What is the aim of the programme?

According to our research in three schools in Hungary, half of the students surveyed say that bullying or harassment happens at school every week or more. The ASAP was designed to reduce aggression and bullying in schools, to prevent and manage conflicts and to enable the different institutions involved in the student community to work more closely and effectively together. Our project is implemented in partnership with SOS Malta, Partners Bulgaria Foundation and Szolnok Service Vocational Training Centre, with funding from the European Union Erasmus+ programme.

Over the three years of the project (October 2015 - August 2018), we developed and tested a model programme that emphasises cooperation rather than punishment. We believe and experience that a restorative approach and strong communities help to reduce and prevent aggressive phenomena. The model programme has been developed and tested in cooperation with a total of 9 secondary schools in the participating countries (Hungary, Bulgaria, Malta), guiding the schools through the change process.

 

Who was our programme for?

We primarily target students and teachers in schools with our programme, and although it is a challenge to reach parents of secondary school students, we did attempt to engage them through a questionnaire - we reached hundreds of parents! Teachers in the schools have been given new methods and tools to deal effectively with the problems they face and to use them preventively. In addition, it is important that the three years of work can continue after the end of the project, so we have established links with existing local initiatives and organisations that can sustain the programme.

 

Results

• In the first phase of the project research has been carried out in all three countries to describe the current situation of aggression and bullying in schools in each country. In the reports, we have mapped out the countries' constituencies and collected good practices currently available on dealing with aggression and bullying in schools and on alternative conflict resolution.
• We have put together a model programme which is a methodology package, and incorporates existing knowledge and tools in the country concerned, complemented by selected good practices available in other partner countries and in Europe.
• After that developed by situation assessment questionnaires for students, school staff and parents, in which the opinions and experiences of those concerned were recorded in relation to aggressive phenomena. Following the evaluation of the questionnaire, we worked with the school to draw up an action plan based on the good practices collected, taking into account the results of the situation assessment, the needs and potential of the school.
• A implementation we have worked closely with schools to bring about a real change of approach and to move away from traditional punitive discipline towards collaborative methods.

What did this mean in terms of numbers in 2018?

• 23 trained teacher-mediators and 21 student-mediators to help manage conflicts in schools effectively
• 18 trained restorative facilitators who work for retention communities every day
• a 6-day international mediation slide camp, where 24 students from 3 nations learned how to help effectively in conflict situations
• 5 international partner meetings and exchanges in Malta, Budapest and Bulgaria
• 21 working group meetings with the dedicated school professional team
• 33 class teacher lessons, where we could talk about the phenomena of aggression at school through playful exercises based on our own experiences
• A series of class teacher lessons specifically designed for prevention, so that classes can form non-violent, supportive communities based on shared knowledge and common rules
• 4 conferences across the country (Budapest, Szolnok, Székesfehérvár, Budapest), with a total of 250 participants
• 78 class teacher lessons, where we discussed the phenomena of aggression in schools through experiential, playful exercises and restorative circle models.
• He has increasingly used mediation and restorative practices to resolve difficult social situations.

RESULTS in the light of human relations:

• According to teachers' feedback, the training has increased their methodological knowledge; improved their communication skills; and helped them to approach problematic cases with greater empathy, understanding and accepting a variety of different points of view.
• As a result of the restorative conference, which was convened instead of disciplinary proceedings, the incident was not brought before the police, as expected, and none of the people involved had to leave the school.
• The effectiveness and durability of mediations and restorative circles vary from school to school and from case to case. However, it can be said that in all the cases treated, the people concerned experienced an improvement compared to the situation before the intervention.
• The good news is that our trained teachers have been invited to other schools to give a taste of their alternative conflict management methods, and have facilitated a reaction circle in an external school on a specific case.

We also do a situation assessment at the end of the project to see what has changed during the project period.

Free downloadable professional materials:

Hungarian national report

National Report Malta

National Report Bulgaria

Implementation Manual Hungary

Maltese Handbook of Implementation

Bulgarian Handbook of Implementation

Organisational resource map_professional background

Introductory session for teachers

Sensitivity sessions for teachers_abuse_aggression

Sensitivity sessions with class teachers before the entrance questionnaire

School situation questionnaire for students

School situation questionnaire for teachers and other school staff

School situation questionnaire for parents

Sample parental consent form and project information sheet_can be freely customised

Class teacher lesson for students on the results of the input questionnaires

School Action Plan Szolnok_Partners Hungary_ErasmusPlus

Partnership Against School Aggression MODEL PROGRAMME

Classroom teacher series

The theme of the class teacher's lesson on the film The Real Miracle

Hungarian research report

Questionnaires for the research:

Partnership Against School Aggression - Project Teacher Questionnaire - Evaluation Research

Partnership Against School Aggression project - Parent questionnaire - evaluation survey

Partnership Against School Aggression project - student questionnaire - evaluation survey

Partnership Against School Aggression policy recommendation

ASAP_EU Dissemination and Communication Strategy

Videos:

Why is the issue of school aggression important?

How does mediation help in teacher-student conflict?

How does a restorative circle work? How can restorative practices be used in everyday school life?

 

Other important information:

 

• Project/Support Programme name: Against School Aggression Partnership - ASA Partnership: community based complex school program for effective prevention and treatment of aggression and bullying
• Funding organisation: the European Union Erasmus+ Programme 
• Project identifier at the donor: 150100-KA2SE13636
• Cooperating partners: Partners Bulgaria Foundation, SOS Malta, Szolnok Service Vocational Training Centre
• Duration start/end: 1 October 2015-31 August 2018
• Budget amount, currency: EUR 411880 - of which Partners Hungary Foundation grant: EUR 115585

 

More information about the programme:

Bacsó Flóra
bacsof@partnershungary.hu