Stop Bullying!

1. Make sure that all know the anti-bullying policy. Even better, make sure that as many pupils, parents, governors and staff as possible are involved in its creation. Ensure that preventative approaches are co-ordinated with approaches in the behaviour policy; better still, the ‘whole-school positive relationships policy’. Above all revisit it regularly, remind yourself of its wisdom and write notes on it that will inform thinking when it is revised.

2. Keep written records of observations, meetings and actions taken. Make sure that records are kept in keeping with advice from your local authority. It is always helpful to develop a bullying report pro forma on which reported incidents are recorded and a pro forma for meetings with parents.

3. Become familiar with a variety of processes, strategies, skills and the philosophy that underpins them. Behind an approach is a rationale that informs what it is trying to achieve. Failure to understand an approach can lead to negative comment, condemnatory attitude and a dilution of its potential for change.

4. Explore alternative to punishment. Punishment will not work for many of those who are punished regularly and can be counter-productive for the occasional minor misdemeanour. Exclusion from school because of bullying is a last resort and it is preferable, but not necessarily easy, to develop strategies involving adults and children that create a climate in which to bully would be anathema and in which it is dealt with effectively.

5. Get away from the bully-victim model. Powerful forces for change are bystanders and we are all bystanders. All members of the school community have a role to play in confronting negative relationships, helping bullies to change their behaviour and supporting victims.

6. Preventing bullying is about the school and classroom culture. It is important that staff examine the school and themselves and consider the extent that bullying may be institutionalized rather than celebrating individuality, difference and the unusual, as a bullying culture thrives on ridiculing these features. We must not only tolerate difference but celebrate it and help children to make wise choices if they are to be active and responsible citizens.

By: Nursazella