Have a safe school year!

Dear school community and parents!

I call on you to make a concerted effort to ensure that from the first day of school, every child in Estonia would feel safe on their way to school, as well as being at school. As in previous years, there are police officers and volunteers near schoolhouses and at major crossroads during the early days of school to help children reach their school safely. It is up to you, the school staff and parents, to contribute to the safety of every child at school. I urge you to do your best to keep our schools free of bullying.

Children spend nearly a third of their day at school. Teachers share their classrooms with children and pass by them countless times in the hallways, canteen or schoolyard. So this is your chance to notice signs of bullying, be it giving silly nicknames or nudging each other. It is up to us as adults to react and intervene. Every school has its own code of conduct to deal with bullying and most schools have support staff to intervene and seek solutions. Every school has their own juvenile police officer you can contact. I encourage you to ask for help as soon as you notice the first signs of bullying or a child in need of assistance. The longer the practice of bullying lasts, the more difficult it is to get those involved in it out of the circle. Bullying incidents that remained unresolved last year are likely to continue this year. Children who were bullied at a previous school may continue to experience bullying at their new school. Let us work together to prevent bullying at school and to provide assistance to both the victims and the bullies, as the bullies can often be victims of bullying themselves.

And dear parents, you can talk to your children at home about their worries and the things they have noticed at school. Sometimes all you need to do is to find some time to listen to your children and build a relationship of trust with them. It is important for the parents to explain what bullying is, so that the children could notice it at school. Even if children talk about incidents of bullying that have not directly happened with them, it is worth informing the school. Sometimes ugly incidents happen when the teacher is not in the classroom. At times bullying takes place in social media and therefore it is not possible for the teachers to be aware of it. In addition, there are places in the schoolhouse where there are no teachers, be it a windowless toilet where the lights are constantly being turned off in order to bully someone or a shower room where spiteful students use their mobile phones to take photos of others. Any feedback from the parents can help the school to find solutions for stopping and preventing bullying. Listening to your children and supporting them may ultimately help those young people who are unable to discuss their concerns at home.

Safety Guidelines are available to everyone on the Internet. They were compiled as a supportive guide for the parents of children going to the first grade to assist in creating a safe environment for growth.

Please provide children with information on an around-the clock Child Helpline 116 111, where children can call with any worries at any moment.

Have a safe start to the school year!

Maarja Punak
Police Lieutenant