Search all resources

The Irish Department of Education and Skills recommends procedures to introduce in schools to prevent and tackle bullying. Some crucial elements are a positive school climate, effective leadership, shared understanding of what bullying is and its impact, awareness, education and prevention strategies, effective supervision and monitoring of pupils, support for school staff, consistent investigation, follow-up and recording of bullying behaviour, as well as ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of the anti-bullying policy.

Picture: Shutterstock.com

In Irish schools, different initiatives to facilitate social inclusion and equality include breakfast clubs, lunch clubs, chess clubs and homework clubs. Schools promote the benefits of providing an early morning breakfast - this includes improved school attendance and retention, improvements in punctuality, interaction with adults, allowing students to have fun whilst at the same time developing social skills, meeting nutritional needs and developing positive links between the school and the family.

NESET - Network of Experts on Social Aspects of Education and Training publishes reports for policy makers and practitioners interested in promoting equity and inclusion in education and training across the European Union. This paper seeks to examine strategies for establishing community based lifelong learning centres in EU Member States. It explores evidence and research on the benefits and advantages of establishing such centres, as well as the barriers and difficulties impeding both the establishment and effectiveness of such centres. The report concludes that community based lifelong learning centres can simultaneously provide instantiations of a range of key lifelong learning objectives, such as active citizenship, social cohesion/inclusion, personal and social fulfillment, intercultural dialogue, as well as employment pathways.

The project ENhancing Teacher REsilience in Europe (ENTREE) aims to enable young European teachers to improve their resilience in the face of increasing demands of rapidly changing school contexts. It was launched in 2014 and provides diverse learning opportunities and tools for teachers, both online and face-to face; it is supported by a team of international experts from five European countries (CZ, DE, IRL, MT, PT) and from Australia. The ENTREE project refers to teacher resilience as “the process of, capacity for, or outcome of positive adaptation and ongoing professional commitment and growth in the face of challenging circumstances”. Teachers are assisted to draw on personal, professional and social resources, to “bounce back” and to also thrive professionally and personally, and to experience job satisfaction, positive self-beliefs, personal wellbeing and an ongoing commitment to the profession.

The 'Guide for Roma school mediators/assistants', prepared by the Council of Europe, is aimed primarily at all categories of staff from the Roma community working to improve schooling conditions for Roma children. It is intended to provide staff with wide ranging tools and practical guidelines that can be adapted to different contexts. The guide considers the profiles of school mediators and assistants and their role in facilitating relations between the school and the Roma community(ies), between teachers and other school staff and parents of Roma children. The guide?s content is therefore designed to help improve the work of Roma school mediators and assistants and reduce the impact of any undesirable effects by providing structured day-to-day activity and highlighting aspects of mediation that are often not used in practice.

"It is clear from the Irish experience that educational initiatives based in schools can raise the educational level of the adults involved, and result in a general sense of empowerment in the local community. Parental involvement, especially in areas of socio-economic deprivation, does not just benefit the children and the school - it is a crucial aspect of lifelong learning" (Parents as Partners in Schooling, OECD 1997)

This monograph analyses and describes successful educational actions with a specific focus on vulnerable groups. Concrete data that shows success in school performance is provided, as well as on children, teachers and families accounts of the impact of this success. Alongside, there is an analysis of the relationship between these children?s educational performance with their inclusion or exclusion from different areas of society. This monograph provides actions for success identified through the INCLUD-ED project, thus providing both, contrasted data and solid theoretical background and development. Some examples of these actions are interactive groups, extension of the learning time, homework clubs, tutored libraries, family and community educative participation, family education, or dialogic literary gatherings. All these actions have been defined as successful educational actions, which mean that they lead to both efficiency and equity. Finally, recommendations for policy and practice are included and discussed.

Family Education is one of the Successful Educational Actions (SEAs) identified in the research project INCLUD-ED. It supports the promotion of cultural and educational interactions between students and social agents, and more particularly with family members and enhance students' achievement.

Interactive Groups is one of the Successful Educational Actions (SEAs) identified in the research project INCLUD-ED. INCLUD-ED analysed educational strategies that contribute to overcoming inequalities and promote social cohesion, and those generating social exclusion, particularly focusing on vulnerable and marginalised groups. Interactive Groups are used to improve the education of children and youth in different contexts. They consist of grouping students in a class into small heterogeneous groups, each of them supported by an adult. Each of these groups is organised around four or five students, in a heterogeneous way regarding ability level, gender, culture, language and ethnicity. This example provides an understanding of IG and the results of their practice.