abi Anti-Bullying Institute

We have designed this online student workshop in response to a collective cry from schools who are experiencing more and more hostile bullying cycles amongst students, often emerging online and spreading into the school community or vice versa. These cycles have devastating effects on the groups caught up in them, on school staff and on the whole school community as blame, shame, anger and exclusion drain the health of those affected, potential and growth.

Suitable for any Post-Primary Year Groups – Transition Years, 1st-6th Year Groups in line with CSPE, SPHE curriculums, school wellbeing programmes and Bí Cinealtá awareness raising initiatives, this 90-minute workshop explores why we sometimes choose the wrong behaviours in response to things we feel unsafe and afraid of, the effect of those choices on our own nervous system and our social system AND why choosing positive responses will grow healthy friendships, improve our mental health and regulate our nervous systems..

We will take a deep dive into what bullying behaviour really is amongst a group, and look at

• How we sabotage our own mental health by denying our human urges to be altruistic.
• How by simply replacing unkind and mean behavioural choices with kindness we bring our bodies and minds into homeostasis, our natural optimum state where mental and physical health flourishes and we can better regulate ourselves and our nervous systems.
• How it can be life-changing when friendships fracture to detach with respect and kindness rather than resentment, blame and anger. And how healing relationship fractures by avoiding resentment, blame and anger can set us on a path of success in life.

We feel it’s important to include parents in initiatives like this, and so we are offering a Parents’ Workshop as a follow-on to the Student Workshop. As part of this package, participating schools invite parents to their own online workshop “How to Support Your Child to make the best Choices when it comes to Healthy Friendships and Conflict”.

Dates only in March on Wednesdays:
11^th March, 18^th March & 25^th March
Students’ Workshop 11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m. and
Parents’ Workshop on the same dates @ 7.30 – 8.30 p.m.

Limited availability for each workshop.