"Council endorses 'School as a sanctuary' idea"
The city of Essen has taken a significant step towards ensuring a safer learning environment for its students. On July 2, 2025, the city council adopted the "School as a Safe Place" concept, aiming to reduce instances of violence in schools.
This initiative is part of a pilot phase, where up to 20 schools will be funded and accompanied by specialist institutions in implementation and evaluation. The goal is to gain insights from this phase that will later benefit other schools.
The city portal Press and Communications Office is issuing this information, with further details available in attachment 0594/2025/4. The contact details for the city portal Press and Communications Office can be found at presse@our website and www.our website/presse.
The "School as a Safe Place" concept encompasses preventive, technical, and structural measures for violence prevention in schools. Guidelines have been developed for the concept, which apply to all schools, including equipping doors with lock cylinders, installing alarm systems, and using privacy screens on windows and doors.
Schools can choose from a selection of effective violence prevention programs and apply for funding through the city portal. By 2030, all public schools in Essen should have access to general and specific prevention programs from the "Green List Prevention" with the possibility of retraining new teaching staff.
Individual schools may take optional measures based on their risk situation. These measures could include lighting of hidden corners, installation of locking systems on outer doors, use of cameras/surveillance systems, use of security personnel, digital ID systems, and burglar alarm systems.
In addition, an exchange with the state of NRW is planned to create fixed time slots in the schedule for prevention work and emphasize its equivalence to academic instruction. The effectiveness of the measures will be evaluated annually and used to optimize the implementation concept in the future.
While the specialist institutions supporting and accompanying the 20 schools in the pilot phase are not explicitly named, they typically involve collaboration between school leadership, education authorities, and expert organizations supporting school development and safety. No direct specific institutions are mentioned in the search results.
The city council's commitment to creating a safe learning environment for its students is commendable. This initiative is a step in the right direction towards ensuring a more secure future for the city's youth.
