Global Report Warns School Safety Efforts Lag Behind as Crises Escalate

As the world faces a surge in climate disasters, health emergencies, and violent conflicts, a new report by UNESCO and its partners highlights how education systems remain dangerously vulnerable, despite growing awareness and political commitment. The Global Status of School Safety 2024 policy brief, released by the Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector (GADRRRES), provides the most detailed global snapshot to date of school safety measures and policy implementation.

Drawing on responses from 46 countries, 2 island territories, and 21 subnational regions—collectively covering over 330 million school-aged children—the report finds that while many governments recognize the importance of school safety, implementation is uneven, underfunded, and often fails to include the voices of those most affected: children themselves.

Uneven Progress: Widespread Endorsement, Limited Action

The report is anchored in the Comprehensive School Safety Framework (CSSF), which has been officially endorsed by 84 governments. The CSSF promotes an "all-hazards, all-risks" approach to protect learners, education personnel, and infrastructure, while ensuring learning continuity amid crises ranging from natural disasters and pandemics to armed conflicts and everyday violence.

However, fewer than one-third of countries are using this framework to guide their national education safety policies. Additionally, less than two-thirds have established formal coordinating bodies to oversee implementation.

This gap between commitment and action reveals a troubling disconnect. While 94% of governments report having continuity policies and 98% offer school-level safety guidance, only one-third enforce or regularly review these plans, and just 30% of schools conduct annual reviews. Refugee and displaced children—among the most at risk—remain significantly underrepresented in planning and programming.

Climate Change: A Growing Threat to Education Access

With climate-related disasters becoming more frequent and intense, the report identifies climate change as a major disruptor of education. From flooding and heatwaves to wildfires and droughts, extreme weather is directly affecting school operations, safety, and student attendance.

Key climate-related findings include:

• 79% of governments have developed plans addressing climate risks in schools.

• Yet, only 21% conduct climate risk assessments and 20% offer strong adaptation guidance.

• 75% of countries report school infrastructure damage from hazards.

• Despite having building codes, only 12% are systematically upgrading vulnerable schools.

In countries like Cuba, where two earthquakes and two hurricanes struck in 2024 alone, UNESCO intervened to provide socio-emotional support to over 4,500 students and 700 teachers, showcasing both the vulnerabilities and the need for sustained resilience programming.

Silent Hazards: Health, Violence, and Neglected Risks Inside Schools

Beyond climate threats, the report underscores serious gaps in addressing school-based risks such as health crises, bullying, and violence:

• While 91% of governments have strategies for school health and well-being, only 28% provide adequate funding.

• 90% recognize bullying and violence as hazards, but just 24% report having mechanisms to address student deaths resulting from these threats.

• Fewer than half of all countries collect disaggregated data on violence by gender, disability, or other social factors.

These shortcomings hinder effective responses, especially for marginalized students. In terms of preparedness, only 16% of countries require teacher training on disaster risk reduction, 18% on climate adaptation, and 30% on social-emotional learning (SEL)—three key components of school safety and continuity.

Children’s Perspectives Often Ignored

The brief warns that students’ voices are largely missing from school safety efforts—even though they are among the most directly affected by disruptions and dangers.

• Only 21% of governments offer strong policy guidance on student participation in safety planning.

• Fewer than 35% include students in risk assessments, despite evidence that youth participation leads to more relevant and responsive planning.

GADRRRES argues that children’s involvement is critical to both policy effectiveness and the promotion of agency, resilience, and civic responsibility among young people.

The Way Forward: Turning Commitments into Protection

To respond to these alarming findings, the policy brief lays out five urgent recommendations for governments and education stakeholders:

1. Fully implement the Comprehensive School Safety Framework, turning policy into practice.

2. Integrate school safety into all national and subnational education systems and policies.

3. Allocate adequate resources for infrastructure upgrades, teacher training, and inclusive planning.

4. Strengthen monitoring and knowledge-sharing, ensuring that lessons learned inform future strategies.

5. Place children at the center of planning, decision-making, and evaluation processes.

UNESCO and GADRRRES: Leading the Global Movement for Resilient Education

The Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector, co-chaired by UNESCO, is at the forefront of building resilience in education. It promotes a culture of safety through integrated prevention strategies, emphasizing that safeguarding schools is a human rights imperative and a cornerstone of sustainable development.

As crises intensify globally, the need to protect education systems from shocks is more urgent than ever. By ensuring that no child is left behind and no hazard is overlooked, the international community can build a future where education thrives—even in the most challenging times.