What should parents know about Tournai’s new school-respect campaign?
All primary and nursery schools across Tournai have launched a joint campaign asking parents and education staff to handle disagreements through respectful dialogue. Families will see common posters at school entrances and further messages online throughout the 2026–2027 school year.
Parents retain the right to question school decisions, but hostile messages and public accusations can damage cooperation around a child. The campaign gives Tournai families a common expectation—direct, respectful dialogue—while highlighting the need for schools to provide clear and accessible routes for concerns.
All nursery and primary schools in the commune joined a common respect campaign on 26 August 2026, two days after the start of the new school year, with the first shared posters due to appear at entrances across the city and its villages. The practical message for parents is straightforward: when a problem arises, contact the teacher or school management through the school’s established channel, request a conversation and keep written exchanges factual rather than turning immediately to social media.
The initiative brings together every organising authority and school network in the entity, covering both enseignement communal and other official or subsidised schools. According to the City of Tournai, the campaign applies to the enseignement fondamental—the nursery and primary years—and addresses relationships involving parents, headteachers, teachers and support staff.
The slogan, “N’oubliez pas le respect!”—“Don’t forget respect”—responds to a limited but troubling set of confrontations. Local broadcaster Notélé reported that schools had encountered insults, defamatory statements and aggressive social-media messages. Both Notélé and the city stressed that such behaviour remains a minority phenomenon; the campaign is preventive rather than evidence that relations have broadly broken down.
The city says the schools are not setting parents and teachers against one another. Their stated premise is that families and education teams generally work constructively and share the same objective: children’s welfare and success. The campaign also explicitly recognises parents’ essential place in a child’s life while asking that disagreement be managed without verbal or physical aggression.
## What families will see
A common visual is to be installed at each participating school site in central and surrounding villages. Further messages, mainly posters framed as questions, are expected during the school year, with schools also relaying them on their websites and social-media accounts. The City of Tournai has not published a complete release calendar or said how the campaign’s effect will be measured.
For internationally mobile families, one point can prevent confusion: is in French-speaking , and routine school notices, regulations and meetings will normally be in French. The school may be described as an école communale, while the authority behind it is its pouvoir organisateur. In Dutch-speaking municipalities, the corresponding everyday terms are gemeenteschool and schoolbestuur; those Dutch labels do not govern schooling in Tournai.
A parent who is not comfortable in French should tell the teacher or direction before a meeting and ask whether a trusted interpreter or language support can be arranged. The Walloon government’s integration portal says eligible newcomers can receive help with administrative procedures and, where needed, at least 400 hours of French training through the parcours d’intégration. That programme is broader than the school campaign, and eligibility depends on residence status; it should not be assumed that every expatriate parent must complete it.
## How to raise a school concern constructively
Start with the person closest to the issue, usually the class teacher, and describe the specific incident, date and effect on the child. If it cannot be resolved, request an appointment with the direction. Bring relevant messages or documents, but avoid circulating identifiable information about pupils or staff in parent groups or public posts.
If the issue concerns school-wide rules or policy, consult the règlement d’ordre intérieur and ask which pouvoir organisateur is responsible. Parents can also raise collective questions through the school’s association de parents or conseil de participation. guidance describes a parents’ association as a forum where families can exchange information, represent shared interests and build projects with the school.
For a serious unresolved administrative dispute, the Médiateur de la Wallonie et de la may be able to examine the handling of a complaint. The lists appointments with the mediator via 0800 19 199. This is an escalation route, not a replacement for contacting the school first, and emergencies or alleged criminal conduct should go to the appropriate emergency or police service.
The broader significance lies in the unusual breadth of the coalition. Belgium’s education landscape is divided into networks and organising authorities, so an all-network initiative carries more weight than a message from one municipal school. It establishes a shared behavioural expectation without erasing parents’ right to question a decision, seek an explanation or use formal complaint procedures.
That balance matters. School staff need protection from intimidation and personal attacks, while families need accessible ways to challenge mistakes and advocate for their children. A respect campaign will be credible only if dialogue works in both directions—including when a parent has limited French, is unfamiliar with Belgium’s school structures or needs reasonable adjustments to participate.
The next test will come through implementation. Parents should watch for the entrance poster and school-specific communications, while participating authorities will need to show whether the initiative produces clearer conversations rather than merely more signage. No evaluation method, incident baseline or reporting timetable had been announced as of 27 August 2026, leaving the campaign’s eventual impact open.
Impact
Regional — The initiative covers the whole Tournai commune, including schools in the city and villages such as Kain, Templeuve, Barry, Blandain, Gaurain-Ramecroix, Marquain, Vaulx, Vezon and Warchin.
Local — The campaign applies throughout the Tournai commune, not only in the urban centre. Families using nursery or primary schools in villages including Kain, Templeuve, Barry, Blandain, Gaurain-Ramecroix, Marquain, Vaulx, Vezon and Warchin should encounter the same entrance visual and related messages. This creates a consistent expectation across local school networks: concerns should first be raised through direct and respectful communication. The campaign itself does not introduce a stated fee, penalty or new enrolment requirement for families.
What it means for you
Parents and guardians using a Tournai nursery or primary school should look for the common campaign visual at the entrance from 26 August 2026 and expect additional messages online throughout the 2026–2027 school year. If you disagree with a decision, raise the issue directly with the school through its available communication route and keep messages factual and respectful. The campaign does not remove the right to question a decision, and the published information identifies no new cost, fine, deadline or compulsory form for families.
Opposing perspectives
- Tournai school organising authorities
The participating authorities present the campaign as a positive, preventive effort that protects a calm learning environment. They stress that most family-school relationships are constructive and say the initiative neither blames parents nor places them in opposition to teachers.
- Parents seeking accountability
Families may reasonably insist that appeals to respect must operate in both directions and must not discourage legitimate complaints. A credible campaign therefore needs accessible meetings, clear escalation routes and consideration for parents who face linguistic or administrative barriers.
Who, where and what
Key people, places and terms in this story
Walloon city and commune where all nursery and primary school networks are participating in the campaign.
Belgian region containing Tournai and the regional setting for the story.
French-speaking community authority whose education system includes Tournai’s nursery and primary schools.
Belgian news outlet reporting on the campaign.
Village in the Tournai commune covered by the campaign.
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Walloon city and commune where all nursery and primary school networks are participating in the campaign.
Belgian region containing Tournai and the regional setting for the story.
Village in the Tournai commune covered by the campaign.
Village in the Tournai commune covered by the campaign.
Village in the Tournai commune covered by the campaign.
Village in the Tournai commune covered by the campaign.
Village in the Tournai commune covered by the campaign.
Village in the Tournai commune covered by the campaign.
Village in the Tournai commune covered by the campaign.
Village in the Tournai commune covered by the campaign.
French-speaking community authority whose education system includes Tournai’s nursery and primary schools.
Belgian news outlet reporting on the campaign.
Municipal authority and primary official source for the campaign announcement.
Regional broadcaster reporting on the Tournai campaign.
Walloon public-service contact point in Tournai referenced in the article’s supporting sources.
Sources & evidence
- View sourceVille de TournaiPrimaryofficial· tournai.be· 26 August 2026Retrieved 27 August 2026· 37 days ago· Dated
- View sourceNotélécorroborating· notele.be· 26 August 2026Retrieved 27 August 2026· 37 days ago· Dated
- View sourceLa DH/Les Sports+primary· dhnet.be· 27 August 2026Retrieved 27 August 2026· 36 days ago· Dated
- View sourceFédération Wallonie-Bruxelles — guide for parentsofficial· enseignement.be· 1 March 2025Retrieved 27 August 2026· 580 days ago· Dated
Related topics
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Live connections from the Belgium Impulse ecosystem — not recommendations.
This briefing was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by a Belgium Impulse editor before publication. methodology.