To mark the UNESCO International Day against violence and bullying at school, including cyberbullying, which takes place on 4th of November, the Anti-Bullying Centre at Dublin City University in partnership with the Department of Education is inviting schools across Ireland to share details of what has worked well for them in tackling the issue of bullying and promoting online safety.

The campaign has been launched by Norma Foley TD, Minister for Education and will encourage schools to share details of initiatives running in their own school that demonstrate anti-bullying in action throughout the month of October.

Speaking about the launch, Minister Norma Foley said:

"I'd like to encourage students, school staff and parents throughout the country to get involved in sharing best practice on how we can work together to tackle bullying. I look forward to seeing our schools sharing the positive work they are already undertaking to address bullying and online safety. This way we can all learn from others' experience of what works best to address bullying and to work together to tackle it in our schools."

Examples of initiatives could include a school-wide campaign to raise awareness of online safety, a student survey on bullying, a parent information evening or an active student anti-bullying committee. All entries (poster, written story, video or Powerpoint) can be uploaded to the national anti-bullying website TackleBullying.ie.

With support from Facebook, Rethink Ireland and Newstalk, the selected best entries will be showcased on tacklebullying.ie and feature in a best practice guide for schools on how to tackle bullying and promote online safety. 

Darran Heaney, Project Manager with the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre, said:

“Our research shows that one in five primary school children and one in ten secondary school students will experience bullying, online or offline, at some point this year. While Ireland has made progress in recent years, bullying is such a big problem that needs to be addressed and tackled by everyone in the school community.

From our work in rolling out the FUSE Anti-Bullying schools programme we know that many schools – teachers, parents and students - are already doing incredible work in their own schools and they have found innovative ways to raise awareness and reduce school bullying significantly. This campaign is to encourage schools to share knowledge of what is working locally to tackle bullying and address online safety issues and to celebrate the great work they have done to date. In doing so, we can inspire others looking for ideas.”

How to enter:

• Share a successful initiative your school has taken to tackle bullying, cyberbullying or online safety.
• Log onto www.tacklebullying.ie complete the online form and upload your entry by 27th October.
• Your entry can take the form of a video, poster, PowerPoint presentation or a story of a successful anti-bullying or online safety initiative in action.

For more information on how to take part in this competition, watch this short video or visit www.tacklebullying.ie

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