Today at St Ciaran's we were proud to receive the following correspondence from ISPCC.
“Here at the ISPCC we are delighted to announce that St. Ciaran’s Community School has achieved Shield Status in February 2024! The Shield Anti-Bullying Programme is a free, digital self-evaluation survey for schools and organisations to use to reflect on their abilities and limitations to appropriately respond and manage bullying.
It looks at our 10 Shield Statements (1-Stand Up, 2-Anti-Bullying Policy, 3-Report and Collect, 4-It Takes a Village, 5-Inclusion not Exclusion, 6-No “I” in Bully, 7-Ongoing Training and Upskilling, 8-Raise Up Resilience, 9-Reporting Procedures and 10-Online Safety) and aligns them with international evidence based research, best practices and government departmental recommendations such as the Department of Education’s Cinealtas Action Plan on Bullying, and the Department of Justice’s endorsement of Restorative Practice.
Knowing a school like St. Ciaran’s Community School has Sheild Status, will not guarantee a parent that their child will never experience bullying, however it will ensure the staff team and supporting adults-including parents- are empowered and educated enough to know what the next best step is to take when bullying has occurred, taking into consideration the needs of the target, bystander and perpetrator of bullying. The ISPCC aims to create a nation of resilient children by signing up to Shield, schools like St. Ciaran’s Community School are taking one step closer to achieving that! Congratulations on achieving Shield Status St. Ciaran’s!”
Elizabeth Kavanagh-Shield Anti-Bullying Programme and Community Engagement Manager.