"Because bullying is out there and not hidden, students feel
comfortable discussing and reporting it when the
need arises. They know that action will be
taken to deal with the problem."

...School Principal

Our primary school is situated in an expanding residential area close to the centre of a city. The socioeconomic mix of the area is diverse. Approximately 30% of our population come from a background where English is not their first language. Parent and student participation is strong. All school policies are written in consultation with the wider community and signed off in a public assembly by representatives of parents and students as well as by the Principal, to indicate the unanimous whole school/community support for programs or policies.

Where It Began... Our school strongly believes in community spirit and everyone's right to a safe and enjoyable learning experience. We realised how important it is for all to understand and be encouraged to speak out about the issues, and to meet the expectations of staff, students and parents when dealing with anti-social behaviour. Our challenge:

• to build a strong supportive culture that ensures that bullying, harassment and anti-social behaviour is not accepted under any circumstances.
• to ensure that when bullying does occur, it is recognised and dealt with swiftly and fairly.

Getting Started... Consultations were undertaken with the Student Representative Council (SRC), the parent body and the staff to develop a practical approach for dealing with the issues.

How We Went About It... Parent, staff and student expectations were developed to highlight the rights, roles and responsibilities of the school community in dealing with bullying, harassment and anti-social behaviour. This allowed us to develop a strong supportive, whole school culture, and it encouraged individuals to speak out about the behaviours. Our anti-bullying and student welfare policies and procedures have been developed in consultation with, and endorsed by, the SRC, parents and staff. Strategies include:

• Annual surveys to identify issues and map the school for safe and unsafe areas.
• A buddy program with kindergarten and older students.
• A peer support program conducted each year.
• Peer mediation taught to years 5 and 6.
• A leadership camp for older students.
• SRC class meetings held each week.
• An anti-bullying policy distributed annually.
• Anti-bullying fridge magnets made in buddy classes and sent home with support material.
• A staff development conference to reaffirm school culture and values.
• Parent development provided on anti-bullying strategies.
• A pastoral care program providing additional support to students in need.
• The principal's 'open door' policy for all members of the school community to deal with issues of bullying quickly.
• Classroom strategies to support the whole school approach.
• Class rules, based on the Student Welfare Policy, negotiated every year with teacher and students.
• Regular class meetings.

What We Are Learning... Our annual survey allows us to track issues and use the electronically stored data to drive programs and areas of emphasis throughout the next year. A class and playground computer-generated tracking program is used as well to track and monitor incidents and areas or times of the day that my cause more incidents can be monitored. Recent surveys indicate that:

• 84% of students experience a sense of being popular and accepted by others;
• 84% of students believe our school is a place they like to go to each day and are happy and proud to be a part of the school and have fun here;
• 87% of students believe their teachers are fair to them, take an interest in them and help them;
• 95.6% of parents feel welcome in the school, believe they are taken seriously, are valued and pleased that their child attends our school;
• 96.1% of parents believe teachers see students as their main focus and can talk to teachers regarding their child's wellbeing and progress.

"I was bullied at a party by some kids and I reported it to the teacher and I knew it would be dealt with at school."

...Student

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