● You are having working sessions to try and find a solution to violence at school. Who are those taking part in these sessions?

We have invited all stakeholders responsible for education to sit around the table to discuss on concrete solutions to the issue of violence at school. The ministry of Education, the Bureau of catholic education, the MIE were represented. The PSSA could not send a representative but it is on board. The head of the Child Development Unit was also associated as she has to send officers to schools every time a child is reported to be at risk of harm. She was accompanied by a psychologist and so was the representative of the ministry of Education.

● Who took the initiative for such sessions? Do you have the support of the ministry of Education?

It is the role of the Ombudsperson to ensure that the needs and best interests of children are respected. We have to make proposals to all those who deal with children to ensure they are respecting children?s rights. We therefore took this initiative after having prepared a kit on Violence at school that can be used by teachers. We feel that the MIE must train teachers to prepare them not only to cope with children who have behavioural problems and are not performing properly at school, but also how to apply a form of constructive discipline rather than apply corporal punishment or some outdated forms of discipline.

● Does the idea come from a fact that violence is rising at school? Is the situation worse today? Why, according to you?

We called this meeting because we are getting many cases of children who have been victims of violence at school. Normally we deal with cases of violence at home or in a family environment. But we know that violence at school is often the result of violence in the child?s immediate environment. Violence in fact permeates society as a whole and should be tackled in a holistic manner. Having spent most of my time up to now with violence at home and the chain of protection of children at risk in their own families, I think it is high time to ensure that at least school is playing its social role.

There are occasional cases of teachers who have been victims of violence. These cannot be ignored but one must try and understand why this child is acting this way.

The Child Protection Act 1994 imposes a duty on all personnel of schools to report cases of children who may have been abused physically, morally or sexually or are victims of child neglect in their homes. The kit includes the signs and symptoms, which reveal that a child may be a victim of abuse. Violence seems to be on the increase for many reasons which it is for sociologists to study. But the changes taking place in a rapid developmental mode seem to impact negatively on family life and the social fabric. Children are left to themselves and do not benefit from proper care, guidance and surveillance.

● What type of violence do pupils face at school?

They are victims of bullying by older pupils, harassed or punished corporally by their teachers, and other school personnel. In fact many teachers are very caring. But some, a minority, for reasons that vary, do not seem to understand that children in their care need to be guided by them and not become their punching balls. True it is that some children can be very difficult to manage. We want the ministry to have clear rules for all pupils in all schools to give teachers even clearer guidelines on how to cope with such difficult cases. That is why they need training. Also, if a child is disrupting the class, there must be a good solution for the benefit of all. There are occasional cases of teachers who have been victims of violence. These cannot be ignored but one must try and understand why this particular child is acting this way. We had a teacher who had such a problem and she informed us but she wanted the child to stay in her class to try and help him. This is probably happening all the time but we do not know because we only get desperate cases reported to us.

● Have you been able to plan any concrete measures to fight violence already?

It is a little premature to talk of all the solutions but our kit does provide some good practices and it will be launched soon. It is mainly based on the need to value children, to introduce a well-balanced form of discipline and to encourage self-discipline, dialogue and constructive sanctions. Most important of all, of course, is to create child-friendly schools where pupils want to go. It is essential to organise activities to involve them so that they feel they belong to the school. They should not feel excluded even if they have personal problems that may inhibit their academic performance temporarily. We would also like to see problem-solving become a main interest in each school. There are far too many rustications that are unjustified. Children under 16 must be in school and not pushed out.