The French Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sport wants schools to offer each pupil a setting in which they can develop and progress. In September 2021, the Ministry therefore launched a twofold plan to combat harassment and to prevent racism, anti-Semitism, sexism and LGBTphobia.

To combat harassment, the pHARe Programme has been generalised to all primary and secondary schools at the start of the 2021-2022. The programme has four main objectives: first, to provide all schools and collèges with a structured prevention plan. It also has to ensure the safety and well-being of students by acting directly on the school climate, as well as to provide security for teaching teams by guaranteeing the traceability and predictability of public action. Finally, the programme has to enable the creation of a protective community, which is trained and fully committed to the fight against harassment in each school. Moreover, schools must sign a charter in which they pledge, among other things, to implement pHare, to set up a team of five agents to monitor the application of the protocol or even to set up awareness-raising workshops for families and pupils. 

In terms of discrimination, the Ministry is continuing its policy of combating homophobia and transphobia, by including it in the process, which is coordinated by the Interministerial Delegation for the Fight against Racism, Anti-Semitism and Anti-LGBT Hatred. The 2021-2022 school year will thus be marked by the implementation of the National Action Plan for Equal Rights, against anti-LGBT+ hatred and discrimination 2020-2023. In concrete terms, this will result in the establishment of a working group on the prevention of LGBTphobia in each academy, the production of guidelines to harmonise the reception of trans students, and finally the training of staff through courses dedicated to the accompaniment of issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

More information :  MENJS - Dossier de rentrée scolaire 2021-2022

Source :  Eurydice Unit France