Creating a safe school for learners with disabilities through ‘safety walks’

About:

Sweden recognises that school safety means that learners can attend school without worrying about being violated, bullied or otherwise treated badly. If a school is designed for those who are most vulnerable, then the school will be safer for all learners. To explore this, the Swedish Agency for Participation carried out ‘safety walks’ at three upper-secondary schools with learners with disabilities. Overall, the authority wanted to investigate the barriers to safety that exist for learners with disabilities and how these can be removed.

A total of 20 upper-secondary learners participated. The learners had different types of disabilities, including cognitive, physical and hearing impairments.

The safety walks were carried out in the whole school environment but focused on places where no teaching takes place, e.g. corridors, dining rooms, schoolyards, toilets and changing rooms (it is known that learners feel most unsafe outside of classrooms). Learners suggested spaces to visit and described their experiences of these spaces. The focus was on the experience of safety, what circumstances contribute to a lack of safety and what could promote increased safety to provide a better environment for learners. Finally, the participants summarised the walk and reflected on the method itself. The walks were recorded and photographed for reference.

Outcomes:

By listening to the learners’ perspectives during the safety walks, the authority identified five main obstacles to safety. The authority began to shed light on and disseminate information about these challenges and how they can be removed at schools. The authority has also encouraged the implementation of safety walks in more environments to initiate discussion and change.

Key element(s) of the VIA Framework:

This local approach to information-gathering exemplifies the SPACE and AUDIENCE elements of the framework. In safe, small-group settings, learners with disabilities were able to share their concerns and experiences with regards to school safety. Their input was heard by the authority, which proceeded to identify key obstacles and consider solutions.

Read about the Swedish safety walks (in Swedish)