Preventing, detecting and dealing with bullying in schools
The programme pHARe (School Harassment Prevention Programme) is an initiative of the Department for Education aimed at prevent, detect and treat harassment situations in schools, colleges and sixth form colleges. It must be implemented in 100% establishments and is intended to be known to every pupil. The number 3018 is systematically highlighted at the start of each school year, particularly in school diaries and on the schools' digital media.
Programme objectives
The pHARe programme is based on five main areas :
- Educate to prevent harassment; ;
- Train a protective community around pupils; ;
- Intervene effectively on situations of harassment; ;
- Associate parents and school partners in the rollout of the programme; ;
- Mobilise school democracy bodies (CVC, CVL) and the committee for education in health, citizenship and the environment.*
*Information gathered from the website of the Ministry of National Education
Implementation in schools
- Since 2022, all primary and secondary schools in France must implement the pHARe programme – since 2023, all secondary schools are also affected.*
- One harassment officer is appointed in each establishment to coordinate actions and the programme recommends at least 10 student ambassadors per school.
- From training courses are provided for teachers and educational staff. The goal is to have 100% staff trained by 2027.
- From workshops and awareness campaigns are conducted with pupils: 10 hours per year must be devoted to this.
- One protocol for the care of victims and witnesses is implemented at local and national level.
The link between e-Enfance/3018 and the pHARe protocol
The 3018, the national helpline for combating bullying and cyberbullying, is part of the pHARe programme. It enables pupils, parents and educational staff to report incidents of bullying and cyberbullying and obtain a psychological and legal support.
In 2019, on the occasion of the Safer Internet Day (highlight of the pHARe programme), and Thanks to sponsorship from the Google.org Foundation, the Association is breaking new ground by launching the first programme aimed at primary school pupils from Year 1 onwards, called “Les Super-héros du Net” (Internet Superheroes). Now part of the pHARe programme run by the Ministry of Education and Youth Against bullying at school, the programme teaches children how to avoid the risks of the Internet. In particular, it teaches them to identify different emotions using the superpowers of superheroes.
Each institution may choose to use this tool to participate in the pHARe programme.
The one-hour module, delivered in class in the presence of the teacher, is divided into six parts, each addressing a specific theme and a “superpower” to be developed:
- «Really nice» on the prevention of (cyber)bullying,
- «Super free» on the consequences of digital usage on health,
- «Super brave» on exposure to inappropriate content on the Internet,
- «Super cautious» on the protection of his image and personal data,
- «Super clever» on identifying scams,
- «Super lively» on disinformation.
Impact and effectiveness
Since its widespread implementation, the pHARe programme has made it possible to:
- Recruit 200,000 Internet Superheroes since the programme was launched in 2019
- Designate 81,000 secondary school ambassadors (there were 10,000 in 2020) who have received specific training enabling them to identify situations of bullying and help isolated pupils.
- Hire 150 harassment managers academic and departmental throughout France.
- Raise awareness among millions of pupils to the risks of harassment and cyberbullying.
- Strengthen cooperation between schools, families and associations such as e-Enfance/ 3018 for more effective care of victims.
