This blog post is part of the School redesign and neighbourhood redevelopment: A longitudinal study of educational success and well-being study. To learn more about the larger study, visit our projects.
How does school redesign affect student and school staff safety?
Safety signs posted outside school doors in the redeveloping neighbourhood.
How do students, school staff, parents and school-based key informants view safety during school redesign?
School Safety During the Transitional Period
During the school redesign process when the Redesign School students were transferred to feeder schools (FS1 and FS2) while the school was under construction, many students reported bullying incidents between the two student groups. Some mentioned that the presence of teachers was helpful, but that more intervention was needed for a smoother, safer transition. Some students and school staff believe it was the issue of territory and school rivalry that caused the bullying and physical fights.
School Safety in the New Redesign School
Upon returning to the newly-redesigned school, many of the older students felt safe in the new building because of the new alarms, better security cameras, emergency lights, smoke detectors, sprinklers and places to hide during a lockdown. They also felt that less fights were occurring because of new play equipment and because the school yard was more easily monitored by staff.
Many school staff found that the reopening of the school resulted in fewer behavioural incidents and improved safety with new equipment and play areas. The newly redesigned school included large floor to ceiling windows. Both students and staff reported the large windows as a safety concern. Some staff and younger students felt less protected because of how exposed they felt to the outside neighbourhood.
Many students reported that their feelings of being unsafe in school were associated with losing friends as a result of the process of neighbourhood redevelopment and relocation ongoing in the community.
What are the takeaways from this study? Students’ feelings of safety are related both to the feeling of support they have from school staff and the built environment. Students and staff perspectives matter and should be included in both neighbourhood redevelopment and school redesign projects.
This report is based on focus groups with students (aged 4 to 13), divided into Primary, Junior, and Intermediate grade groupings, and focus groups with teachers in 2013 and 2014.
Click here to read more about student and school staff perspectives on safety during the school redesign.
To read more about the School Redesign and Neighbourhood Redevelopment: A longitudinal study of education success and well-being study,click here.
Document citation: Patel, S., Ranjbar M., Cummins, T., & Cummins, N.(in press). Safety and inner city neighbourhood redevelopment: Student and teacher perspectives. Education and Urban Society.
