The Mary Foundation and Save the Children Denmark are equal partners in the programme.

The former is responsible for overall project management and coordination, while the latter – in addition to taking part in project management – provides valuable expertise on bullying and childhood development.

The Mary Foundation
The Mary Foundation, HRH Crown Princess Mary’s Foundation, was founded in 2007.

The Mary Foundation’s social work revolves around its basic philosophy which is that everyone has the right to belong.

The foundation’s mission is to prevent and alleviate social isolation, to foster tolerance and understanding of diversity, and to create hope.

Save the Children Denmark
Save the Children Denmark forms part of the International Save the Children which is the largest independent children’s rights organisation in the world.

Save the Children strives to protect children’s rights worldwide and offers both urgent and long-term support for vulnerable children.

Education and protection are at the heart of Save the Children’s work.

The organisation offers relief aid and focuses on children’s participation, survival, development, education and protection.

Free of Bullying's definition of bullying is based on the research of the Danish bullying expert Helle Rabøl Hansen.

It focuses on the whole group:

• Bullying is a group phenomenon. Individuals sometimes exclude one another, but when bullying happens, the exclusion takes place in and around a community or group.
• The exclusion becomes systematic. It involves a number of actions signalling “you are not included in this."
• The forms of bullying can be direct and persecuting or indirectly excluding in nature. Hitting and pushing are direct forms of bullying, while bad-mouthing and ignoring are examples of indirect bullying.
• Bullying takes place in a social context from which the child is unable to withdraw, such as the preschool or primary school chosen for the child.

The Free of Bullying anti-bullying programme is implemented by developing a series of good social practices designed to strengthen the children’s sense of community.

The children work with the tools in the suitcase at children’s meetings held at a regular basis. A continuous and specific focus on well-being is paramount for the success of the programme.

The aim of Free of Bullying is to ensure that these social practices become embedded in the culture.

Learn more about our view on bullying by listening to Danish researcher Helle Rabøl Hansen or watch the speed drawing 'Why does bullying occur?' in the videos in the right side of the screen.

You can also learn more in the Bullying Wiki.

All children need to feel part of a community – no matter what part of the world they live in.

This is the underlying philosophy behind Free of Bullying, a pedagogical anti-bullying programme that prevents bullying in preschools and primary schools.

Free of Bullying was launched in Denmark in 2007 on the initiative of Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Denmark and is run by The Mary Foundation and Save the Children Denmark.

Currently approximately half of Danish preschools and 40 % of Danish primary schools are involved in the programme. The programme has also been established in Greenland, Estonia and Iceland, and there is a growing international interest in Free of Bullying.

Free of Bullying was inspired by the Australian programme “Better Buddies” which was developed by the Alannah and Madeline Foundation in Australia.

Read more about Free of Bullying in this article from euronews.

The mission of Free of Bullying is:

• To reduce the number of children subjected to bullying in preschools and primary schools
• To create a safe, positive and healthy environment for children attending preschool or primary school

The mission is to be achieved by:

• Teaching children how to be a good friend
• Giving children the courage to say no if they experience bullying
• Supporting the children to act based on the values of tolerance, respect, care and courage
• Strengthening group spirit among children and thus preventing bullying

Free of Bullying consists of three suitcases. One aimed at 0 to 3-year-olds (yellow/red), one amied at 3 to 6-year-olds (green/orange) and one aimed at 6 to 8-year-olds (blue/red).

The suitcase for 0 to 3-year-olds is not yet available in English. 

The suitcases contain a number of pedagogical materials aimed at the three target groups of Free of Bullying: children, teachers and parents.

Among the materials are:

• Guidebook for professionals
• Conversation boards or posters
• Dilemma cards for teachers and parents
• A rhythmic programme
• A massage programme
• Picture books for children
• The mascot of the programme, Buddy Bear
• Various communication materials for parents

Buddy Bear is the symbol of Free of Bullying while also fulfilling a specific function, in that Buddy Bear is a friend of all children.

Buddy Bear is included in the Free of Bullying materials in the form of a hand puppet capable of 'talking' with the children. The suitcase aimed at preschools also includes a mini version of Buddy Bear for each of the children. 

Buddy Bear personifies the values and thus underpins the positive aspects of being a good friend, of being courageous and showing kindness towards your friends.

Free of Bullying revolves around four core values:

• Tolerance is about regarding and accepting differences within a group of children as a strength. It is also about treating each other as equals.
• Respect is about accepting and recognizing all children in the group, and about accommodating and respecting individual differences.
• Care is about showing interest, compassion, concern and helpfulness towards other children.
• Courage is about reacting to injustice - setting boundaries and saying no when another child's boundaries are overstepped.

These values develop children's social skills and enable them to develop positive relationships in childhood as well as later in life.

Watch a short film about finding the inner strength to stand up against bullying.

The film is made by the Oscar award winning director Anders Walter in collaboration between DR Ultra and The Mary Foundation.

Studies show that 98 % of teachers who have worked with Free of Bullying in preschools and schools would recommend the programme to others.

Teachers experience that children become more caring towards each other and better at solving conflicts.

Under the leadership of Professor Jan Kampmann, a group of researchers from Roskilde University monitored the pilot phase of Free of Bullying in Denmark. The results of this follow-up research are presented in eight reports.

You can download the eight reports here.