Essen's 'School as a Safe Place' Initiative Approved for September Session
Essen's city council is set to approve a comprehensive safety initiative, 'School as a Safe Place', in its September session. This follows the recommendation of the committee for school, education, and science, which approved the first measures on 10.09.2025. The concept aims to enhance safety in schools, building on existing measures and addressing current youth crime issues.
The 'School as a Safe Place' concept includes several preventive and structural-technical measures. Starting with 14 schools, doors will be equipped with lock cylinders featuring turn knobs for quick and secure locking in case of danger. This will affect 682 doors in total, at an initial cost of around 147,400 euros. Additionally, external signage will be optimized at 14 locations to aid emergency services in orientation during emergencies.
The pedagogical aspect involves training teachers in violence prevention programs. This will initially cover 21 schools, with around 20 teachers trained per school. The total cost for these preventive-pedagogical measures is estimated at around 258,600 euros. Furthermore, the theater-pedagogical program 'My body belongs to me' will be funded for all third-grade classes at elementary and special schools in Essen to prevent sexualized violence.
The effectiveness of these measures will be evaluated annually. Based on these evaluations, additional measures such as alarm systems or visual barriers may be considered. The financing for the initial phases of the measures is provided by the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The 'School as a Safe Place' concept, approved by Essen's city council in July, is a significant step towards enhancing school safety. With a focus on structural improvements, teacher training, and violence prevention programs, the initiative aims to create a safer learning environment for students. The annual evaluation of these measures will ensure their continued effectiveness and may lead to the implementation of additional safety measures in the future.
