Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Deb on June 18, 2010 at 18:05

Bullying simply has to be taken more seriously in schools and Principals need to lead the way.
Far too many incidents are watered down and the bullies 'seem' to have more rights and to add insult to injury some receive more sympathy too!!
Apparently our local school has a 'community agreement' with other schools not to expel their bullies because this would be just passing their problem on to another school!
I can understand that expelling 'may' just shift the problem to another school but it 'may' also make the bully more vulnerable by not having any back up from their 'friends'. Perhaps a detention/rehabilitation/farming type school may help.
Several children have left our local primary school and others are threatening to leave due to bullying. As a sad reflection on the school though, my child left due to what began as intimidation then led to bullying by a teacher. In short, I followed all the proper ways in trying to resolve the problem - spoke with the teacher first about my child's 'sensitivity to embarrassment' being very careful not to blame her. Huge mistake! She worsened until it became unbearable and my child was begging to change schools. Other children had similar problems with the same teacher. Eventually I had to speak with the Acting Principal who did not help the situation.
If the Boss' of the schools tolerate bullying behaviour from teachers then what hope do the victims of bullying have?

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Permalink Reply by Deb on June 19, 2010 at 9:18

Cyber bullying should be a police matter. Bullies should also be dealt with at the schools and the victims of bullying should not 'have' to change schools.

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Permalink Reply by Evilest Kitty on June 19, 2010 at 23:00

Hi,
I think for there to be a balanced resolution to the issue we would not only need bullying to be monitored but we would also need a support network set up for the victim.
What about the possibility of a "bully monitor" be allocated to attend classes in which the victim is in and monitoring outside of the classroom?
Kids can be so sneaky and there is a difference in the way in which boys are bullied compared to how girls are bullied.
I had the experience of trying to break up a fight outside of school in which 2 boys attacked a student. The police were called in and it went to court. The boys were let off...surprise surprise.
I think there also needs to be support in place for victims. Even if the bully is removed from the school the victim still would have some damage to their self esteem. Bullying damages the soul of so many precious children. It bothers me that in 20 years time our children will be facing the same dilemma as parents that we are facing now.
I think what needs to be dealt with is the parents of bullies.
I have found my self questioning whether i did the right thing raising my kids to be kind,loyal,caring and friendly. When a child is the victim of bullying you do a lot of soul searching because they say bullies prey on the weak. Does it make a child weak when you raise them with morals?
I think there needs to be local monitors who can be approached if your not happy with the way bullying is handled and the monitor can step in and make a judgement. The schools need to answer to someone.

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Permalink Reply by LadyAries on June 21, 2010 at 12:36

Definatly a police matter, my son was bullied by 3 children whom at one stage held a stick to his throat and threatened to stab him with it! Seriously how can 3 boys who were on the schools "bully list" get to that stage. Put them on the street and its called assault. But put them in school and its a bullying issue! No difference if you ask me!
Now after all this bullying my son has started to be a bully not just at school but towards his sister. I understand that if you live a certain way for a while you become that person. Now how do I change him, I cant smack him grounding only goes so far. But he cant see where he has gone wrong, this to him is the way of life! Get in first before it happens to you.
Schools need to be able to call the police when the matters have gone to far like in my case. Nothing like a hour locked in a jail cell to scare the young kids of today.
Maybe we need to have bootcamps where young children are shown wat bullying can be like and wat the effects can end as.

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Permalink Reply by Jill Biddington on June 27, 2010 at 20:13

I would support a properly funded Bullying reporting Agency set up that would investigate and make public the information (not the name of the school) that is discovered. Part of the Agency's role needs to be to conduct the investigations within a decent timeframe. Parents and carers need to be part of the investigation process. A transparent process needs to be established so that it is easy to access without having to rely on information or education from the school.

The process of handling issues should include both "in house" and the police where appropriate - perhaps others need to be involved also? The School's Student Body may be part of the policy making on Bullying and be able to provide recommendations for older students.

In the first instance, the teacher and/or the Principal should be given the responsibility of handling the investigation in accordance with the established process. Where the Principal has a conflict of interest or is one of the subjects of the bullying, the matter of conducting the investigation should be handled by their manager.

Where the Principal is unable to resolve the matter - without penalty to the victims ie that they have to move schools, then the matter should be handled by the regulating department.

Any instance of bullying which is either physical or psychological - the Principal or responsible person for the school, the parents of the victim or of the alleged bully may refer the matter to the Police.

A published set of criteria must require Principals to report to the Bullying Agency of all instances and reporting must be compulsory.

Those schools who have a proactive programme of education and intervention to be tagged as having such a programme on the information in the MySchool website. This will not indicate that the school has a problem with bullying but rather has adopted and implemented a programme. The needs to be some auditing of the effectiveness of the programme, the effectiveness of it's implementation for the tag to be given. Audits to be conducted regularly. The programmes don't need to be identical - just relevant and effective.

The work of reporting must not detract from the teaching hours of teachers.

Thanks for the opportunity to comment.

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Permalink Reply by Danielle Cornford on June 28, 2010 at 23:52

I am positive Jill covered and replied to the topic extremely well and I couldn't have said it better myself xx Backing you Jill 100%.. But will we see action?? Will we see a solution once and for all about this? Maybe we should be posing this question hey??

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Permalink Reply by Julia Wallace on June 29, 2010 at 15:34

Here, here Jill, I second all you've said.

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Permalink Reply by Julia Wallace on June 29, 2010 at 13:00

A bullying reporting agency most definately needs to be set up. To be used by students and schools. All instances of bullying should be mandatory for schools to report. A detailed record can easily pick the most at risk students who bully and they can receive the help they need. This will protect targets and make it easier for schools and police to take action.

Bullying should be handled in-house at first instance and if it escalates, then police should be brought in. If a child is assaulted it should be treated as such, regardless of whether the bully is another child. Protecting the rights of the child shouldn't come at the expense of another. If a child has the ability to be hateful and assault others, then action should be taken before they step out into the real world and become the future workplace bullies and/or criminals.

Schools level of effectiveness at combating bullying depends on whether the principle or teacher can be bothered doing so. They should have to undergo a training program of some sort, to learn how to react and treat the situation appropriately.

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Permalink Reply by Lilly on June 29, 2010 at 14:56

I support mandatory reporting and recording of bullying incidents. It is already mandatory to report suspected child abuse in the home, what is the difference? Bullying is abuse, so regardless of who is the perpetrator, it still does damage to the child.
I support Jill Biddingtons idea of a bullying reporting agency.

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Permalink Reply by Trish Roney on June 30, 2010 at 0:06

Jill and some of the other contributors have raised some fantastic points. It goes without saying that something MUST be done. I fully support a Bully Reporting Agency. The concept is a great idea. Bullying, where possible and in minor incidents should be handled 'in-house'. Perhaps a warning system for repeat offenders and then they be placed on the Agency database. Repeat extreme offenders should be dealt with by police.
It is also very important that parents are aware immediately, whether their child is the victim or the bully.
The bystanders have the power here, therefore, more education programs focused on bystander behaviour would be ideal. The stigma of 'being a dobber' or the 'next target' needs to be removed. Children usually don't want to get involved for fear of repercussion! There is a new SMS reporting system that is in its final stages and set to be trialed, I think it should be mandatory for all secondary schools in Australia. It involves an SMS reporting system including software, a student witnessing an incident or fight, can send a text, that text is forwarded to all teachers on duty, so they can respond immediately, it is also forwarded to the Principal to follow up on. Perhaps this system could be used along with any agency that is set up. The Agency could then follow up with the school to see how the situation was handled and have a report for the database. The concept is fantastic, if you would like to check it out, here is a link to its developers facebook page, which has a great demo and all his contact details, Regards, and thanks for the opportunity to input... Trish

http://www.facebook.com/bullyproofmyschool?ref=search#!/bullyproofmyschool?v=info&ref=search

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Permalink Reply by jennifer leone simmonds on July 20, 2010 at 14:06

Yes, something like this site only regarding bullying and perhaps if needed, anonynimity would be useful.
Meanwhile, can i just say to all and sundry, go back to http://positiverules.com.au
I am trying to get it out there, have taught to Preps 1s and 2s locally, if only more schools would take it up.

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