The elaboration of this Model programme is under the project ASAP – Against School Aggression Partnership, whose aim is to contribute to the reduction of school aggression and bullying in schools by strengthening the cooperation between institutions that deal with the student community. ASAP is a project implemented and led by Partners Hungary Foundation in collaboration with SOS Malta, Partners Bulgaria Foundation and Szolnoki Szolgáltatási Szakképzési Centrum (Szolnok Centre of Counselling and Training) and funded by the Erasmus Programme of the European Union. In Bulgaria, the project activities are carried out in cooperation with 130th Secondary School “Stefan Karadzha”, Sofia.
The proposed Model programme takes the form of a whole school approach and offers an accessible set of methods and resources with the aim of targeting all stakeholders: students, parents, teaching and non-teaching staff and ultimately the whole community. The process of implementation can easily be adapted to different contexts. One of the main aims is to minimise the “paper – practice” gap between school policies and the values implied by actions of implementation. It encourages, for example, discussing a change of climate in classrooms and taking steps for its improvement. It also encourages integrating new school practices in the formal school policy.
The programme reflects project partners understanding that such a model should:
• employ a whole school approach: support efforts and measures at each level within the school – from an individual student and classroom to teachers, parents, non-teaching and administrative staff;
• target the entire school environment rather than just specific peer interactions: this model programme intends to redesign the school and create a space focused on positive communication, sense of community and acceptance;
• include prevention and intervention elements, not merely raising awareness on the phenomenon but also providing guidelines for how the targeted behaviours should be handled once they occur;
• seek to establish an effective partnership between teachers and parents;
• enhance the organisational development of the school to sustain change, through monitoring mechanisms and tools to measure the prevalence of the targeted behaviour.
The added value of the Model Programme can be summarised as follows:
• valid results for policy making;
• change of climate within the school;
• raising awareness and better trained teachers in Social and Emotional Learning;
• potential for dissemination;
• strengthening the school by mobilizing external resources
• help teaching and non-teaching school staff improve their understanding of both the core of the problem and its consequences;
• assess the school environment and school resources to address bullying. The project developed instruments to measure how often bullying occurs, where it happens, how students and adults intervene, and whether prevention efforts are working;
• identify good practices for bullying prevention and for effective intervention in case of bullying;
• improvement of the internal school policy for reducing bullying incidents;
• building of safe and friendly school environment.
The Handbook is a practical guidance how the program was implemented in Bulgaria. The elements described in the Handbook can be used separately but they work best as part of the process. The handbook is designed for those who want to implement a similar program in their schools: principals, teachers and other school-related professionals. In order to get familiar with the conceptual framework and the process-oriented, holistic approach, it is recommended to read the Model Program first.
To download the Handbook in English, click here.
To download the Handbook in Bulgarian, click here.
To download the Model Program in English, click here.
To download the Model program in Bulgarian, click here.