Bullying prevention program, expanded to hundreds of kindergartens

The Save the Children Romania organization, with the support of the OMV Petrom Foundation, announced the expansion of the "Let's be friends - Without bullying" program, a project dedicated to preventing bullying in kindergartens. Developed with the expertise of the Mary Foundation and Save the Children Denmark, this program will reach over 260 kindergartens in Bucharest and other regions of the country, with the aim of promoting a safe and inclusive educational environment for preschoolers.

According to the organization, a preliminary analysis carried out before the launch of the project shows that 85% of the teachers working in the selected kindergartens recognize the presence of bullying in the preschool community. Also, 54% of educators noticed that not all children have play partners during kindergarten activities, a sign of social isolation, a phenomenon frequently associated with bullying.

• Involvement of teachers and parents

Between June and September, more than 1,200 kindergarten specialists, including educators, counselors and directors, received specialized training to combat bullying and promote positive interactions between children. They join the 606 professionals trained in the previous school year, helping to create an educational framework where more than 26,000 preschoolers and their families will learn to build healthy and inclusive relationships. Specialists within the program benefit from continuous support through the "Let's be friends" community of practice, where they have access to educational resources and effective methods to prevent and manage aggressive behaviors among children. The kindergartens involved also received suitcases with educational resources, which include tools useful in bullying prevention activities.

• Awareness of the phenomenon

The results of a study conducted on a sample of 608 education specialists confirm that bullying is recognized as a serious problem at the level of preschool communities, with 97% of respondents stating that the phenomenon is under the attention of the kindergarten where they work. However, challenges continue to exist, especially in the case of children's social isolation: 23% of respondents noted that some children are frequently or permanently excluded from group activities. In addition to observations inside kindergartens, 60% of specialists believe that bullying is a problem that persists outside of school hours, underlining the need for a joint effort from parents, education and the community to reduce these negative behaviors. Regarding responsibility for bullying, parents are considered the most important factors (75%), followed by the child's group (50%), involved children (48%) and teachers (42%). This perception reflects the complexity of the phenomenon and the need for a multidisciplinary approach to prevent and combat bullying. The data collected from the 2023-2024 school year show that the "Let's be friends - No bullying" program has a positive impact on the educational climate in kindergartens. About 70% of the preschool children involved learned to express their emotions and manage them in a healthy way, and 64% of the specialists noted an improvement in the general atmosphere in the kindergartens. In addition, 24% of parents began to organize themselves better to support the development of relationships between children, including outside formal activities.