Friendly Schools and Families
Understanding the school's responses to bullying
Bullying situations can be complicated and trying to identify exactly what is happening and why can take time. Punishment alone is unlikely to be effective and may be seen to be using 'bullying to stop bullying'.
As mentioned in the second newsletter article this year, bullying is when:
One or more of the following things happen AGAIN and AGAIN to someone who finds it hard to stop it from happening again.
It is also when a person or a group of people offline or online (mobile phone or Internet):
• Make fun of/tease someone in a mean and hurtful way.
• Tell lies or spread nasty rumours about someone to try to make others not like him/her.
• Leave someone out on purpose or not allow him/her to join in.
• Hit, kick or push someone around.
• Deliberately damage, destroy or steal someone's things.
• Threaten or make someone feel afraid of getting hurt.
It is NOT bullying when:
• Teasing is done in a friendly, playful way.
• Two people who are as strong as each other argue or fight.
The school priority is to stop the bullying and to try to reduce the chance of it happening again.
The key to stopping bullying is getting children to talk about what is happening and decide what to do to make the situation better for everyone. This approach is called the Method of Shared Concern and will be explained in the next edition of this newsletter.
Mr Warwick Norman
Friendly Schools and Families Coordinator
