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In Amsterdam, a lunchtime employee at De Kleine Reus primary school repeatedly forced children to watch horror films, it was reported The conditional. During his lunch break, the man played videos of horror films such as The exorcist in District 9 and he did The Pink Panther be prepared in case an adult suddenly enters.
The director of De Kleine Reus, Ilse Boellaard, confirms what the newspaper reported to NOS. “We are very shocked and this has repercussions for the whole school,” says the principal.
Boellaard says that after a parent meeting and the man’s firing by the childcare organization he worked for, peace has somehow returned to the school. But the school keeps the pulse of parents and children to see if aftercare is still needed.
According to Boellaard, the man’s employer, the shelter organization De Kleine Wereld, had done a good screening. He “he Also worked at another location in De Kleine Wereld and occasionally came here”. De Kleine Wereld, like many other shelter organisations, is struggling with a staff shortage and due to schedule shortcomings, the organization has had employees replaced at other locations.
The man had a Declaration of Conduct, something that is also mandatory in childcare. “Unfortunately, that’s not always a guarantee. It’s always good, as long as there isn’t one who betrays the trust,” says Boellaard of the matter.
Fired on the spot
It is unclear why the man showed the footage. It’s also not clear exactly how many times this has happened, but it is certain that it has happened more than once. The lunchtime master had at least two classes out of a total of forty students aged between 7 and 9 who watched horror films.
In late November, the man was summarily fired and the police were notified. The school is in daily contact with the police who are investigating whether crimes have been committed.
Resilience training
Meanwhile, the kids in school are doing better, Boellaard says. Since the incident, the school has introduced the four eyes principle, whereby one additional adult is always watching. This means that the control of the groups must be as optimal as possible. The four eyes principle is mandatory in childcare, but not in primary education and intermediate care.
De Kleine Reus has also hired an external agency that will provide students in the groups with resilience training.
“These are young children who have yet to learn what to do if someone tells you you’re not allowed to broadcast something. Or what you tell an adult if you don’t want something,” says director Boellaard.
