Social safety

Social safety is crucial in fostering a 'sense of belonging'. It refers to the extent to which people feel safe to express themselves, share their ideas and participate in the community without fear of negative consequences or condemnation. Students can evolve and work on personal and professional development much better in a socially safe environment.

Unfortunately, social safety is sometimes breached, as in other parts of society. Often unconsciously, but with consequences for the person it happens to. That is why it is good to dwell on this topic and clarify what we are talking about. An educational environment is safe when the social, psychological and physical safety of students and staff is not affected by the actions of others. Undesirable behaviour (such as bullying), discrimination, polarisation, sexual intimidation, aggression and violence (threats of violence) are unacceptable.

Fontys is actively committed to promoting a safe environment. We do this, among other things, by employing confidential counsellors and making action guidelines available.

Confidential counselor
Undesirable behaviour can occur in an educational environment or a private situation, like domestic violance. In both cases, students and staff can discuss these situations with special Fontys Confidential advisors. They work conform the code Domestic violance and child abuse. These rules help professionals to react appropriately to signals of undesirable behaviour.
Confidential counselor procedure

Handling Guideline

A student may come to you, confide in you and tell you about an unsafe situation. Or you may suspect a student is dealing with a socially unsafe situation. This may have taken place:

  • Within the educational context of Fontys
  • Work placement or minor outside Fontys
  • During the study abroad (related to your study at Fontys).

Your role here is twofold: on one hand, you are a safe haven and point of contact for the student; on the other hand, you are the person who helps the student contact the right people. Together, you examine whether extra guidance is needed and whether Fontys can provide this. But you can also contribute to making the educational environment safer. This handling guideline supports you when a student comes to you and confides in you.

  • Review the information available on this website and the referenced information, regularly and accurately at a quiet moment.
  • Draw your colleagues' attention to this Social Safety website.
  • Discussing this topic at team meetings is essential: Does everyone know how to act when unsafe situations are suspected or reported? To whom to refer?
  • Within Fontys, we have a code of conduct for staff interacting with students. It also applies to internships, graduation places and other places of learning with which Fontys has an agreement—more information.

In addition, it is very wise to clearly understand within your study programme who has affinity and experience in supervising these situations. Also, what does the guidance chain of the study programme or institute look like, and what are the applicable internal referral lines? A student coach or guidance team may have a role to play when this kind of situation arises.

When a student confides in you, the steps below will help you with your guidance:

Empathetic listening attitude

The most important thing is to engage with the student and adopt an empathetic listening posture. It's not immediately about weighing the situation or forming a judgment but about allowing a student to discuss the event. It is about the student feeling heard and supported.

Referral based on the situation

The student's story will reveal the environment in which the event took place. It partly determines who the student can contact best and what you can do internally. So, check whether the situation relates to an educational or private context.

If the student has (had) to deal with (sexual) violence or experiences psychological problems because of the situation that has arisen, it is essential to refer the student appropriately:

  • Advise the student to contact the general practitioner as soon as possible.
  • Advise the student to contact the police as soon as possible.

If the student has (had) to deal with (sexual) violence or experiences psychological problems because of the situation that has arisen, it is essential to refer the student appropriately:

  • Advise the student to contact the general practitioner as soon as possible.
  • Advise the student to contact the police as soon as possible.
Domestic violence

N.B. If you have questions about your duty of care based on your role within the educational environment, don't hesitate to contact your team leader and/or director. The duty of care is legally defined ("is regulated by law"). You can also contact Legal Affairs for further questions about this.

N.B. Heb je vragen over de zorgplicht vanuit jouw rol binnen het onderwijs, neem dan contact op met je teamleider en/of directeur. De zorgplicht is juridisch bepaald (“is bij wet geregeld”). Je kunt ook contact met Juridische Zaken opnemen voor verdere vragen hierover.



Directe links naar:

  • “Handreiking: Hoe je een gesprek kunt voeren over een seksueel geweld".
  • Handelingsrichtlijn seksueel geweld
  • Aandachtsfunctionaris huiselijk geweld
  • Vertrouwenspersonen
  • Fontys Helpt

The student has confided in you; therefore, following up on the situation is essential.

  • Ensure you and the student have the same view on the requested help.
  • Make clear agreements with each other: what steps will the student take, which ones will you, when will you be in contact, and what are the possibilities and what aren't.
  • Check together with the student what contact details the student needs.
  • Make a follow-up/update appointment to ensure completion.

Within an educational context

Within the educational context, we mean the environment provided by one of the Fontys programmes, such as lessons, activities in learning communities or a practical.

  • Make sure the student knows about the Fontys confidential counsellors. Inform them that they are independent and have an autonomous position within Fontys. The student's story is, therefore, completely safe with them. Students are free to choose a specific confidentia counsellor. They listen and discuss the situation and possible next steps. The student is in the lead the whole way.
  • As a student coach, you can always ask for advice from a confidentional counsellor about an anonymous case.
  • If you, as a student coach, notice (structural) insecurity in the educational context, this must also be addressed to the managers. You can also choose to discuss it first with the Fontys confidential counsellors. They can help by discussing what follow-up steps are possible.

Ensure prevention is a topic of discussion in, for example, a (teachers') team meeting. In this way, social safety receives regular attention, and it remains clear how you deal with these kinds of cases within the institute.

For meetings like this, a student coach, someone from the guidance team or one of the confidential counsellors can join or provide input. It is essential to share experiences and that everyone is competent to act.

During internships/minors

As part of every study programme, our students, among other things, work on practical assignments, have (graduation) internships, or study in hybrid learning environments. In all cases, the student works and learns in different environments.

Information in addition to the points mentioned in section 'Within the educational context':

    • You can always inform the student about the Fontys confidential counsellor in this situation.
    • Fontys confidential counsellors can think along in situations like this. It is important to know that confidential counsellors are not authorised to do anything at internship companies, but the integrity code provides a bridge to open the conversation.
    • The organisation where the student works (usually) also has a structure where you can report undesirable behaviour.
    • Discuss the situation (anonymously) with your supervisor. Suppose several signals about this practice environment come in to your study programme. In that case, it is essential for the study programme to start the conversation with the practice environment and to take appropriate steps if necessary.
Many of our students go abroad for a minor at another educational institution. It may be that a student there ends up in a socially unsafe situation and confides in you. The primary advice is: "Every educational institution" has similar support with confidential counsellors. Suppose a student informs you about a socially unsafe situation. In that case, it is wise to work together to see who the student can turn to at the educational institution and refer to them.

Abroad

Students may have to deal with socially unsafe situations at a (partner) university or during a trip abroad. It is good to be aware of:

  • Partner universities (in case of study abroad minors) often have similar support with confidential counsellors. Some institutions refer students to a practice in the city externally.
  • If a student reports a socially unsafe situation, informing the Fontys coordinator internationalisation or coordinator (international) internships is wise thing to do.
  • Students can also contact Fontys deans or psychologists from abroad for an online appointment.
  • If the student is abroad on an Erasmus+ scholarship, there is the possibility of returning home early. The student may retain (part of) the scholarship depending on the situation. Whether there is a right to this will be dealt with by team Study Abroad studyabroad@fontys.nl. The student can get information about the possibilities after returning home. So, there is no need to prioritise this type of administrative action.

Polarisation in the classroom

Fontys is at the centre of society. And so the debate and its associated contradictions can also seep into our work environment or classrooms. Not everyone will experience this equally intensely everywhere, but inevitably, we as education professionals must also relate to this. Time and again, the trick is to take a position, choose a stance, be aware of what to say or say nothing for a while to listen. Because this is far from easy, we want to support you with the toolkit Building Social Cohesion, which the experts at OnPurpose developed.