Every school needs a Kindness Summit

Bullying is widespread. Kindness is too, when schools create the conditions where it can flourish. Today we release our free Kindness Summit Guide in support of UNESCO’s day against bullying and cyberbullying.

Bullying remains the most common form of violence children face at school. In many countries, more than a third of 13–15-year-olds report being bullied in the past month, and online it follows them home. That is half the story. The other half is the essential kindness that we see in students again and again. A child who saves a seat for a friend. A teenager who sends the message that says are you OK? A class that closes ranks to support someone who is struggling. Kindness is everywhere in schools. Our job as educators is to create the conditions where students can lead with it.  That is why we created the Kindness Summit.

What is the Kindness Summit?

Every student has the right to feel safe, seen and welcome at school. The Kindness Summit is a structured, student-led process that invites children and teens to shape the culture of their classrooms and their school, so that kindness becomes the norm. The Summit treats students as essential stakeholders of the culture of your school. They reflect on everyday moments: who felt included today, who was left out, where bullying shows up. Then they lead the conversation about what to do differently.

How the Summit works

The Summit unfolds in three phases. Each builds on the last, and each can stand alone, so schools can start small or go school-wide.

Phase 1: Prepare the Kindness Ambassadors (15–20 minutes)
A small group of students is prepared to help lead the process.

Phase 2: Hold the Classroom Kindness Summit (45 minutes)
The whole class reflects together on everyday school life and creates a shared charter for how they will treat one another.

Phase 3: Hold the School-Wide Summit (optional, 35–45 minutes)
Class delegates share what they found, and school leadership responds with its own commitments.

In about an hour, a single class can have a charter of its own making. Across a school, students and leaders arrive at commitments they share.

Download your Kindness Summit Guide

Tell us how it went!

Once you’ve held your Summit, write to us at [email protected]. We’d love to hear what your students created.