FUSE is an anti-bullying and online safety programme developed by the Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre in DCU, supported by Facebook. The programme launched in September 2019 across Ireland.
FUSE is grounded in Irish and international best practice research, consisting of a series of workshops and projects aimed at 2nd Year Students in Junior Cycle, their parents and school staff in post-primary schools across Ireland.
Always at the centre of this programme are young people. FUSE aims to support and empower young people to find solutions and initiatives themselves, to tackle bullying and online safety.
FUSE is also a research and evaluation programme, enabling schools to identify areas of improvement and self-evaluation. The curriculum focuses on empowering students to develop initiatives in their schools which tackle bullying and raise awareness of online safety.
These projects and initiatives will be showcased during Safer Internet Day. Groups of Junior cycle students will also get the opportunity to present their projects to the National Anti-Bullying Centre each year. Successful projects will receive a commendation from the Centre acknowledging their efforts to tackle bullying and online safety in their school communities.
This is the second phase of the programme, following an investment of €1m in the initiative by Facebook in the last year.
Over the course of one academic year, FUSE aims to:
- Reduce levels of bullying in schools
- Increase reporting of bullying incidents
- Raise student, school staff and parent awareness of online safety
- Increase inclusiveness within the school climate, enabling school staff, students and parents, to tackle bullying and online safety together.
At the beginning of FUSE, nominated teachers will participate in a Training Programme, which will enable them to deliver workshops to school staff, parents and students.
Teachers will have the option of receiving this training online or in person (Covid permitting), and following this; they will have access to online support materials including videos, webinars, presentations and worksheets.
Post-Programme evaluations will take place with school staff and students. These evaluations will help us to measure the extent to which the programme is achieving its goals and impacting on participant’s knowledge of online safety and ability to tackle bullying.
Who can participate in FUSE?
Any second level school in Ireland can participate. FUSE is also open to youth and sports clubs. If you are a youth or sports club, please contact Colm Canning at colm.canning@dcu.ie.
What year group is FUSE aimed at?
FUSE is designed for students in Junior Cycle.
Is training required to deliver the FUSE programme?
Yes, training is required to deliver our programme in your school; with interested parties having the option to take part in either online training or a training event taking place here in DCU, St. Patrick’s Campus. Further information can be found here.
What will I learn at the one day FUSE training?
Training – both online and in-person – will explore many different areas, and a more detailed answer can be found here.
I am a parent/guardian, can I get involved in FUSE?
Yes! We welcome your input into our programme. If your child is a learner in second year, we would love for you to contribute to our research. Please get in touch with your school’s principal and they can provide further information on how you can complete our survey.
FUSE Primary
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