1. Paul Downes & Carmel Cefai NESET II 2016
HOW TO TACKLE BULLYING AND PREVENT SCHOOL VIOLENCE IN EUROPE  Evidence and practices strategies for inclusive and safe schools
Paul Downes & Carmel Cefai
NESET II 2016

2. APPROACH
Synthesises empirical evidence, EU legal and policy principles, and health promoting schools’ principles
Draws on various research sources including reviews and meta-analysis, with particular weight to strong evidence base
Focus on primary & post primary education
Does not include cyberbullying

3. APPROACH
Members of EC’s ET2020 School Policy Working Group completed brief questionnaire on bullying prevention strategies in their countries
International researchers from ENSEC were invited to respond to similar questions
Number of NGOs in the area across MS were also contacted
Combined picture of strategic issues obtained from 26 countries
These particularly useful to identify structural indicators for systems change

4. Scale of the problem
School bullying is a serious issue across regions and countries, with serious and long term consequences
It is an affront to the common values of freedom, tolerance and non discrimination
It is not only an issue of education policy, but also a health, youth welfare and child protection issue
PARIS DECLARATION 2015
1. Ensuring young people acquire social, civic and intercultural competences, by promoting democratic values and fundamental rights, social inclusion and non-discrimination, as well as active citizenship
2. Enhancing critical thinking and media literacy, particularly in the use of the Internet and social media, so as to develop resistance to of discrimination and indoctrination
3. Fostering the education of disadvantaged children and young people, by ensuring that our education and training systems address their needs
4. Promoting intercultural dialogue through all forms of learning in cooperation with other relevant policies and stakeholders

5. Vulnerable target groups
Children with special educational needs and disability (SEND) are particularly vulnerable to bullying and more likely to be over-represented in bullying experiences.
Discriminatory bullying against minority children (Roma, migrants, LGBTI) is widespread in many schools with many unreported cases

6. A Serious Health Issue
School bullying has both short term and long term consequences
Directly affects mental and physical health and academic performance of children and young people.
in many cases leads to anxiety, depression and self-harm such as suicide; often leads to ESL
Its harmful effects impact perpetrators as well, may lead to offending
Long term: longitudinal studies, controlling for other factors, suggest depression, anxiety and self harm in adolescence and adulthood amongst victimised children (lack of historical effect: info on support services available):
Espelage: stress-diasthesis model (underlying cause), but still serious issues, putting children at risk (incidental rather than causal model)
McDougall and Vaillancourt (2015) multifinality: impact of childhood victimisation on adulthood adjustment may follow multiple paths: risk and protective factors which mediated the pathway included classroom context, timing of victimisation, presence/absence of support, self evaluation-attribution, ); impact greater when combined with other risks
Ttofi et al (14) proective factors included social skills and academic achievement, family stability and healthy relationships, peer social support

7. Need for comprehensive strategies
There is not simply just one bullying or violence problem in schools or one simple solution. The complexity of bullying requires different solutions at various levels
need for prevention strategies not only at universal level (for all), but also at selected (for some/groups/moderate risk) and indicated (for few/individuals/ chronic need) levels

9. Way foreward
No magic bullet: international reviews do not endorse one particular model/programme, but do highlight the key features of successful interventions.
report provides set of evidence-informed structural indicators that can be used by schools, regional and national-level decision-makers in prevention of bullying and violence
Indicators informed by research evidence, legal standards and health promotion principles

10. An inclusive system approach
Includes a specific response to bullying and violence prevention, including discriminatory bullying
Recognises differentiated needs and levels of prevention
Includes curricular SEL focus and whole school strategies (whole school policy, teacher education, parents active involvement, student voice, family and community support
Linked to ESL, mental health promotion, non discrimination
Accommodates, via structural indicators, features of effective programmes identified in the literature

11. Social and emotional education
Strong evidence that a curricular approach to social and emotional learning (SEL) is key for personal development to challenge culture of violence in school.
Classroom time for SEL needs to be given higher priority in schools - PISA pressure
SEL for vulnerable groups (resilience perspective- RESCUR)
Need for explicit focus on bullying and violence prevention in these curricula, but with students involved in design

12. Student Voice
Inadequate focus on student participation in design of anti-bullying approaches
Discriminatory bullying requires challenge through a democratic school culture promoting the different voices of students
young people from minority or excluded groups must help design curricular resources addressing bullying and prejudice.

13. Parents and families
Working with parents is strongly associated with decrease in victimisation and perpetration
but many approaches to parental involvement are top-down, information-type approaches rather than ones which actively involve parents
Family support services for early intervention: a "one-stop shop" where multidisciplinary services across health and education are available in accessible community locations.

14. Community
A specific strategy for outreach to community locations to overcome prejudice between groups
structured cooperation on tasks that are meaningful for members of different (ethnic, religious,) groups
shared communal spaces to bring different groups together: community centres, arts & sports facilities, green spaces, afterschool centres, family resource centres, places of worship

15. National policies
Need for explicit focus on bullying and violence prevention in governance structures and processes, eg.
school self-evaluation, external inspection, whole school planning
national committees for student welfare to develop inclusive systems with a focus on bullying and violence prevention, including discriminatory bullying

16. GAPS in strategy
Large number of MS do not have national school bullying and violence prevention strategies
Most MS do not have common or linked strategies for ESL and bullying prevention.
Anti-bullying strategies in MS are generally confined to universal prevention, without focusing on differentiated needs of certain groups
no strategic focus on discriminatory bullying (e.g. migrants, Roma, LGBTI, those experiencing poverty or SES exclusion)
See tables in pages of final report

17. Points for discussion
How can MS and the EU Comm involve young people who are part of minority groups, such as Roma and migrants, LGBTI, Muslim populations and other minorities in the design of concrete curricular resources for social and emotional education (including videos, the arts, websites) that address bullying prevention and challenge prejudice ?
How can we ensure that interventions don’t make things worse, especially with older students who will resist old fashioned didactic methods that seek to change attitudes to outgroups or violence ?
What key professionals and other groups need to be included in whole school approaches to bullying and violence prevention to drive system change in schools ?

18. Thanks

20. Common strategy for ESL and bullying
Possible responses to bullying and ESL show great similarities and a common strategy may be useful, including common systems of supports such as
transition focus to post-primary
multidisciplinary teams for complex needs
language support
family outreach supports
teacher professional development on issues relevant to preventing both problems
social and emotional learning
While not necessarily the same individuals are at risk of early school leaving and bullying, possible responses show great similarities and therefore a common strategy may be useful

21. Gaps in research Need for more research on
groups at selected intervention level (moderate risk), particularly the experiences of students from minorities, migrants, LGBTI, low SES, SEND
resilience (protective factors against negative impact of bullying)
differentiated experiences of bully-victims, victims and perpetrators, including interventions addressing consequences
effective strategies for parental involvement, community outreach approaches for groups at risk
Student input into curricular SEL dimension in specific contexts and specific groups

22. What works
The most effective programme elements associated with a decrease in bullying include:
parent training/meetings
teacher training
improved playground supervision
disciplinary methods (not reducible to punitive or zero tolerance)
collaboration between professionals
school assemblies
information for parents
classroom management and rules
whole school anti-bullying policy
videos
a whole school anti-bullying policy.