KiVa

KiVa is a Finnish antibullying programme for schools. What makes the KiVa programme unique is that it is primarily preventive. In fact, students attend KiVa classes every week. In these classes, they learn to reach out to others, to communicate, to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, and to develop empathy. The programme provides them with the right tools for life in a community.

Prevention

Students attend KiVa classes every week. The programme consists of three units, depending on the students’ age. Through role-playing and targeted exercises, students develop important social skills for life in a community. They also learn to recognise and identify bullying situations and to say STOP!

Intervention

Each KiVa school has a specially trained team to intervene in cases of bullying. The team members act according to a very specific protocol. All students involved in the bullying incident—whether perpetrators, victims, or witnesses—participate in resolving the case. It is essential to establish a dialogue and ensure that everyone is heard.

Monitoring Bullying Cases

Every year, students and staff take part in a survey. This allows the school to gather information on the victimisation rate and the school climate, to compare the results with those of other schools, and to track changes from year to year.

About the University of Turku

Based on research and a scientifically validated approach, the KiVa programme is an anti-bullying initiative developed by the University of Turku in Finland and funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. A large-scale, randomised national study, along with various other studies, has scientifically demonstrated the programme’s high effectiveness. The KiVa program is implemented all over the world and is the most extensively studied anti-bullying programme globally.

Why Become a KiVa School?

Partnership with the University of Turku, renowned for its research in the field of school bullying

The Pillars of the KiVa Programme: Prevention, Intervention, and Monitoring

Prevention: Stopping bullying before it happens

Intervention: Providing tools for managing bullying

Annual Monitoring: The KiVa programme includes tools that allow schools to track their situation through annual online questionnaires.

At KiVa School, we say STOP to bullying — together!