Friday (May 4th) will see schools across the world join together to show their support against bullying.

Stand 4 Change Day aims to raise awareness of the problem and school communities are asked to stand together for five minutes at midday, as a pledge to work towards creating a safe learning environment.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland is backing the initiative and urged educational institutions to take part in the event.

Fred van Leewen, general secretary of Education International, which is behind the campaign, claimed it is a teacher's responsibility to strive to eradicate harassment in schools.

"It's our professional duty to speak out against all kind of bullying behaviour, whether physical, verbal or indirect; whether in the community, the classroom, on computer screens or mobile phones," he stated.

According to figures from the National Association of School Psychologists, 160,000 students stay home from school every day for fear of bullying.

Written by Donal Walsh

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