Plan against discrimination and offensive treatment

Introduction

This plan describes Hvitfeldtska Upper Secondary School's work against discrimination and offensive treatment.

The overall goal of the school's work against discrimination and offensive treatment is that all students should be able to feel safe regardless of gender, transgender identity or expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or other belief, functional variations and age.

Harassment, sexual harassment and abusive treatment are not accepted at the school. If this does happen, it should be possible to quickly get help and support so that the violations stop.

The plan must be known to staff, students and guardians. Pupils and staff must be familiar with the legislation relating to pupils' rights and staff obligations, which aims to ensure a safe school and workplace for all.

The work concerning the rights of pupils and the obligations of the staff shall permeate the entire operation and be reflected in approaches, teaching, rules and procedures. Together we create a school for everyone.

This action plan is for you as a student at Hvitfeldtska Upper Secondary School, so that you feel safe and feel good when you are at school. Both students and staff have a shared responsibility to create a school where we respect each other and no one is treated badly.

If you notice that someone is being victimized or if you are being victimized yourself, you need to talk to an adult at the school. There are many people to turn to, such as mentors, counsellors, school nurses or principals. All adults at the school have a duty to listen to and act on what you say. Look under the heading Who should I turn to? to find the name, phone number or email address of the student health staff. 

We in the IB Program are additionally guided by our Mission Statement and our embrace of the IB Learner Profile Attributes.

In order for our young people at Hvitfeldtska Upper Secondary School to feel safe and thrive, students, school and parents need to take joint responsibility. Your task will be to talk to your young person about how to treat other people, but also push them to dare to tell an adult at school if they see or otherwise perceive something that feels wrong.

If you suspect that your young person or any other student at the school is being exposed to something, we expect you to contact the school, primarily with a mentor, counsellor or principal.

Note: Pupils' right to equal treatment and the school's obligation to work actively to prevent discrimination and offensive treatment are described in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Discrimination Act, Chapter 1. 3 

Key Concepts

Discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and abusive treatment are central concepts in the Discrimination Act, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and in the Education Act, but what do they mean?

Discrimination

Discrimination means that a person has been disadvantaged or violated and that there is a connection with a ground for discrimination.

The law contains seven grounds for discrimination: gender, transgender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or belief, disability, sexual orientation and age.

Harassment

Harassment is an act that violates someone's dignity and that is related to one or more of the seven grounds for discrimination. It can be comments, derogatory jokes, gestures or ostracism.

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is a behavior of a sexual nature that violates someone's dignity. In addition to comments and words, it can be that someone, for example, grops or throws intrusive glances. It can also be about unwelcome compliments, invitations and allusions.

Offensive treatment

Offensive treatment is an action that violates a student's dignity but is not related to any ground for discrimination.

Offensive treatment can be:

●        Physical, as in e.g. pushing, kicking, punching, restraint.

●        Verbal, as in e.g. insults, nicknames, gender words, profanity, threats.

●        Psychosocial, as in e.g. faces, gestures, sighs, looks, rumours, ostracism.

●        In text or image form, such as in e.g. SMS, MMS, email, social media, notes, letters, graffiti.

Violations that are carried out repeatedly over a long period of time are called bullying.

 Everyday disputes

Conflicts are part of everyday life and are part of life. Sometimes conflicts can lead to positive changes or be a driving force forward, while in other cases it can affect the people negatively and create difficult situations that are difficult to get out of. Students can often resolve conflicts on their own but sometimes need guidance from adults.

Important to know!

Staff at Example Upper Secondary School who become aware of abusive treatment, harassment or sexual harassment have an obligation to act and report this to school leaders. The principal is responsible for reporting and investigating the matter and for taking action when necessary.  

Division of responsibilities and contacts

The principal is responsible for ensuring that the plan against discrimination and offensive treatment is known to everyone at the school and that the routines in the plan are followed. The principal has the overall responsibility for ensuring that an investigation is carried out if the school becomes aware that harassment, sexual harassment or offensive treatment has occurred.

The mentors are responsible for informing and explaining the plan to their mentor students. The mentors can also be involved in handling cases of abusive treatment.

The student health service consists of several different professional groups with different areas of responsibility. The school nurses and school counsellors are responsible for acting as a support when they become aware of harassment or offensive treatment. The school nurses are responsible for compiling answers to questions from the health conversations regarding values and offensive treatment. The student health service together with the principal is responsible for investigating cases of harassment, sexual harassment and abusive treatment.

Staff All staff at the school are obliged to draw attention to and intervene against, and report harassment, sexual harassment and offensive treatment to the responsible principal. All staff must also reflect on the norms and values that they convey and strive for equal treatment. The staff shall be given the opportunity to submit views and suggestions before the school management makes a decision on the current Plan against Discrimination and Offensive Treatment.

The students at Hvitfeldtska Upper Secondary School should, if possible, try to prevent violations, either by telling any staff at the school about the incident or by speaking up. The students are involved in the work partly by participating in evaluations of safety at the school and partly through representation in the student council where they come up with proposals for promotion and preventive measures. 

Who should I turn to if I have experienced violations?
If you are unsure who to turn to if you have seen or experienced harassment, sexual harassment or abusive treatment, you can turn to your mentor. You can also turn to the student health service at the school, see contact information below.

Student Health Team at the IB Pre and Diploma Programme 

All can be contacted via messaging through Vklass to which all students have access.

Krista Baker, Principal

Kristina Weiler, Counselor

Helena Lönn Ljungqvist, Nurse

Marie Hamlin, Special Educator

Routine for abusive treatment, harassment or sexual harassment

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DISCOVER DISCRIMINATION/OFFENSIVE TREATMENT?

• Investigation and documentation: As soon as any staff becomes aware of harassment or abusive treatment, an investigation is conducted.

• Police report: If someone breaks the law within the school area, a police report is made.

• Investigation conversation: In the first instance, the mentor conducts an initial investigation conversation with the student who feels violated.

ACTION PLAN (school management, teachers and other staff)

• Take the situation seriously.

• Investigate quickly.

• Talk to the person who feels offended.

• Document the course of events and conversations.

• Provide support to the victim.

• Follow up to ensure that the violations have stopped.

ADVICE FOR VICTIMS OF ABUSIVE TREATMENT

• Speak up!

• Make a note of what happened.

• Contact staff at the school that you feel safe with.

• Seek support from the student health service.

• Tell us what has happened.

• Accept an offer of support and help!

The principal is responsible for ensuring that the incident is investigated. The investigation is carried out in collaboration with the mentor and the EHT.  If the principal delegates the investigation, he or she must stay informed of the matter. 

The principal sends the investigation to the principal when it is completed, but no later than one month after it was started. 

Monitoring and evaluation of measures

The measures taken to bring the violations to an end must be followed up, evaluated and documented. The reason is that the business must be able to ensure that the events do not repeat themselves.

Appendix 1: Rules of conduct

The Hvitfeldtska IB community embraces the IB Learner Profile and we support one another to strive to demonstrate a balance of all 10 of the attributes. By embracing and demonstrating the LP attributes, we work proactively towards a respectful community that values learning together.

However, there are some actions we must outline which are not to be tolerated by any member of our IB school community or those actions which must simply be followed. By their nature, these actions work against the Learner Profile Attributes and the mission for learning we have in the program.

IB Program Rules

We do not tolerate:

Offensive behavior on the grounds of any of the 7 grounds for discrimination, according to Swedish law.

Offensive behavior that results in a person or persons feeling de-valued or disrespected.

Students or staff being exposed to violence, threats of violence, oppression, bullying or other offensive acts.

Knives or other weapons being brought to school.

Stealing or harboring stolen goods

The use or possession of drugs such as narcotics, anabolic steroids, or alcohol at school, or anyone being under the influence of drugs during school hours.

Smoking on the school premises, including vaping or e-cigarettes.

Mobile phones that are disrupting the learning atmosphere (one’s own or others).

Putting up posters or advertising without permission.

Unauthorized students or other visitors on the school ground.

Not following safety, clearning or other staff or teacher's instructions.

Graffiti, littering or damage.

Gambling.

Academic Dishonesty.  (See also the IB Academic Integrity Policy)

Everyone is obliged to:

Take note of and follow given rules and safety regulations, use prescribed protective devices as instructed by school staff.

Follow instructions from the school staff, including instructions about keeping the work space clean and tidy.

Understand where and how to reference the IB Program Policies and Important information.

Appendix 2: Disciplinary measures

The school acts and takes action if you violate the school's rules of conduct.

The principal and teachers choose the appropriate measure with the help of the action ladder and with support in the Education Act. The mildest measures are used in less serious cases and the more severe measures in serious cases, repeated disturbance or dangerous situations.

The action ladder*

1. Warning, expulsion, detention (5 kap. 7-8 §§)

2. Taking away of objects (5 kap 22-23 §§)

3. Investigation and associated measures (5 kap. 9-10 §§)

4. Temporary placement in another program/class within the same program at school. (5 kap 12 §)

5. Temporary placement in another program at school or another school (5 kap 13§)

6. School suspension from parts of the education or in entirety. (5 kap 17-21 §§)

 *Jurisdictionally specific to Swedish School Law in the PreDP year, relevant also to Diploma Program but the jurisdiction is upheld by the internal IB Program School Policies

Special notes about consequences

Police reporting:

Suspicion of violation of Swedish law must be reported to the police. Burglary of personal premises and theft of personal items are reported by the person who has been the victim of the crime.

Other notes:

A student who is caught littering and unacceptable behaviour in the school canteen must be expelled and be reported to the principal. A student who repeatedly ignores these requirements in the school canteen be suspended from school lunch.

A student who is caught cheating is reported to the principal. Proven cases of cheating may lead to a written warning and If repeated, the student may be suspended from teaching. In addition, opportunities for premiums from funds linked to the school.

In case of suspicion of storage of drugs, alcohol, weapons, stolen goods or other things that are contrary to Swedish Act, the school management has the opportunity to open the cabinet and dispose of this content in accordance with Chapter 5, Section 22 of the The Education Act. The seized items must be documented in writing.

Crime prevention efforts

As part of our work with drug-free schools, narcotics dogs may be used for preventive purposes, without suspicion of crime, to search the school's premises. This takes place outside the regular schedule time.

Appendix 3:  Program Specific Sections (HVG 5)

Follow-up and evaluation of targeted initiatives during the academic year 24-25 (HVG 5)

Last year's activities are found below in "Structure for Promotion and Prevention Activities". All activities are sustainable and built into the school year and can be evaluated as effective: Our student and staff behavior and the results from the Standards and Practices survey show that we effectively promote healthy behaviors we wish to see in our students and staff.  Even so there are identified areas we can work to improve which are written about in the sections following. 

Targeted initiatives for academic year 25/26 (HVG 5)

In the IB Programme Standards and Practices survey, we could see the following initiatives should be targeted for the 25-26 school year. 

• Stronger modeling of the IB Learner Profile by staff. Especially in ways that will resonate with Year 3 students.

• Mentor Check Ins.  This will be a place for student and mentor teacher to build a relationship over 3 years.  A quick individual check will be focused on that which is most important to student learning:  attendance patterns, study habits, and overall well-being. There will also be a regular question regarding if they feel treated with dignity and respect by all stakeholder in the community. 

• School wide and in between programs: raising awareness of deragatory treatment from students in one program to another.  Start a dialogue and plan with other Principals and Counselors for how we can work more preventatively so this doesn't happen. 

Risks of disrimination and degrading treatment 25/26 (HVG 5)

The risks of discrimination and degrading treatment continue to be online within social media. This is why one of our regular workshops with the counselor and other student health team members bring this into focus. Another risk is in between lessons, in the hallways, IB students sometimes hear deragatory comments from students in other programs, spoken in Swedish. 

Structure for Promotion and Prevention Activities

The school's promotion work is ongoing all the time with the goal of creating and strengthening positive conditions for equal treatment in school and at WBL. Everyone in the school, both students and staff, must be involved in the promotion work. The promotional and preventive activities generally aim to create a sense of community, a sense of community and basic security in the school.

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At the start of the school year, this Plan is mentioned in various startup meetings. It is especially focused upon when the Counselor meets new students in year 1 for a workshop focusing on case studies-these are typical scenarios we have seen happen. Students can discuss the scenarios, think about how they would respond, and also get to know the laws regarding some of the issues as well.  This workshop raises awareness of The Plan and its importance. 

Prior to the start of a new school year, or just at the start, the school nurse summarizes anonymous data from the health talks. This allows us to home in on aspects we should pay special attention to in the school year.**

Each year in November or in Spring, year 2 students will take part of a survey about the school study environment. This is then analyzed within the team to determine which areas we should either try to get more information about, or, plan measures to make needed improvements. The results are also shown and discussed as part of the Class and Program Council activities. **

As-needed reactive measures from complaints or observations can also become part of the promotion and prevention activities because the Principal can shed light on what kinds of things students are experiencing as offensive, what actions are taken and we thus tend to plan preventatively from that in the future.**

Mentor Check Ins and Development Talks: a one on one check in with mentor teacher and student will build relationships and will have a regular question about topics connected to this plan.**

The IB curriculum has built-in requirement that all teachers are working on Approaches to Learning skills which include collaboration and communication within and among students. The same is true for the IB Learner Profile attributes.  

Other school-wide routines support promotion and prevention of offensive treatment:

Pedagogical lunch opportunity for teachers and "getting to know you" activities at the start of the school year, and, later in the school year when it's an Outdoor day. 

Structure for Mapping out How Students Thrive and Experience the School Environment

In order to find out how students thrive and experience the school environment, these areas need to be continuously mapped and investigated in the activities. Mapping is an important part of designing the school's ongoing equality work.

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During the year, the mapping activities that will take place are marked above with an asterisks (**). 

Additionally, in school year 24-25, there was a survey done with all students against the IB Programme Standards and Practices. Because many standards or practices are connected to school culture and well-being at school, it lent itself to being a good mapping tool which then in turn can contribute to identifying promotive measures for non-discrimination and learning-complimentary behavior.