In recent years, the number of reports of threats and violence in schools has increased significantly, with most cases involving school staff being subjected to violence by students, according to the Work Environment Authority. Threats and violence can result in physical injuries, such as scratches and bites, as well as psychological consequences, such as post-traumatic stress syndrome. More people working in schools are now on sick leave due to problems with threats and violence.
In the Work Environment Authority's inspection, over 1,500 schools were examined, and deficiencies were found in over 1,100 of them. Many of the schools also had multiple deficiencies that needed to be addressed.
Exposed
We have looked at different parts of the work that schools should conduct to prevent threats and violence. It can involve what routines they have, risk assessments, and whether the routines they have, such as working methods and safety routines, are actually adapted to the specific school, says Hansson.
Many of the deficiencies concerned the fact that the systematic work environment work did not meet the standard. In six out of ten cases, it was the school principals, who are responsible for the work on the work environment, who had not sufficiently assessed or investigated risks.
In the end, it's actually about employees and students being exposed to events related to threats and violence to an excessive extent.
Have Rectified
Both independent and municipal primary and secondary schools in different parts of the country were part of the inspection, which was conducted between May 2023 and October 2024.
What is required overall is that you must prioritize the basics, i.e., work environment issues. You must ensure that people come home and are as healthy after work as they were before, says Kristian Hansson.
The Work Environment Authority's follow-ups show that the school principals usually rectified the deficiencies that were pointed out. Several principals have also said that the inspection led to them learning how to set up work to prevent risks of violence and threats.
The issues are not unknown in the school system. I think people see the challenges. And therefore, the possibility, the willingness, to rectify deficiencies is very great.
