Comprehensive School Safety Framework

The CSS Framework grew from the school safety advocacy work of the 1990s and 2000’s and was articulated by the Asia Coalition for School Safety and endorsed by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education in 2012.

Since then, it has been adopted and adapted by education authorities in more than 60 countries,and regional intergovernmental organizations in Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

In the face of growing risks–and their interconnectedness and compounding impacts–for children and learners globally,
GADRRRES initiated the update of the CSS Framework in November 2020 with the aim to strengthen the collaboration and collective impact of humanitarian and development actors involved in education-related planning processes.The Comprehensive School Safety Framework 2022-2030 was released in June 2022.

The purpose of the CSSF 2022-2030 is to provide strategic guidance to duty bearers and their partners to promote safe, equitable and continuous access to a quality education for all. The CSSF takes an “all-hazards, all-risks” approach, including, natural and climate-change induced hazards, technological hazards, biological and health hazards, conflict and violence as well as everyday dangers and threats. The CSSF is aligned with the SDGS and other relevant global frameworks for child rights and child protection.

The goals of CSS are to take a participatory risk-informed approach to:

1. Protect learners, educators and staff from death, injury, violence and harm in schools and other learning spaces
2. Plan for education and protection continuity, and limit disruptions to learning in the face of shocks, stresses, hazards and threats of all kinds
3. Promote knowledge and skills of learners and duty-bearers, to contribute to risk reduction, resilience building, and sustainable development.

The Framework describes the Enabling Systems and Policies needed to support child rights, sustainability, and resilience in the education sector, as well as three intersecting pillars, that involve different groups of actors, scope and responsibilities:
1. Safer Learning Facilities
2. School Safety and Educational Continuity Management
3. Risk Reduction & Resilience Education.

Commitments at the heart of the framework are: child rights to safety and survival, protection, development and participation in the education sector, and promoting both evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence (e.g., Safe Schools Context Analysis) and all-hazards risk assessment, risk reduction, and response-preparedness at all levels in the education sector.

The framework is accompanied by relevant Targets and Indicators, also linked to other frameworks. A series of technical guidance documents will support implementing governments and partners with tools for contextualization and implementation.