Steps Together to Stop Violence in Schools
UNICEF and the Ministry of Education’s Programme for a safe learning and online environment
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What are the consequences of violence in schools?
There is indisputable evidence of the harm violence causes to children’s physical and mental health and development, their ability to learn, build relationships with others, and mature into responsible adults and parents.
School bullying and an unsafe school environment are among the reasons for early dropout from the education system, reduced attendance, lower academic performance, and have significant socio-economic effects. Education is key to every person’s future professional development and to the prosperity of societies.
What is the “Steps Together” Programme?
“Steps Together” is a Programme for a safe and enabling school environment and the prevention of bullying and violence in schools, developed by a working group at the Ministry of Education and Science, established by Order No. RD-14931/05/06.2019, amended and supplemented by Order No. RD 09-1918/29.07.2019, in implementation of the 2018–2022 Partnership Programme between UNICEF and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The Programme represents a comprehensive school policy for a safe educational environment and supports the implementation of the Mechanism for Counteracting Bullying and Violence in institutions within the pre-school and school education system. It does so through the development of social and emotional competencies—empathy, participation, support, a sense of responsibility, and community building.
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To create a positive and supportive school environment by:
- Supporting and promoting a school culture based on mutual respect, dignity, and justice.
Implementing a whole-school approach through activities at both class and school levels, and by engaging parents as active partners of the school.
See more about the programme goals >> here.
- In the period 2020–2022, the Programme was piloted in five schools in Bulgaria, located in Sofia, Teteven, Iskar, Kyustendil, and Zavet. Five mentors were trained in applying the whole-school approach and in their specific tasks with the school community, supporting school teams throughout the two academic years of Programme implementation (2020–2021 and 2021–2022).
- In August 2022, an independent external evaluation of the Programme was carried out, confirming its effectiveness and recommending its sustainable scale up to more schools and kindergartens across the country, with the provision of national financial resources and the strengthening of the mentoring component.
- In 2023, the methodology of the “Steps Together” Programme was included in the Ministry of Education and Science’s National Programme 15 “Support for the Personal Development of Children and Students”, Module 2 “School without Aggression for a Safe School Environment.”
- In 2022 and 2023, under the project BG05M2OP001-3.018-0001 “Support for Inclusive Education” within the Operational Programme “Science and Education for Smart Growth,” over 350 pedagogical professionals from across the country were trained in the Programme methodology. In addition, 420 pedagogical professionals from 242 schools took part in information webinars on the benefits of the Programme and how it can be introduced in schools.
- Due to the high interest from schools and kindergartens, in 2024 the Ministry of Education and Science launched a special National Programme N15 “Without Aggression for a Safe Educational Environment,” dedicated entirely to the prevention of violence and bullying and to building a safe educational environment in pre-school and school education institutions.
- In 2023, 40 new mentors from the Regional Centers for Support of Inclusive Education Processes under the Ministry of Education and Science in 22 regions of the country were trained. They began supporting new schools and kindergartens in 2024.
- From 2025, the Programme will scale up to include topics on online safety and prevention of cyberbullying among peers.
More about the Programme and its development from 2021 to the present: Steps Together Programme: Achievements 2021–2024 and Vision for the Future.
In 2024 and in the following school years, the Programme continues to scale up into new schools across the country.
How to participate?
Any school committed to work for improving the school environment, developing students’ social and emotional competencies, and preventing violence and bullying in schools is welcome to join the big “Steps Together” family!
- Explore the Programme’s resources, which you can use for free and adapt to your school’s needs.
- Seek support from a trained Programm mentor in your region..
- Apply with a project under the Ministry of Education and Science’s National Programme No. 15 “Without Aggression for a Safe Educational Environment.” Every April, a call for project proposals is announced for educational institutions—schools and kindergartens—under this Programme.
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Since 2024, mentors trained in the methodology of the “Steps Together” Programme have been working within the Regional Centres for Support of Inclusive Education under the Ministry of Education and Science in 22 regions of the country: Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kardzhali, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Sofia District, Stara Zagora, Targovishte, Yambol.
To get in touch with them, send an inquiry to the respective Regional Centre for Support of Inclusive Education (RCSIE) in your area. (For up-to-date contact information for each RCSIE, please visit their websites.)
The Programme focuses on creating a positive and inclusive educational environment. To implement it, you need to plan for its introduction in advance and apply it systematically in your school.
The Programme need to be implemented for at least two consecutive school years during which teachers, students, and parents are actively involved in order to be sustainable and to have an impact on the entire school community.
Children grow and learn in the values of the Programme when it starts from the primary level of education, develops in lower secondary, and prepares student participation in school decision-making and active peer support in upper secondary.
Resources
What resources for teachers and school counsellors can we offer to support you?
In the pilot phase of the Programme, we developed manuals, guides, and video resources that you can use independently to become familiar with the methodologies and goals of the Programme.
To share practical experience from the Programme, we created a series of five educational videos in which mentors from the pilot schools, school principals, counsellors, teachers, and children already participating in the Programme will guide you through its steps, benefits, and challenges, and offer tips for successful implementation.
The videos provide guidance on how to use the Manuals, adapt them to your needs, and take you through the implementation process, drawing on real-life experience.
To learn how the “Steps Together” Programme can help improve your school environment and what the three most important steps for successful implementation are, see why and how it reduces violence and bullying and strengthens the school community. (Host: Maria Yankova, Education Programme Director, UNICEF Bulgaria)
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The Workshops for Class Meetings are a methodology for developing students’ social and emotional skills such as empathy, self-regulation, responsible decision-making, and conflict resolution. They help build relationships of support, trust, respect, and respect for boundaries between students and teachers.
See more about the development of social and emotional competencies in the video that will guide you through how, by whom, and why the Workshops are conducted, the topics they cover, and what the facilitator needs to know to ensure that all children in the classroom can take part. (Host: Vanya Boneva, “Steps Together” Programme mentor)
To learn more about how the Workshops help with effective classroom management, watch the video that explains how to create a comfortable and safe classroom environment, when and why students trust us, how to work with them to create class values and rules, and how to replace punishments when they are ineffective. (Host: Radoslava Georgieva, “Steps Together” Programme mentor)
To learn more about the alternative to punishments—restorative actions and approaches—watch the video that demonstrates the steps of the restorative process and provides examples of situations in which it can be applied in school, including as an additional measure alongside sanctions. (Host: Petya Varcheva, “Steps Together” Programme mentor)
Work at the school level is carried out in parallel with work at the class level in the Programme. To learn more about the methods for engaging and encouraging students’ active participation in various activities—beyond their participation in the Workshops—watch the video that explains how peer support groups contribute to personal development and the school community, when and why students are active in them, what attracts them to these groups, and why it’s great to be a Peacekeeper at school. (Host: Alexandar Krastev, “Steps Together” Programme mentor)
With care for teachers, we have developed:
>> An interactive manual for coping with burnout syndrome for teachers
Contacts
For more information, please contact us: