"... I was supervising at recess when I noticed, in the distance, one of the Grade 5 students standing with her arm raised out in front of her—the school’s sign for help when someone is being bullied. As I came closer, I saw a group of three students surrounding a new Grade 3 student, taunting and making fun of him. The student who had raised her arm had noticed this and moved closer to stand next to the student in distress. Then, one by one, other students began to join her and formed a protective circle around the new student. They raised their arms and silently faced the bullying students, indicating quietly and without confrontation that the bullying behaviour was not okay. Without further incident, the group of students doing the bullying moved away and left the area. The other students invited the new student to join in their game and they all walked away together. Before I could even reach the group, the students had resolved the bullying situation themselves."
All jurisdictions and schools can benefit from bullying-prevention initiatives, even those that have had few incidents of bullying. Simply taking the step to plan an initiative helps to engage community support, heightens expectations for a positive school climate, and acts as a springboard for ongoing discussions about the value of bullying-free schools.
There are no simple solutions to bullying issues. It is essential to address root causes, and this means considering and incorporating many of the bigger-picture components of character and citizenship education. Many of the themes, skills and attitudes emphasized by the two types of initiatives may overlap; empathy, respect, group responsibility, problem solving, helping others are examples of common themes addressed in both types of initiatives. Learning activities and events related to bullying prevention can be excellent opportunities to reinforce learning from character and citizenship education—and vice versa. Showing students that bullying is unacceptable and that they can work together to prevent it, is one more way that schools can help students know the good, desire the good and do the good.
An effective bullying-prevention initiative:
- takes a jurisdiction- or schoolwide approach
- is a collaborative effort
- links schools with communities
- creates a shared understanding about the nature and effects of bullying
- assesses the extent of bullying before and after implementation of the initiative
- helps teachers, students, parents and others to develop the knowledge, skills and language they need to respond to bullying
- focuses on prevention rather than punishment
- establishes links to curriculum (e.g., instruction in managing emotions, problem solving, conflict resolution, empathy training)
- includes strategies for implementing, monitoring and evaluating the initiative.
Consider the following elements in developing a bullying-prevention initiative:
Gathering data
Before the school begins developing specific plans or activities, it is important to find out how much bullying is currently happening, as well as the attitudes of staff and students about bullying. Consider the following sample strategies for gathering data.
- Use anonymous surveys, class discussions and private meetings after school or at recess to obtain information about the extent and types of bullying taking place. Ask students to focus on their own experience rather than what they might have heard about. Specify the time period that is surveyed, e.g., within the last month or last term. Key information could include the following:
- student’s gender and grade level
- areas at or around school where the student feels "safe," "somewhat safe" and "unsafe"
- type and frequency of bullying behaviour experienced or observed
- age and grade level of the students who bully
- adult responses when help is requested (e.g., "helpful," "somewhat helpful" or "not helpful").
- Supply maps of the school (inside and out), and ask students to highlight places where bullying takes place or where they feel unsafe or uncomfortable. Areas highlighted by a certain percentage of the students (e.g., more than half) can be viewed as high-risk areas.
- Hold discussions with teachers, administrators and other school staff regarding issues such as the following:
- their level of concern regarding bullying behaviour in the school or jurisdiction
- benefits to students, staff and parents if the school or jurisdiction implemented a bullying-prevention initiative
- strengths and resources within the school or jurisdiction and the community that could be helpful in developing or implementing an initiative
- ways to involve students and parents in the initiative.
Involving parents
Bullying does not stop when students leave school grounds; it can occur in homes, playgrounds, community centres and anywhere else that students interact. Parents are the adult presence that spans all of these environments. Parents also have a primary role in teaching their children the values, skills and behaviours that counteract bullying. It is important to involve parents in bullying prevention, whether through a formal role in the development of a school or jurisdiction plan or through more informal sharing of information and strategies.
Consider the following sample strategies for involving parents.
- Survey parents regarding their concerns about bullying issues and their ideas for bullying-prevention initiatives.
- Encourage school councils to participate in planning committees for developing bullying-prevention initiatives.
- Communicate the school’s procedure for informing parents when their children are involved in a bullying incident, as well as the procedure that parents should use to notify the school if their children report that bullying has occurred.
- Provide parents with resources to help them recognize and prevent bullying (e.g., a fact sheet or tip sheet).
Sample handout for parents on bullying prevention
Bullying Prevention Tips for Parents
Involving students
Although students should never be left to solve their own problems with bullying, it is important that they be active participants in counteracting bullying in the school. This may mean giving students a role in developing and/or supporting initiatives. Whatever ways students are involved, it is crucial that they understand that the primary purpose and importance of these initiatives is to create positive school environments where all students are safe and respected. The beginning of the school year is an ideal opportunity to involve students in developing schoolwide activities to promote bullying prevention and a positive school climate.
Consider the following sample strategies for involving students.
- Invite students to speak at parent meetings and school assemblies. Students could address topics such as why they think bullying prevention is important, how they can help keep the school a bullying-free environment or what they have learned through class activities.
- Organize schoolwide events on bullying prevention. These events can be opportunities to:
- invite community speakers to talk to students about the importance of respect, social action and bullying prevention
- conduct workshops for cross-grade groupings, with sessions such as "What is Bullying?", "Helping Yourself in Bullying Situations" or "Standing Up for Others"
- participate in role-plays and cooperative games to practise bullying-prevention skills and concepts.
- Involve students in planning these events. Their contributions will help ensure that the message is communicated to other students in a meaningful way.
Creating a bullying-prevention statement
A jurisdiction or school statement defines common ground among staff, parents and students, and communicates a unified vision of a school free from bullying. The statement can take many forms. It can be a separate statement or motto outlining the jurisdiction or school’s commitment to bullying prevention, or can be incorporated into an existing school mission statement, code of conduct, or behaviour plan.
Consider the following sample guidelines for creating a bullying-prevention statement.
- Examine the jurisdiction or school’s existing mission and determine whether or not these statements sufficiently address the shared vision for bullying prevention.
- Ensure the statement expresses a realistic vision that is connected to the deeper values of the school community.
- Use simple, positive language.
- Seek input from staff, students and parents during or after the drafting of the statement to ensure that all stakeholders support the vision described in the statement.
- Communicate the statement to all partners participating in the plan.
- Use the statement to guide the working group as they continue to develop the school’s bullying-prevention plan.
Developing a supervision plan
The single most effective deterrent to bullying is adult presence and supervision. Since most bullying behaviours occur during break times, well-planned supervision at these times is critical to reducing bullying incidents. Consider the following sample strategies.
- Provide close supervision in "hot spots" or areas where bullying most frequently occurs.
- Teach appropriate and engaging games and other physical activities that students can participate in at recess or during the lunch hour.
- Consider scheduling changes that will reduce the number of students in the hallway at any one time. Crowded hallways are a prime location for bullying.
- When incorporating cooperative learning into classroom instruction, ensure students have opportunities and the support they need to learn and practise the new skills that will make cooperative learning a good experience for all students.
- Form a leadership club to train volunteer playground leaders to help younger children with group games (e.g., managing equipment and refereeing).
Developing a response plan
A response plan includes guidelines, procedures and strategies for:
- tracking incidents of bullying behaviour
- supporting students who are bullied
- responding to students who bully
- responding to students who witness bullying.
An effective school response to students’ bullying behaviours has four goals.
- Encourage communication—Adults provide a model for students by engaging them in discussion about bullying, teaching assertiveness and self-protection strategies, and encouraging students to seek adult assistance when other strategies are not working.
- Develop empathy—Adults help students to recognize and interpret cues that signal others’ feelings and needs, understand the impact of bullying behaviour on others, and treat others with caring and respect.
- Promote accountability—Adults help students develop the ability to stop and think before they act, resist peer pressure, and take responsibility for their behaviour by making reparation for harm they have inflicted on others.
- Enhance prosocial behaviour—Adults teach, model and reinforce skills for getting along with others.
Supporting the initiative
Consider the following sample strategies to support and sustain bullying-prevention efforts.
- Conduct a staff check-in at the beginning of each school year or term to discuss "where we are with the plan." At this time, ensure that any new staff members are familiar with the jurisdiction or school’s bullying-prevention policies and initiatives.
- Ensure students, teachers and parents all receive similar information about bullying and potential interventions. This will help ensure everyone uses a common language and reinforce common strategies.
- Ensure that the bullying-prevention plan is incorporated as part of any schoolwide or classroom-based discussions of expectations for student behaviour.
- Include the plan as part of a beginning-of-year school council meeting and/or school newsletter. Encourage ongoing parent dialogue on the issue. Share data about bullying in the school and provide periodic updates on the results of intervention throughout the year.
- Add bullying-prevention books and videos to the school library and create a display to encourage parents, students and staff to borrow these materials.
- Add information about the plan to the school or jurisdiction Web site.
It is also important to support the initiative through ongoing integration into classroom activities. Consider the following strategies for supporting bullying-prevention initiatives through classroom instruction.
- Look for teachable moments throughout the school day and across the subject areas.
- Teach information, skills and strategies related to bullying through relevant K–9 health and life skills learning activities. This can include specific skills such as assertiveness, intervening, conflict resolution and knowing who to ask for help.
- Use relevant stories, novels or movies to introduce the topic of bullying. Discuss the feelings and actions of the character who bullied and the character who was bullied, and identify ways that others helped or could have helped.
- Teach awareness and bullying-prevention strategies directly. It is important that students understand the difference between normal conflict and bullying.
- Discuss what students can do if they are bullied or witness another being bullied.
- Use role-playing to practise effective responses.
- Use cooperative learning activities to foster acceptance, strengthen group interactions and build social skills.
Monitoring progress
- Track the number of bullying reports received in the office. Remember that a surge in the number of reported bullying incidents is expected at first because of increased awareness of the issue. Do not look at an increase as a sign of failure; rather, try to look at the type of incidents being reported and then follow up to see if more students are being assisted.
- Conduct the bullying surveys periodically (e.g., once a year). To obtain a more accurate picture of the incidence of bullying, conduct the surveys at the same time as they were conducted in the launch year.
- Track reports and concerns from parents. This will help determine whether or not the number or type of bullying behaviours is changing. Report this back to staff and parents.
- Discuss bullying regularly at staff meetings. The following guiding questions might be used to start the discussion.
- What are the most successful parts of the plan?
- What might we need to alter?
- What factors are keeping people motivated?
- Have perceptions about bullying changed among staff, students and parents?
- Is additional training required to strengthen staff understanding or skills?
- Are additional opportunities required to strengthen student and parent understanding or skills?
- How do we reinforce and maintain our success?
