Bullying can be difficult to manage in schools, largely due to the fact that the majority of bullying takes place out of sight of teachers and in nearly 50% of cases out of the sight of other pupils. Another thing that can make dealing with bullying difficult is the majority of victim students choosing not to seek help from teachers.
With it being so difficult to manage bullying on an individual basis, it's more efficient to look at introducing school wide policies that deal with bullying by working with parents, students, teachers and admin staff.
Introducing Bullying Programs/Policies
Before you look at introducing any programs or policies to tackle bullying, it's important to look at the current situation within your school, speaking to other teachers and identifying any areas where students may be particularly prone to bullying.
Common Bullying Areas
For obvious reasons bullies prefer secluded areas away from the eyes of teachers, here are just a few examples of common bullying areas or hot-spots.
The best way to get a handle on the potential bullying hot-spots is to speaking to students, parents and colleagues. Click here for a tool kit you can use to assess bullying in your school.
Deciding the Consequences
The next step is for staff to collectively decide upon the punishments or consequences of bullying. These could include verbal warnings, detentions, letters to take home, loss of privileges or anything you see fit; however, it's important to have a policy that deals with the culprit whether it's the first instance of the fifth.
It's also important to be firm but fair in these situations, jumping the gun and excluding pupils for a first or second breach of policy could result in less students coming forward due to fear of reprisal.
With it being so difficult to manage bullying on an individual basis, it's more efficient to look at introducing school wide policies that deal with bullying by working with parents, students, teachers and admin staff.
Introducing Bullying Programs/Policies
Before you look at introducing any programs or policies to tackle bullying, it's important to look at the current situation within your school, speaking to other teachers and identifying any areas where students may be particularly prone to bullying.
Common Bullying Areas
For obvious reasons bullies prefer secluded areas away from the eyes of teachers, here are just a few examples of common bullying areas or hot-spots.
- Toilets/Changing Rooms
- Dining Hall/Room
- Bike Sheds or other structures outside
- Areas of the field or playground that cannot be seen from the school
The best way to get a handle on the potential bullying hot-spots is to speaking to students, parents and colleagues. Click here for a tool kit you can use to assess bullying in your school.
Deciding the Consequences
The next step is for staff to collectively decide upon the punishments or consequences of bullying. These could include verbal warnings, detentions, letters to take home, loss of privileges or anything you see fit; however, it's important to have a policy that deals with the culprit whether it's the first instance of the fifth.
It's also important to be firm but fair in these situations, jumping the gun and excluding pupils for a first or second breach of policy could result in less students coming forward due to fear of reprisal.