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Description
The aim of the project is to support the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents in the proceedings of education, and to provide a prevention of mental illnesses and domestic violence.
THE PROJECT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED THROUGH 3 ACTIVITIES WITH SYNERGISTIC EFFECTS:
1/ THE RESILIENCE, RIGHTS AND RESPECTFULL RELATIONSHIPS PROGRAMME© (methodology) / TRANSFER INTO THE CZECH EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM:
- complex methodology, developed in Australia, includes 8 practical hand-books for teachers focused on social and emotional learning (SLE) and respectful relationships
- 8 main topics of the methodology: emotional literacy, personal strenghts, positive coping, stress management, help-seeking, gender and identity, positive gender relations
- the topics are adapted for different phases of schooling (for preschool children, primary and secondary schools)
2/ IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ADAPTED RRRR METHODOLOGY AT 3 PILOT SCHOOLS
- in the school-year 2022-23, in cooperation with implementation teams at schools
- 3 levels of education will be involved (kindergarten, primary + secondary schools)
3/ MOVIE „HOME, SWEET HOME“ AND ITS METHODOLOGY FOCUSED ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND PREVENTION OF THIS PHENOMENON / TRANSFER IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
- implementation will proceed in cooperation with the Norwegian partner
- transfer of the movie and methodology
- Training of Trainers for 25 persons
The partner is The Alternativ to Violence (Norway), a non- profit NGO that provides psychological treatment and professional expertise on domestic violence. The ATV has developed several projects together with the Czech Government Office on the topic domestic violence, its prevention etc.
The project has 4 additional partners – 3 pilot schools (The Kindergarten in Šestajovice, Central Bohemia Region; The Primary School, Okružní, Most, and The Secondary Technical School in Most, Ústí region) and Centrum LOCIKA focused on domestic violence in the Czech Republic.
Summary of project results
The project was initiated as a response to the alarming rise in mental health issues among children and adolescents. According to recent studies, more than 50% of ninth-grade students in the Czech Republic exhibit signs of declining well-being. Additionally, 30% of these students experience anxiety, and 4 out of 10 show symptoms of moderate to severe depression (NUDZ, 2023). The organization Linka bezpečí recorded an increase of over 110% in youth suicides between 2019 and 2022. Meanwhile, data from Nevypusť duši shows that three-quarters of children and young people feel too ashamed to seek help for mental health problems. In the education sector, there has been a long-term lack of sufficient knowledge of social-emotional and mental health needs among teachers. Educators often lack the necessary competencies to provide comprehensive and practical information about mental health support in their teaching a well as to contribute to mental illness prevention. Therefore, the aim of the project was to develop comprehensive Teacher''s Handbooks (RRRR) to provide essential curricular and methodological support for teachers. Adapting the RRRR Teacher''s Handbooks were originally developed in Australia and SOFA obtained a licence for adaptation of the content. The differences between the Czech and Australian education systems, particularly since compulsory education in Australia begins at the age of five, posed the need for an elaborate adaptation process. As a result, the RRRR Teacher’s Handbooks were adjusted to Czech primary (6-15 years old) and secondary schools (15-19 years old), starting at 6 years of age rather than 5 years as it was in Australian materials. The implementation team was faced with a timeline adjustment, which consequently delayed subsequent activities, but haven’t affected the project outcomes and results. The delay has occurred due to the project launch shift to February 2022 caused by a delayed decision on grant approval. Further delay occurred because the audio track for the film “Všude dobře, doma nejlíp?” was not provided in time for Czech overdubbing, affecting follow-up activities such as the public seminar and the Training of Teachers (ToT). Additional time constraints arose from the complexity of finalizing the RRRR Teacher''s Handbooks and aligning it with the National Curriculum Framework (RVP). The final challenge was the project budget, which did not account for the unexpected inflation in the Czech Republic economy.
As part of the project, we carried out the following activities:
- Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) Teacher''s Handbooks: Transfer and Adaptation The RRRR Teacher’s Handbooks were translated into Czech and adapted to the czech educational context by SOFA experts. A pilot version was developed and tested in primary and secondary schools. The final adjustments of the Teacher''s Handbooks included language proofreading and were published online on the project implementer’s website: RRRR Teacher’s Handbooks - Society for All. A variety of accompanying visual materials were created to support the key skills outlined in the Teacher''s Handbooks, including:
- Implementation of the RRRR Teacher''s Handbooks in 3 Pilot Schools
The implementation took place in three pilot schools (ZŠ Kbely, ZŠ Most, and SŠT Most) over the course of the 2022/2023 school year. At the start of the pilot phase, SOFA’s experts trained the full teaching staff at participating primary and secondary schools, as well as a team of selected educators. These educators were tasked with implementing the activities and providing feedback on the Teacher’s Handbooks. Their feedback was taken into account, and their suggestions were incorporated into the final version of the RRRR Teacher’s Handbooks. An interview with teachers from the pilot schools was conducted to share insights about the piloting process. - Film HOME, SWEET HOME on Domestic Violence: Transfer and Accessibility for Therapeutic and Preventive Use in the Czech Republic
The educational film was dubbed into Czech, accompanied by the development of a student program. This program included a student workbook (Proof of Love or Violence? - Society for All) and a handbook for facilitators (Handbook for the Violence Prevention Program - Society for All). The materials were developed in cooperation with partner organizations Centrum Locika (Czechia) and ATV (Norway). To ensure the project’s sustainability, 28 experts were trained (ToT) in the field of violence prevention to disseminate the program across the Czech Republic. - Project Publicity
All information about the project was published on the applicant’s website: RRRR - Society for All, with regular updates on its progress and milestones. Additionally, two major publicity events were organized:- A public seminar: Expert Seminar on Wellbeing and Violence Prevention in Close Relationships - Society for All,
- A closing event with a press conference: Press Conference: Results of the RRRR Project - Society for All.
Several professional articles and dozens of media outputs about the project’s outcomes were published. The final stage of the project was an awareness campaign aimed at increasing knowledge about the newly created programs. By the end of the project, the RRRR Teacher’s Handbooks had been downloaded nearly 14,000 times.
Project ManagementThe project management team consisted of a project manager, financial manager, and project accountant.
The purpose of the project was to support the mental health of children and adolescents by developing new comprehensive programs focused on social-emotional learning and the prevention of violence in close relationships and subsequently disseminating them into Czech schools.
The programs aimed to provide methodological support and enhance the competencies of primary and secondary school teachers, thereby promoting their students’ mental health. Final evaluation data indicate significant progress: 96% of participating teachers reported that the methodology helped them support their own wellbeing. Additionally, 90% of teachers found the RRRR Teacher’s Handbooks beneficial for their work and plan to continue using it beyond the project’s completion.
The data demonstrate that teachers from pilot schools are now equipped with tools and knowledge to support mental health and prevent violence. Feedback from these teachers highlighted improvements in students’ key competencies in social-emotional learning, including emotional literacy, positive classroom relationships, stress management, problem-solving, and more. Additionally, 80% of participating teachers reported feeling confident in addressing violence prevention in close relationships, a significant increase from just 15% before the project.
The project’s purpose was fulfilled through the completion of its key activities. Although the short timeframe prevents measuring the direct impact on children and adolescents’ mental health, the implementation of these activities will lay a foundation for positive changes. Over time, we anticipate significant improvements the mental health of children and adolescents. Regular impact assessments will be needed to confirm the project’s long-term success.
Summary of bilateral results
Cooperation with the Norwegian partner (ATV) was extremely beneficial for the project and led to a fundamental shift in the field of prevention of violence in close relationships. Thanks to our partner''s professional experience and methodological approach, we have developed a comprehensive prevention program that uniquely integrates the perspective of persons committing violence. The program combines theoretical foundations with practical tools and offers specific recommendations on how to proceed in risky situations and who to contact. An important outcome of the cooperation is also the adaptation of the educational film to the Czech environment: Home, sweet home?, which wouldn´t have been possible without the support of the partner ATV. This film has become a key tool in working with the target group and contributed to a wider understanding of the issue of violence. One of the highlights of the cooperation was the presentation of the program by the ATV representative at the 67th session of OSN on the status of women in NY, where it was presented as an example of good practice in the field of prevention of violence in close relationships. This international presentation highlighted the importance of bilateral cooperation and confirmed the value of joint results. The cooperation with ATV has significantly contributed to improving knowledge and skills in the field of violence prevention and has created a solid foundation for further development of the partnership. Based on these positive experiences, we plan to further deepen the cooperation on other projects in the future.