13/04/2011 Session
PACE today expressed serious concern about the high number of acts of violence committed in schools, mainly involving attacks by pupils with or without weapons, bullying and harassment among pupils, sexual violence and acts of hostility or even aggression against teachers by pupils. In a resolution adopted today on the basis of a report by Gvozden Srećko Flego (Croatia, SOC), the Assembly advocates a series of measures for education against violence at school, which parliaments should endorse at national level.
These measures involve the legal framework and administrative practices, using school curricula to raise awareness among pupils, training teachers and school staff, preventive and supportive measures, getting pupils and their families more involved and monitoring the measures implemented.The parliamentarians added that it is necessary to take action at different levels and involve all key players, in particular families, teachers and pupils, in order to combat violence at school effectively.
At the same time, the Assembly called on the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to ensure that work on children and violence remains a priority for the Council of Europe in future programmes of activity. In its recommendation, it also urged the next Standing Conference of European Ministers of Education to devise, in close co-operation with the competent steering committee of the Council of Europe, holistic educational policies against violence at school.