Chapter 5: Security, Safety and Health

The International School of The Hague is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We expect all staff, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Article 19: “Children have the right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated, physically or mentally.” Decisions made within the school about a child’s welfare are typically made in “the best interests of the child” (Article 3 UNCRC).

All staff are provided with regular training in regard to safeguarding and child protection, including reporting obligations and procedures where a concern arises. The school will, in most circumstances, endeavour to discuss all concerns with parents/guardians about their children. However, there may be exceptional circumstances when the school will discuss concerns with Veilig Thuis (Safe Home: https://veiligthuis.nl/) and/or the police without parental knowledge (in accordance with the Meldcode - Dutch reporting procedures: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/ onderwerpen/huiselijk-geweld/meldcode). The school will, of course, always aim to maintain a positive relationship with all parents/guardians.

The most powerful safeguarding tool is the education of the child. Through our pastoral programmes we educate our students about how to keep safe, healthy and happy and encourage them to share any concerns they have with appropriate adults.

ISH provides a welcoming and safe place for all children, staff, parents/guardians and visitors alike. We expect all adults on school grounds to model appropriate behaviour and conduct that meets the high standards that we expect of our students. All children, staff, parents/guardians, and visitors must show respect to all other children, staff, parents/guardians, and visitors must show respect to all members of the aforementioned community members.

If you have any concerns about the safety of any of our children, please contact either of the school Principals, the Designated Safeguarding Leads or Deputy Safeguarding Leads who can be contacted individually or via the DSL@ishthehague.nl mailbox which is monitored by the members listed below:

Primary - Michelle Lawrence (Vice Principal), Ingrid McKenna (Assistant Principal Upper Primary); Caroline Lapierre (Assistant Principal Lower Primary).

Secondary - Tanja Dawber (Vice Principal), Simon Teal (Student Wellbeing Coordinator).

All visitors to the school should park in the designated car park opposite the school entrance. Our community is asked not to stop or double park on the road outside the school. Parents/guardians of Primary students can drive onto the school grounds in the morning to drop off their children. This is a 'kiss and ride' arrangement. Wherever possible we encourage families to walk or cycle to school or park a little further away e.g. the bowling alley, and walk into the school grounds. Please see the following three diagrams detailing parking at Ockenburgh Active Bowling (1), the walking route from Ockenburgh Active Bowling to school (2), and limited parking available at a public parking lot opposite the main school entrance.

Please note: parking is free at the Bowling Alley on Mondays, and til 11 a.m on other school days.

All visitors are required to report to Security and then to the relevant Reception Desk (Primary or Secondary). The school has a 'certificate of good conduct' (VOG) of all its employees and externally hired staff. All visitors not employed by the school or hired externally under strict conditions, are considered 'guests'. Parents/guardians - in any role (for example PA, PTA, MR) - are also guests both on the school grounds and within the building.

For the safety of our community, rules apply to our guests. This begins (as mentioned previously) with signing in and registering your planned visit with Security and Reception. Entering the school - especially during school hours when students are in - must always be for a reason agreed upon with the school and, in principle, there should be a member of the school staff to accompany you in doing so. Guests are not permitted to move through the building individually. Whilst we understand that this may feel uncomfortable to a parent/guardian, we trust that you will respect this explanation and that the overall sense of safety and security must prevail in school.

We welcome parents/guardians and other visitors on campus to attend meetings and events, but we do have strict guidelines which we ask everyone to follow.

Firstly we ask parents/guardians and staff to visibly wear their school-issued badge on the school campus at all times. When entering the building everyone is also required to swipe in and then swipe out upon exit. This helps ensure that only people with permission are able to enter the school, and in case of an emergency, we can verify who is in the building. Other visitors to the school are supplied with a temporary badge from the Reception in order to enter the building and will be met at Reception by a member of staff.

All data from the access system is treated with the utmost privacy in accordance with GDPR and Dutch Data Protection laws*. It is stored securely and deleted after two weeks. It will only be used in case of emergency.

*Please see Chapter 7: Data and Privacy for more information on GDPR at ISH.

Requesting a security badge:
Parents/guardians can request a personalised badge by filling out a form that will require a login to the parent portal. This badge will display their photo. This form will require the user to upload a photo adhering to certain specifications. The link to the form can be found on the password protected parent portal.

At the start of each school year, badges are prepared in batches, and parents/guardians are contacted and informed when they need to collect them. If you are applying for a badge for someone who is not registered as a parent or guardian with the school, please be aware that this person will need to produce proof that they have permission from you to pick up a badge.

Returning badges:
Badges remain property of the school and must be returned upon permanent withdrawal. If you have lost your badge, you can obtain a replacement badge. This will cost €10. For questions regarding badges, please email to ishbadges@ishthehague.nl.

Special access request:
Special access arrangements can be made for:
●    A temporary disability like a broken leg.
●    A short period for an event or for loading/unloading.

All requests need to be submitted by email to ish.security@ishthehague.nl (and CC j.berry@ishthehague.nl).
The following information will be requested:
1.    First and last name of badgeholder.
2.    Role.
3.    (Mobile) telephone number.
4.    Details of the change for the badge.
5.    Reason for the access right and end date for the access in case of temporary access.

Where a different authorisation is requested, the old authorisation becomes void. Where a new badge has to be printed, the badgeholder must hand in their old badge.

The Health Office aims to foster the health and educational success of the students. The link between optimal health and academic success is supported through the provision of services geared towards preventative health care and support, intervention for minor injuries or illnesses, and referral to the larger health community for more urgent health concerns. The School Nurses are available to support students in achieving a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle. They are present from Monday to Friday 08:00-16:30 during the academic year.

The School Nurses look after children who fall sick or are injured during the school day. They keep teachers informed of serious concerns, and if necessary, contact parents to collect students while providing urgent care and advising about possible referral to the relevant medical services. Some children with chronic or acute medical conditions require medication during the day and this medication can be stored in the Health Office, once a medication administration form is completed. School Nurses inform parents if medication is out of date.

In case of chronic medical conditions (for example: diabetes, asthma) or severe life threatening allergies (for example: nut allergy), please make an appointment with the School Nurses by writing to schoolnurse@ishthehague.nl. The School Nurses will then make a care plan that will guide everyday management and care of the student to then be shared with the relevant staff. Staff and parents/guardians should only use the services provided by the School Health Office in emergencies.

Health Office

• Students in a wheelchair can access the school using the ramp in front of the school. Parents/ guardians can park there.
• Students can leave the wheelchairs in the area in front of the exit on the ground floor if they are collected by the parents/guardians and don’t need the wheelchair at home.
• There are ramps to access both buildings, wide corridors throughout the school and all classrooms are accessible for wheelchair use.
• Secondary students in a wheelchair are allowed to use the lift if they have permission from the Health Office and have collected their lift pass. Primary students are not allowed to use the lift without a teacher/assistant. There are lifts in both buildings.
• The school is equipped with an inclusive range of toilets, including gender neutral and accessible toilets and showers for students, parents/guardians and staff with disabilities.
• There are 5 evac chairs that can be accessed to evacuate injured or disabled adults or children in case of an emergency.

We practice two types of emergency drills during the course of a school year.

An evacuation drill is carried out three times per year in case it is necessary to leave the building during an emergency such as fire. The school is well equipped with alarms, sprinklers and extinguishers and employs a team of trained adults to help evacuate the buildings and if necessary, deliver first aid.

A lockdown is carried out once per year. The purpose of the lockdown drill is really to ensure that we have the ability to contain our community in a safe, orderly fashion should this ever be necessary. We employ security guards, perimeter fencing, high visibility cameras, id cards and electronic gates to raise the level of security at ISH.