Confidential Inspectors

Children, pupils, parents, students and employees of schools can be confronted with undesirable situations. Sexual psychological or physical violence discrimination or radicalization for instance. In that case you can rely on the confidential inspectors of the Inspectorate of Education.

A small team of inspectors at the Inspectorate of Education has a special task alongside their regulatory responsibilities: they are also Confidential Inspectors. The members of this team are also Confidential Inspectors for the childcare sector and for the Caribbean Netherlands.

When might you need to contact a Confidential Inspector?

Parents, pupils, teachers, administrators, governing bodies and confidential counsellors may contact the Inspectorate’s Confidential Inspectors to discuss problems they are encountering at school in the areas of:

  • sexual harassment and sexual abuse (sexual offenses)
  • psychological and physical violence
  • discrimination and radicalization

Complaints falling in the categories mentioned above may be submitted to the Confidential Inspector, who will listen, inform and advise as necessary. Your report will be registered in a confidential file that only the Confidential Inspector may access. If necessary, the Confidential Inspector may also advise you on the process of submitting a formal complaint or filing a police report. If there is a suspicion of sexual abuse (sexual offense), a reporting obligation may apply in certain cases. 

When are you required to contact the confidential inspector? 

In case of a suspicion of sexual abuse (sex crime) the notification (immediate) consultation and reporting requirement are applicable in a number of instances. The notification requirement applies to employees of schools. The consultation and reporting requirement applies to boards and competent authorities. If you are in doubt as to whether there is question of sexual abuse or sexual intimidation it is recommended to contact the confidential inspector.

If an employee of a school is aware of a possible sexual offense of a person charged with duties against a minor pupil or student, he must report this to the board. If a board is aware of a possible sexual offense of a person charged with duties against a minor pupil or student, it must immediately consult with the confidential inspector. If it emerges from the consultation with the confidential inspector that there is a reasonable suspicion, the board must file a report.
Image: ©Inspectie van het Onderwijs

Availability

Availability from the Netherlands

You can reach the Confidential Inspectors at: 0900 111 3 111 (on working days between 8.00 and 17.00 o’clock).

Availabiltiy from the Caribbean Netherlands

Only from the Caribbean Netherlands you can send an email with a call-back request for the confidential inspector. You can send your message to CNvertrouwensinspectie@owinsp.nl
You should in any case include your name and the telephone number where you can be reached in your email. We then call you back from the European Netherlands. We will respect the time difference with the Caribbean Netherlands.