We are delighted to invite you and your school to take part in our Shona Safe Bathrooms Challenge. We’d also love to share your free stencil pack with you in the hopes that it helps you to turn your corridors and bathrooms into more positive spaces for your students. Please just pop us an email at info@shona.ie and we can email them over to you straight away! 

So, why should you get involved?

If you’ve worked with us before, you’ll know that we are deeply committed to creating positive cultures in schools, where students treat each other with kindness and everyone is included and supported by their peers.

Our founder, Tammy, often speaks about how she spent many hours hiding in toilets from her bully. When she shares her story, many other girls have admitted that they do the same. Toilets are where girls gather to gossip, have panic attacks, isolate themselves, and so much more. They can feel like scary and lonely places at times.

We want to turn school bathrooms into more positive spaces, and to give the girls themselves ownership over “re-branding” the bathrooms as safe havens where they check in with each other, offer encouragement and reinforce the Shona message.

How does it work?

Pop an email over to info@shona.ie requesting your pack and we’ll send you on your very own stencil kits, they feature quotes that were chosen by the girls in our community. There are a number of ways you can use them. You can print them and attach them to cardboard, and cut out the stencils if you wish, but the best way is to use a projector and project them onto the wall or door, so you can size them exactly how you need, and draw the outline using a marker.

We recommend giving the stencils to TY groups, art students or using them as an SPHE project. Allow the students to decide where, how, and what format they would like to use. Reinforce the point that it’s their space, and give them ownership of the outcome.

Be as creative as you like, some schools have even used the stencils to create giant murals in their hallways, reception areas and outside walls. The possibilities are endless! Our friends in Heywood Community School used our stencils and the pictures in this post are from the bathrooms in their school!

How much does it cost?

The stencils are 100% free, it is our pleasure to support our girls.

All we ask is that you share some photos with us of your efforts. We want to see and track the impact of our work and share it to encourage others.

In the meantime, make sure you sign up for our newsletter HERE, so you can stay up to date with our other projects and events. And if you have any questions, feel free to contact us on info@shona.ie

Thank you for all the great work you are doing, teachers really are the best.

Lots of love,

Team Shona x