Our primary school of 420 students is located in a coastal district dependent on tourism.

Where It Began... Our community is characterised by a cool surf culture. Social status is dependent on 'surf label' fashion and sporting prowess. Students used putdowns a lot and showed little tolerance of difference. They seemed to lack resilience and be very dependent on their parents to solve social issues. When bullying occurred, it was difficult to identify who was the victim and who was the perpetrator.

Getting Started... Following a Safe Schools Conference and a survey of students in Yrs 3-7, we began building an inclusive school. We implemented:

- Friendly Kids, Friendly Schools (by Helen McGrath) with all classes to improve cooperative and social skills
- BOUNCEBACK with some classes to improve resiliency
- Aussie Optimism in Year 7
- Peer Mediation (Yr 7's) to model conflict resolution
- A Students at Educational Risk (SAER) policy with strong involvement from parents
- A bullying policy using a 'no blame' approach* and an annual survey for Years 3-7
..and we appointed a chaplain.

How We Went About It... The approach has involved the Year 7 teachers, a SAER Coordinator and the school administration team (Managing Student Behaviour). During 2000-2005 the whole school was involved in developing the school's policy.

What We Are Learning... What has changed:

- The surveys have indicated a steady improvement in respecting others.
- The whole school including staff, parents and students have joined in demonstrating more positive attitudes towards others and modelling appropriate positive behaviours and problem solving approaches to conflict resolution.
- Bullying is no longer tolerated in the school and students report that occurrences of bullying have decreased.
- There is a growing awareness of the power of bystander (this is a behaviour still to be developed).

What's Next... Our next stage involves:

- Greater involvement by parents and community, especially through workshops on building resiliency and empowering the victim. The Friendly schools and Families Programme from Donna Cross at Edith Cowan University will be used to achieve this.
- Continuing to improve building an inclusive school where all members feel valued and property is respected.
Positive and persistent leadership from the principal and administration to empower students and maintain integrity of both parties when responding to bullying situations. (This is also an important principle of Peer Mediation)
- Ensuring that parents are well informed about process and the purpose of strategies, particularly the 'no blame' approach*.

[ To find out more about the 'no blame' approach, see Things that work/Managing incidents ? >>>Utilise evidence-based responses?]