The Peaceable school and neighbourhood

CED groep (school), Peaceable foundation (neighbourhood)

Type of Organisation: Foundation

The Peaceable school is a whole-school approach for primary schools, aiming to cultivate a democratic community where children's voices are heard, and where children and teachers learn to resolve conflict constructively. Students are involved in and learn to adopt responsibility for the good of their community’s social environment.

Since its inception in 1999, the programme has been introduced in more than 1 000 primary schools in the Netherlands. Following increased public attention and a need to fulfil the legal obligation of schools to contribute to citizenship education, the programme was consolidated and elaborated in 2020, towards a more explicit focus on 'democratic citizenship'.

The programme hopes to enhance the capacity of students to act appropriately in daily social situations in a democratic society, namely:

• to accept and contribute to a democratic society;
• to  assume joint responsibility for the communities to which one belongs;
• to resolve conflicts in a constructive way;
• to deal with diversity in a positive way.

Radicalisation is prevented at primary schools by teaching children:

• how to resolve conflicts peacefully;
• that despite individual differences, there is a connection binding humanity;
• how to be responsible for themselves, the class, the school and the community;
• how to influence society.

In many neighbourhoods, the success of the Peaceable school has been extended to the neighbourhood: the Peaceable neighbourhood. With this broadening, a coherent pedagogical approach is introduced in all organisations that work with children and their parents of primary school age in the neighbourhood.

The aim is to anchor the pedagogical principles of the Peaceable neighbourhood in the (pedagogical) policy of the institutions around the schools. These pedagogical principles must be reflected in the mission of the organisation, in the social culture, in the personnel policy (recruitment, coaching, management etc.).

The introduction consists of, among other things: setting up a steering group within the organisation, combining the training of personnel with visits to the workplace and coaching, integration in mission and vision, and anchoring in the organisation.

Part of the introduction is providing training and, among other things, working with handbooks. Material, videos, and information (in Dutch) can be found on the Peaceable neighbourhood app.

Address

CED groep (school), Peaceable foundation (neighbourhood)
Melis Stokestraat 18D,
3515BP Utrecht
Netherlands

Contact person: Annemiek van VLiet
Telephone: +31 652 031 337
infostichtingvreedzaam [dot] nl (Email) | Website