What is bullying? Deliberate, hurtful behaviour Repeated over a period of time

1. Bullying in Schools-Whole School/In class approaches to effectively reduce bullyingJen Smith, Nicole Weir and Kim Taylor

2. What is bullying? • Deliberate, hurtful behaviour • Repeated over a period of time • Difficult for victims to defend themselves • Often difficult for those doing the bullying to learn new social behaviours • The bully exercises power inappropriately over the victim Different types -Verbal, Physical, Emotional and Cyber-bullying These are some examples that can be seen within schools • Physical – hitting, kicking, stealing • Verbal – prejudices, name calling, insulting • Emotional- spreading rumours, exclusion from peer groups • Cyber bullying- the use of technologies to exercise power over another

3. The Bullies Stephenson and Smith (1989) identified three types of children who bully: • Physically strong children who are confident in themselves and feel secure. They enjoy aggression and are popular among their peers. • Children who are less secure in themselves and are often anxious. They may struggle academically and have poor concentration. They are less popular with their peers. • Unpopular children who will bully in some situations and are bullied in others.

4. Effects on victim • Children can become anxious, sensitive, insecure and cautious as a result of bullying. They lack the confidence to seek help as telling is scorned upon, and they are often embarrassed that they are unable to deal with the issue themselves. • Victims of bullying often blame themselves for the situation as they believe it has arisen through a fault of their own. • Some children become fearful of new situations and tend to have fewer good friends in their class than their peers. • For girls who are victims of bullying, the result is often feeling anxious and worried about being judged, evaluated and excluded by the peers. • In some situations bullying can start as soon as a child enters kindergarten so effects can be experienced over a long period of time. • Prolonged bullying leads to self exclusion and isolation. • In some circumstances, the bullying becomes so harrowing that the child feigns illness to be absent from school as a temporary reprieve. CHILDREN WHO ARE BULLIED NO LONGER FEEL SAFE AT SCHOOL OR IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY!

5. The aim: safe physical and emotional environment in which students can grow and learn.STOPPING BULLYING IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY!

6. The Schools Job Schools in New Zealand not only have a moral obligation to reduce bullying, they also have a legal obligation. Their charter agreement between the school and the Minister of Education specifically directs the school to “provide a safe physical and emotional environment”. “Every pupil has the right to a safe school and the responsibility to stop bullying.”

7. School Culture • To make an effective reduction in bullying, the culture of the school must change. • The culture of a school influences how people in the school think, feel and behave. • Macklem (2003) argues that school culture refers to the expectations of all the stakeholders involved as well as the norms, values, traditions and history of the school and its community. • In order to successfully alter the school culture, it is essential to ensure all teachers are supportive of the changes. • Macklem (2003) argues that families and members of the community must also be supportive of the changes and recognise that bullying behaviours can also extend from issues in the home. This includes families with bullies and families with victimised children.

8. WHOLE SCHOOL • Every school must recognise its extent and impact and take steps to stop bullying happening. • Studies have found dramatic reductions in bullying of between 20-80% when school wide strategies are used. • Olweus (1993) argues that dealing with bullying on an individual case basis often underestimated the extend of the bullying culture in the school. • A whole school approach to managing bullying deals with all social groups and underlying issues within the school.

9. WHOLE SCHOOL APPROACH • Long Term Solution • -Use a full staff meeting to raise awareness and knowledge of the bullying issue. This would ensure all staff were aware of what is happening in their school and make sure all were on board to prevent more bullying. • -A presentation to the Board of Trustees about the nature of bullying. • This would be useful to ensure that the policy that will be put in place will have their support. • -Find out what similar schools have done. This may give ideas on bullying preventative strategies. • -Investigate the perceptions staff, pupils and parents have on bullying. Use these to inform further action. • -Parent / caregiver meetings that allow everyone to look at the issues and the nature of the behaviour. Potential consequences and the impact of bullying is also looked at and discussed.

10. WHOLE SCHOOL APPROACH • Potential Short Term Solutions • These would be implemented into the school and all students and staff would be aware of the procedure. The details would be discussed at the meetings with the board and staff. 1.Provide support for the victim -Have a ‘safe room’ set up where students can talk and feel comfortable and protected -Use reliable peers, teacher aids, senior volunteers and others as supporters 2. Shared problem solving- In this process the bullies are confronted with the impact their behaviour has had on the victim, and peers are given the opportunity to talk about what has happened. While the victim is not present, the teacher taking the group talks about how the victim has been feeling, without blaming anyone. The pupils are asked for help to make the victim feel better. 3.Use a peer mediation programme • These programmes have been successful in encouraging young people to seek help when they are in a conflict situation. This may result in the bully understanding the hurt they are causing and modifying their behaviour

11. These anti bullying policies and procedures need to be followed up with continued support and implementation to ensure continued safety for the victims. • “Successfully dealing with bullying involves building a genuine community within the school. Everyone accepts they have the right to be free from harassment and that they have the responsibility to support their weaker and more vulnerable peers.”

12. In class approach • Attitudes of teachers towards bullying plays an extremely important role in the amount and frequency of bullying in the classroom. • Verbal and social bullying are commonly seen as requiring less intervention as opposed to physical. • There are certain situations where a teacher may feel that it is outside of their responsibilities and skill set to deal with the issue at hand. • Teacher interventions must be consistent and in line with the school policy to be effective. • Teachers often deal with the bullies when intervening, not the victims. • “Young people are searching for leadership, support and clarification from the adults in the school.”

13. Steps in an effective approach to dealing with bullying in the classroom • Clear expectations must be set – these should be in line with the whole school policy on bullying • Verbal and social bullying must be recognised and identified as being as significant as physical bullying. • Teachers need access to professional development and support in dealing with bullying, especially if they feel it is beyond their current skill set. • Teachers must be firm and consistent when dealing with bullying behaviours in all situations. • Consequences of in class bullying should be as set out by the whole school policy and appropriate to the child and incident. • Teachers should encourage a ‘telling’ environment where children feel safe and able to report bullying. • Teachers should, at all time, model behaviour that promotes anti-bullying behaviours.

14. Prevention programmes in schools need active and supportive leaders. They need to begin in the early years of school and extend over time, involving not only the school community but also the wider community. • “Teachers must recognise that a safe classroom is the most effective way of developing a positive learning environment.”NZ Police

15. Bibliography • Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. • Pikas, A. The Common Concern Method for the treatment of mobbing. In Roland, E., and Munthe, E. (eds.) (1989) Bullying - An International Perspective. London: David Fulton • Sharp, S., & Smith, P. (1994) Tackling Bullying in Your School London: Routledge • Rigby, K. (1996) Bullying in Schools and what we can do about it. Melbourne ACER. Set Special; Students at Risk, October 1996. NZCER, PO Box 3237, Wellington. • Sullivan, K. (2000) The Anti-Bullying Handbook. Auckland: Oxford University Press. • http://www.police.govt.nz/service/yes/nobully/guidelines_4schools.html • Stephenson and Smith (1989)(Online)Available from: http://www.police.govt.nz/service/yes/nobully/guidelines_4schools.html [Accessed 7th July 2012] • Macklem, G. (2003) Bullying and Teasing; Social Power in Children’s Groups. New York. Kluwer Academic/ Plenum Publishers.