React to the shock of the death of Lindsay, who ended her life in May, in Pas-de-Calais, after being harassed in college. The Minister of National Education, Pap Ndiaye, on Friday asked the principals of the 7,000 colleges in the country to organize an hour of awareness on this subject this week for their 3.4 million students.
“This hour will be an opportunity to recall the way in which the use of social networks can accentuate the phenomena of harassment”, underlined the Minister. An announcement that elicited mixed reactions: “Any awareness is important. But this cannot be improvised. It must be contextualized according to the school climate in the establishment, the age of the pupils…”, explains Nora Fraisse, founder of the association “Marion, the tense hand” for the prevention and the fight against violence and bullying in the school environment.
“A communication operation”
The suddenness of the request angered college principals: “They’re quite angry because it’s too rushed. We are 15 days away from the certificate and the teachers have sometimes organized weeks of revisions. It is also a period of class councils”, indicates to 20 minutes Laurence Colin, Deputy Secretary General of the National Union of National Education Management Staff (SNPDEN). In a statement released on Monday, the FCPE also wonders: “Who will ensure this hour of awareness in the heart of June, as the school year ends? With what tools? With what training? To counter these criticisms, Pap Ndiaye will bring together on Tuesday, by videoconference, the 14,000 heads of establishments (middle and high schools), as well as the inspectors of National Education (IEN) or the rectors, to “remind them of all the levers at their disposal” and “collect their feedback from the field”.
According to Laurence Colin, this awareness hour is above all “a communication operation”, all the more badly perceived by the school principals “as it could suggest that they do not inform the pupils on the subject the pupils during the year “.
A lot of awareness already
However, since the start of the 2022 school year, the pHARe anti-harassment program has been generalized to all middle schools and elementary schools. According to the Ministry of Education, last May, 86% of colleges and 60% of schools were already registered. In particular, it provides for the creation of a team trained in these issues (composed of CPEs, AEDs and teachers) in each establishment, which can be mobilized when cases of harassment arise. In addition, 10 student ambassadors are appointed in each college. Trained in identifying problematic situations, they also know the procedure for reporting them. The program also includes 10 hours per year devoted to the prevention of bullying and the development of psychosocial skills. “This can be workshops, debates with students, role-playing…”, explains Nora Fraisse. To give pupils a reminder, three highlights are also scheduled during the school year: the non-harassment day, the non-harassment prize and the Safer Internet day.
“We organize these moments of sensitization with associations approved by the National Education and trained on these questions. They are therefore never improvised,” emphasizes Laurence Colin. And according to Nora Fraisse, this work pays off: “When the pHARe team is complete and all the time for reflection is offered, this has a real impact on the school climate. »
Other measures requested
To improve prevention, the actors of the educational community believe that it should above all be granted more resources: “We must continue to train teachers so that they can identify the worrying signs. It is also necessary to recruit school nurses on a massive scale so that there is at least one per establishment, ”says Laurence Colin. For its part, the FCPE calls for “dedicated funds to finance prevention projects, which have already proven themselves, at the level of each department”. But also agreements with the GAFA so that the algorithms identify surges of hatred…
Pap Ndiaye announced last week increased resources for alert and listening platforms on the subject, 3020 (for families and victims) and 3018 (on cyberbullying). But that is not yet enough, according to Nora Fraisse, who considers it necessary to also strengthen the allocations for associations like hers, which parents often contact when their child is in distress: “We received more than 8,300 calls this year. whereas we are only 4 employees and 30 volunteers”, she underlines.