we think is right and truthful.

• Communicators – We communicate concerns in order to solve problems and we recognize when help is needed.

• Caring – We show empathy, compassion and respect to all school community members. We strive to make a positive difference in our school environment.

• Thinkers – We make informed decisions to improve and contribute to a positive school environment.

• Reflective – We think carefully and positively about our actions, with the goal to learn from our mistakes. We can identify strengths and areas of improvement in ourselves.

• Knowledgeable – We understand the importance of our role as participants in creating a positive school environment.

• Inquirers – We wonder about our learning. We are willing to learn new strategies to improve our school environment.

• Balanced – We maintain a healthy balance between work and play. We know when to take some down time, but also demonstrate perseverance when necessary

• Open-minded – We appreciate our own cultures and personal histories while seeking and evaluating a range of points of view that may be different from our own. We recognize that others with different perspectives may also be right.

• Risk-takers – We are brave and articulate in defending our beliefs positively. We adopt an independent spirit to explore new ideas, which may be outside our comfort zone.

• ​

Approaches to Learning – we encourage our community to develop the following:

• Self-Management Skills – make informed choices, think before you act

• Social Skills – take responsibility for one’s own actions

• Communication Skills – positive interactions in all forms (written, verbal and online)

• Thinking Skills – reflect on personal interactions and evaluate the impact

• Research Skills – make connections between individual rights and responsibilities

​

PYP and MYP programmes – explicit and implicit learning related to student well-being and building community is found throughout the curriculum.

​

Preventive measures

• Trustworthiness is emphasized in every class

• IB Learner Profile emphasized regularly

• The school uses the following book as a core curriculum for social interaction: Have You Filled a Bucket Today? Author: Carol McCloud

• §12 Button - Anyone in the school community can make a report

• Student Council meetings

• Student Council Representative attends Board meeting

• Occasional Surveys

• Conferences (student, parent and teacher) where parents have opportunities to meet with teachers to address both academic, social and emotional well-being

• Student Led Conferences (Celebrating of Learning)

• Regular whole school and programme assemblies

• Parent Committee reps appointed each fall

• Parent Committee regular meetings

• Information meetings for parents identifying rights and responsibilities of students

• Regular reporting

• Teacher organizes peer supports when new students arrive

• Positive noticing

• Students’ well-being is regularly addressed in staff meetings

• Appropriate staff on duty at all times during outside breaks

• Professional Development

• Regular meetings between the school and the School Health Services team

• ​

Actions focused on the physical environment (Education Act §12-7)

• Continuous improvement of the outdoor and indoor areas that ensure opportunities for social and physical activities, positive interaction and inclusion.

• Ensuring that the furniture in the classrooms is appropriate for the activities in respective classrooms

• Continual facility maintenance

• Report physical concerns directly to the Head of School

 

The Duty to Act

There are 5 types of action mandated by Norwegian law.

​

Staff Shall

• Pay attention to whether students have a positive and safe psychosocial environment

• Intervene in cases of bullying, violence, discrimination or harassment whenever possible

• Report to the Head of School/Coordinator if you suspect or are aware of a student who does not have a positive and safe school environment

​​

School Shall

• Investigate any situations where students, parents or other relevant parties report problems with the school environment

• Take action in relation to all identified problems

​​

Pay attention

• ​Actively monitor whether students have a safe school environment

• Be alert and actively observe how the students are doing alone and when interacting with others

• Pay attention to students who are particularly vulnerable

• Pay attention to how students interact among themselves in order to find out if a student does not have a safe or good school environment

• Pay attention systematically during breaks and transition periods.

• Acknowledge the experience of the individual student

 

​Intervene

• ​Intervene immediately and directly in a case of harassment, violence, exclusion or other negative behavior

• Staff members are not obligated to put themselves in danger

• The use of physical force against students is illegal unless there is a need to defend a student, or oneself in an emergency situation

 

​Report

• Low threshold to report - §12 Button

• Staff report to their leader (Head of School or Principal) of ANY suspicion or knowledge that a student does not have a safe and good school environment.

• The Head of School shall report to the Board about serious incidents between students and between students and staff.

 

​Investigate

• ​Low threshold to investigate

• The school shall investigate any suspicion or knowledge that a student does not have a safe and good school environment

• The school shall investigate if a student or parent notifies the school

• An investigation can include observations, assessments, conversations, etc.

• Involved students have the right to be heard in conjunction with the UN Rights of the Child and §104 in Grunnloven. The school should never deny or reject a student’s experience of insecurity or unhappiness at school.

 

​Take Action

• ​Appropriate actions must be taken if a student’s school environment is unsafe

• In assessing and implementing measures, the school shall ensure that the pupils involved are heard, and the pupils’ best interests should be fundamental in the school’s work

• Education Act §12 Action Plan must be written

• The Head of School has the responsibility to inform, or delegate the responsibility, parents about actions taken

• Actions must remain in place until the case is resolved through an evaluation

• The case will remain open until it is resolved

 

​Strengthened Duty to Act

There is a Strengthened Duty to Act if a staff member suspects or is aware that a staff member working at the school bullies, discriminates, violates, harasses, or in any other way offends a student:

• ​The employee must immediately report to the Principal

• If the offender is a member of the school leadership team, the employee shall report to the Chairman of the Board directly

• The Principal shall report to the Board (unless it is without merit, see below)

• Investigations and actions shall commence immediately

 

​If a complaint is without merit, it can be stopped and not reported further (example: claims against a teacher for academic judgment while exercising school policy, pedagogical differences, absence of student/staff member when the claim was made).

 

​Documentation

​The school is required to document the student’s perspective, as well as the suggested actions on the situation in an Education Act §12 Action Plan. The documentation required for the school provides documentation for the benefit of the students and parents in the case, but also for the school, school owner, county governor, and any appeal body.

​Right to Complain

​The school’s goal is to collaborate with parents/guardians to support a safe and positive school environment for all students.  If at any time, the student or parent/guardian is not satisfied with the school’s processing of the case, he/she may contact Statsforvalteren directly. This can be done online, via the Statsforvalteren webpage.

​Concerns related to the physical environment should be reported directly to the Principal. The school is obliged to act on the request for intervention(s) by making a Single Rights decision (Enkeltvedtak) according to the Public Administration Act (Forvaltningsloven).

​

Statsforvalteren’s enforcement in single cases (§12-6):

​Statsforvalteren provides oversight to cases and/or processes. Statsforvalteren ensures that requirements are met regarding the rights of students, parents and the school.

​

Statsforvalteren can reject cases if:

• the case is not presented to the Principal

• it has gone less than one week since the cases was started

• the student no longer goes to the school they are making a complaint about

• they believe that the student has a safe and good school environment

 

Statsforvalteren can require schools to improve the situation related to school environment cases. For example: if routines are not followed, unnecessary delays in handling the case or if measures are inappropriate. In addition, Statsforvalteren can override the school’s Action Plan and provide required measures to individual cases.

​

Statsforvalteren can decide on next steps in accordance with the school’s Code of Conduct (§10-7), or if a student shall change schools (§13-2).

​

​Year Wheel​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​​​​​​​​​​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​​​​​

​

Paying Attention​​​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​​​​

​

Writing an Education Act §12 Action Plan

By Discovery International School

​

An Education Act §12 Action Plan documents and makes visible

• What problem to solve

• What has the school planned

• When to implement the measures

• Who is responsible

• When should the measures be evaluated

​​

In addition, the school must consider:

• What is the child’s situation and needs today? Case Description

• What is the child’s situation when the desired change is achieved? Goal Description

• What is needed to achieve the goals? Measure Description

• How long will the measures last? Timeframe

• How should we find out if the measures are moving towards the goal? Evaluate

 

To succeed, one must think of measures at the individual, group and system levels.

• Individual measures are aimed at individual students, both the student who is offended and the student/s who is offending.

• Group measures are aimed at a group of students, the class or the year level. The goal may be to strengthen student-student or teacher-student relationships.

• System measures are aimed at the school’s own systems and routines, such as inspection routines, the need for more / permanent adults on supervision, risk analysis for school areas – what areas are unsafe, and what can we do about it. System initiatives can also involve / include competence enhancement in classroom management, relationship work, inclusive teaching and more.

• Health measures can be useful to include in an Education Act §12 Action Plan. However, the school does not have the opportunity to impose tasks on the health sector. The school should nevertheless inform and guide students and parents about other relevant bodies, and contribute to a holistic collaboration.