Fresh bid to stop bullying in schools

by KATHRYN TORNEY

A NEW schools' programme to reduce bullying and improve the behaviour of young people across Northern Ireland was officially launched today.
Together 4 All has received a grant of £3.2m from The Atlantic Philanthropies for the first phase of a 10-year strategy to implement new services in early intervention for children and young people.

The initial phase of the family support project will initially focus on the areas of Aghagallon, Bleary, Lurgan and Brownlow with the intention of taking it to all primary schools in Northern Ireland.

The combined population of the current Together 4 All area is just over 37,000 people living in 12,706 households.

A recent study of young people in these areas found that one in 25 children have seen grown-ups in their home hit one another. Nearly a third (30%) have heard grown-ups in their home yell at one another several times.

One in four children often get very angry and lose their temper and levels of conduct disorder are 6% higher than in the UK. The behaviour of the average child in the Together 4 All areas was found to be significantly worse than elsewhere in the UK and one in six (16%) were bullied in the last week.

Together 4 All will develop a whole-school curriculum to be delivered to all primary children, initially to seven year olds (primary four) rolling out annually until all seven to 11-year-olds are engaged.

It has consulted with experts at Penn State University in the United States and at the University of Bergen, Norway about programmes proven to reduce bullying and improve behaviour.

Work will get under way in schools next month and a Principals' Forum involving 13 head teachers from a range of schools has also been established to support the project.

Nuala Magee, chief executive, said: "This is an exciting occasion for Together 4 All in launching its first programme.

"It meets all the requirements set by the Department of Education in terms of personal development and mutual understanding already taught in schools but the difference is that we have adapted a proven international model of intervention and married this with units of mutual respect and understanding. Teachers will receive ongoing support form prevention coordinators' to enable effective classroom delivery and allow for reflective practice and parents will receive support from a home school liaison coordinator for programme engagement.

"The programme's worth will be tested through rigorous evaluation and we would hope that the results will show not only improvements in the Together 4 All outcomes but a change in the whole school environment - better teacher/pupil relationships, pupil/pupil relationships and an impact on attainment levels across the curriculum.

"The second dimension of the programme is to introduce a screening programme to identify children that need extra assistance and offer appropriate intervention. The design of this service will commence in January. The Together 4 All goal is universal provision of one social development programme for children and young people, that encompasses a social and emotional learning curriculum, health services, school-family partnerships and after school-community activities.

"To achieve this we hope to continue to engage Northern Ireland's key government departments to take the programme to a larger scale."