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The National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA) supports schools to work with parents, students and their school communities to find practical and lasting solutions to bullying and violence.
In 2023 the National Day of Action was on Friday 18 August. The theme was ‘Growing Connections’. Whether you're a parent, teacher, student or member of the broader community, everyone has a role to play in preventing bullying and violence.
How you can discuss bullying on the National Day of Action
Research shows that strong connections and social skills help to prevent bullying and violence. It also encourages students to seek help if they need it. We encourage you to consider ways you can talk to young people in your life about bullying and violence prevention.
For resources to support your conversations around bullying and violence prevention, see:
- Talking about bullying on the Bullying. No Way! website
- Parenting SA 'Bullying' Guide for parents (PDF 214KB)
- In focus: Childhood bullying - Emerging Minds.
Student participation in bullying prevention
Children and young people must be active participants in efforts to address bullying and violence.
We support this through funding school and student-initiated activities.
Funding for bullying and violence prevention projects in schools and preschools
South Australian government schools and preschools were invited to apply for funding of up to $5000 to support their projects that aimed to build stronger connections and prevent bullying and violence in schools.
Congratulations to the 46 successful applicants for the 2023 funding round. Projects have been funded for schools and preschools across the state, sharing in $208,381 worth of funding. You can read about the projects below.
Funded school and preschool projects in 2023
School or preschool | Project name | Project |
---|---|---|
Aberfoyle Hub Preschool | What's the Buzz? | What's the buzz? is an explicit anti-bullying program to educate students around social skills and positive behaviours. |
Aberfoyle Park High School | The Friends Resilience Program | The Friends Resilience Program will educate students around social skills, problem solving, resilience, bullying prevention and wellbeing. |
Blackwood High School | Respectful Relationships 4 All (RR4A) | RR4A is a program designed to teach students about acceptable and ‘upstander’ behaviour, while also teaching about effective anti-bullying techniques. Production of a school video will be undertaken and shared across all year levels. |
Booleroo Centre District School | Project Bully Awareness | Project Bully Awareness will create a First Nation's garden and improved play spaces with anti-racism, anti-bullying artwork/slogans on display. These will provide visual cues and consistency around positive behaviour expectations. |
Bordertown High School | Colour Run for Diversity | A multi-cultural day, colour run and celebration of diversity within the school community will be hosted to celebrate differences and foster empathy, respect and understanding. |
Bridgewater Primary School | Peer Mediation Peace Path | Peer mediation cues displayed visually along a path to support positive behaviours and remind students of restorative steps for problem solving. |
Challa Gardens Primary School | Show Respect Be Kind | Murals and artwork will be designed by students to support school values and reinforce positive behaviours. Artwork will be placed in areas that have been identified as being currently unsafe by students. |
Charles Campbell College | Expansive Practice: A new inclusive education model | Students will participate in ‘Audrey Mason-Hyde’ sessions to develop understanding of the challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ students and actions that can be taken to encourage ‘upstander’ behaviours. |
Coomandook Area School | Yard Landscaping and Zone Creation | This funding will help to landscape grouped seating and improved play spaces. These will create zones for appropriate age groups in line with Protective Physical Environments. |
East Marden Primary School | You can sit with us | A grouped seating area to encourage connection and friendships, informed by Wellbeing and Engagement Collection (WEC) data. Student designed art/posters/videos will be created to display school values. |
Evanston Gardens Primary School | Friendly Schools Gardening Club | The Friendly Schools Gardening Club will be growing a sensory garden. This space will be used as a structured support for students to build understanding around bullying prevention and impacts. |
Hackham East Primary School | Voice it! Training and education initiatives | Voice it! Student committee, peer-to-peer training and education initiatives around bullying prevention. |
Hallett Cove School | Community Arts Project | This project is a middle school project led by 3 priority cohorts (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Students with Disabilities, Students in Care). They will create art pieces reinforcing positive behaviour strategies. |
Heathfield High School | Bullying Prevention Project | Students will design and implement a bullying prevention strategy that's inclusive of peer led training and educational opportunities. |
Jamestown Community School | JCS on a Mission | This project is a strengths-based approach to bullying prevention through community projects that support growth, resilience, leadership, confidence. |
Kadina Memorial School | Gaga Ball Pit | This funding will help to create an improved play space that promotes positive play, peer relationships and connection to school. |
Kangaroo Island Community Education | Art for All: Fostering Inclusivity and Respect through Creativity | Funding will help to establish a collaborative art committee. They will use art as a means of encouraging empathy, understanding and respect and promoting a culture of inclusivity. |
Kersbrook Primary School | Small school, big family | This project aims to strengthen student connection and minimise negative interactions through targeted education around identity, self-confidence and personal power. |
Lobethal Primary School | Proactive/preventative performance - Like me, like you | This project is an interactive performance by ActNow Theatre introducing students to the idea of diversity, from First Nations to migrants. This is a proactive, preventative approach to bullying prevention. |
Lockleys North Primary School | Learner Qualities Mural | Murals to be placed around the school promoting and encouraging consistent vocabulary in line with school values. |
Loxton High School | Table Talk: Spreading Kindness, Not Bullying | This funding will help to create grouped seating with improved visibility and artworks to create a shared understanding of school values. |
Loxton Primary School | Loxton Primary Positive Behaviour | This project will display school values around the school through artworks that provide cues for positive behaviour. |
Madison Park School | Positive Behaviour for Learning Procedures and Guidelines Communication | This funding will be used to create signage artworks as cues around school that remind of positive behaviours and consistent, predictable messaging in line with positive behaviour for learning. |
Melaleuca Park Primary School | Safe Hands | This funding will be used to create mural designed by students that displays school values. The aim of the project is to encourage collaboration and empathy. |
Melrose Primary School | Our School, Our Community, Our Future – nurturing relationships to support a more compassionate world. | This project is a student-led initiative to support the emotional wellbeing of students in a safe space to build social connection and educate the whole school community around positive behaviours and bullying prevention. |
Mitcham Girls High School | Peer Support Training | This funding will support the ongoing work of the student wellbeing committee and peer support training as well as creating more inclusive seating arrangements. |
Mount Gambier North Primary School | Positive Play Project 2023 | The Positive Play Project will support student initiatives during yard time in the areas of soccer, basketball, land care, craft groups and Aboriginal focussed activities. These aim to support positive behaviour and social skill development. |
Norwood International High School | Student Agency and Leadership | This multi-faceted project involves data research and analysis, student leadership training, and the development of a charter to support strategies preventing bullying and violence . |
Ocean View P-12 College | Sanitary and Safe Spaces Project | This project will make safety upgrades to toilet blocks in line with protective physical environments guidelines and in response to student concerns and bullying incident reports. |
Pimpala Primary School | Student Wellbeing/Anti-Bullying Ambassadors | This funding will support the creation of a student wellbeing ambassadors group The group aims to implement anti-bullying strategies and create awareness around bullying prevention through activities and education. |
Port Lincoln High School | Yarning Circle | This project will bring to life the creation of a yarning circle to support connection to land and environment, as well as student connections. There will be clear expectations and signage around respectful behaviours. |
Renmark Primary School | Values in View! Showcasing our school's expectations | This funding will be used to create visual displays of school values in line with positive behaviour for learning to create a shared understanding of school values. |
Reynella East College | Unite Against Bullying: Student-Led Initiative | This funding will be used to create a school mural, workshops, presentations and interactive sessions that promote awareness and education around bullying prevention. |
Rose Park Primary School | 2023 Wellbeing Improvement Plan | This funding will support student-led initiatives that focus on connections and relationship-strengthening within the school community. |
Scott Creek Primary School | Our Right to Feel Safe! | This project will review Wellbeing and Engagement Collection (WEC) data to inform bullying prevention strategies. The review will be used to inform creation of signage and a video to display and celebrate positive school values. |
Seaton High School | Positive Behaviour for Learning: Anti-bullying project | A student-led anti-bullying committee will work in partnership with Bullying. No way! Resources to educate peers around impacts of bullying and bullying prevention. A student-led podcast and visual displays to educate and promote positive culture will be created. |
South Port Primary School | Family Support and Engagement | This project will extend the Resilience Project to students’ families. This will aim to strengthen supports and ensure a holistic response to bullying prevention, resilience and empathy. |
Springton Primary School | Building Community Through the Ages | This project will establish multi-generational connections within the local community to support positive and inclusive behaviour. |
St Leonards Primary School | Smart Play | This project will fund a lunchtime program that supports students to develop emotional literacy. |
Swallowcliffe School P-6 | Swallowcliffe Anti-Bullying and Violence Community Information Sessions | This project is a series of community sessions in partnership with local community organisations. These sessions will inform students, families and the broader community around skills and strategies to promote positive and respectful behaviour. |
Unley Primary School - Bullying | Open your eyes and hearts | A school wide, student-led anti-bullying project, this funding will help to educate and inform students around positive behaviour, consistent language and anti-bullying strategies. |
Walkerville Primary School | Nature Play | This funding will help to create a nature play space designed to promote positive play, foster social connectedness and create a calmer, more peaceful environment. |
Wandana Primary School | GO FOR GOALS | This funding will improve play spaces and seating to encourage positive, respectful play and social relationships. |
Warooka Primary School | Nature Garden | This funding will support the creation of a Nature Garden that aligns with protective physical environments guidelines as well as creates student ownership, belonging and wellbeing. |
Willunga Primary School | Willunga Primary Anti Bullying Grant | This funding will be used for landscaping and creating grouped seating in line with protective physical environments recommendations to promote positive behaviours, belonging and safety. |
Wilmington Primary School | When we feel connected and respected, we are ALL stronger | This funding will be used to create seating, a chill out area and art to improve outdoor play and learning spaces. |
2024 funding
Funding will be made available again in 2024. We'll let schools and preschools know how to apply when that funding round is open.
Previous years school projects
Christies Beach High School
Students worked with the Youth Affairs Council of South Australia to build their knowledge about bullying and bullying prevention. They created a video about bullying aimed at students transitioning from Year 7 to Year 8. The video focused on how to seek support if students experienced bullying and promoted the school’s response to bullying.
The group researched and explored existing bullying prevention videos and then completed a storyboard and project brief. They worked with a professional media company to film and edit the video, which used students as actors.
Nuriootpa High School
Students worked together over the year to create projects that increased knowledge about bullying, raised awareness and supported student participation.
Peer Support Leaders in the school consulted with Year 8 students about bullying. The school also ran a teacher and parent survey. Peer Support Leaders analysed the information available and developed 2 presentations about bullying – one for students and one for teachers. The presentations were handed over to the new Peer Leader group at the start of the following school year.
Valley View Secondary School
The project group worked with school staff to review Wellbeing and Engagement Collection (WEC) data on bullying and to share their perspectives on bullying at the school.
The group created banners for each of the school’s houses as their values align with bullying prevention messages. The group planned and ran a school-wide competition to design posters for each house.
The student group also informally reviewed the school’s anti-bullying policy and processes for responding to bullying. This helped to create a storyboard and script for a video promoting the school’s approaches to preventing and responding to bullying.
Bullying. No Way! funding for school activities
This year our department gave $500 to 415 South Australian government schools to celebrate the National Day of Action. To be eligible for the funding, schools had to register with Bullying. No way!
Funding for this year has closed. Registrations will open in 2024 for schools and preschools who have not yet registered with Bullying. No way! and would like to.
Other awareness raising events for schools
Harmony week
Harmony week celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.
It occurs annually from 15 to 21 March. 21 March is also the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
National reconciliation week
National reconciliation week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
It occurs annually from 27 May to 3 June.
Safer internet day
Safer Internet Day is an international day to promote safer and more responsible use of digital technology. In Australia the day is led by the eSafety Commissioner .
It occurs annually on 8 February.