The Shield Programme was established by the ISPCC in 2012 to empower primary and post-primary schools to combat bullying through the use of Shield My School  “Self Evaluation Tool”.  The Tool consists of 10 statements which are based on international evidence in relation to the management of bullying and reflect evidence informed practice that has been shown to have a positive impact on bullying.

The Tool asks teachers to reflect on these ten statements about their school’s approach to bullying. The process encourages teachers to identify the aspects where they are strong and areas they would like to improve on. This is followed by an action plan where schools record the outcome of their evaluation, their proposed actions, time-frames and review schedule.

The overall aim of the Self Evaluation Tool is to help schools identify how effective they are in dealing with, and reducing incidences of bullying within the school and community environment.

The Shield Flag is the pinnacle achievement of the Shield Programme. When a school flies the Shield Flag it is testimony to their ongoing commitment to combat bullying. It takes effort and dedication to reach the criteria for the flag and once achieved, the school holds the flag for two years.

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