Cyprus changes its approach to school bullying — psychologists will also work with the initiators

The Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth of the Republic of Cyprus has approved a new strategy to combat violence and bullying in the school environment, radically changing the existing approach to conflict resolution. The key innovation of the programme will be mandatory psychological support not only for victims of bullying, but also for its perpetrators. According to the ministry’s experts, isolation or exclusively punitive measures against the instigators do not eliminate the root causes of aggressive behaviour.
As part of the new concept, additional qualified psychologists and social educators will be introduced into the staff of secondary and upper secondary schools. Their work will focus on identifying destructive patterns of behaviour at an early stage, analysing the social and family factors that trigger aggression in adolescents, and integrating emotional intelligence programmes into the educational process.
The ministry also plans to launch specialised professional development courses for teaching staff in order to train teachers in effective methods for resolving hidden conflicts within classes. The ministry’s leadership stressed that the reform aims to create a safe and inclusive school environment through in-depth therapeutic work with all parties to the conflict, rather than the mechanical punishment of offenders.