ComBuS has completed its first goal by conducting a literature review and analysis of the needs of students, teachers, school staff, school leaders and parents in 6 European countries with regards to bullying.

We started by conducting a review of all existing scientific literature on bullying and on the ways to combat it. Our aim in this process was to identify Best Practices in combating bullying. The top 15 of the Best Practices that we identified were used to guide the development of the ComBuS Toolkit. In other words, the ComBuS Toolkit is based on the most up-to-date scientific evidence on bullying.

What do School Communities Need to Effectively Combat Bullying?

We then explored the perception of pupils, teachers, parents, school staffs, stakeholders and local authorities on the phenomenon of bullying, as well as, their satisfaction with the existing situation and needs, challenges and expectations on efficiently preventing and managing the phenomenon. Our aim was to tailor the ComBuS program to the needs of the school communities. The analysis resulted in a wide range of recommendations that were used to guide the development of the ComBuS program. Most importantly, the analysis of needs strongly confirmed the importance and the necessity of implementing a whole-school program to combat bullying in schools.