Information sheet
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Whole school community |
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Building a safe and supportive school and preventing bullying |
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Involve staff, parents and students in collaboratively developing and implementing an active whole school plan, involving staff, parents and students, to address bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence |
A school's culture or ethos is made up of the unique characteristics of spirit and beliefs of a school community and is demonstrated through academic and educational aspirations, the nature of personal relationships fostered, and the societal attitudes and responsibilities modelled and taught at the school. The culture is influenced by a range of factors: the political, economic, social and historical context; the nature of the local community; the parents, teachers and students who attend the school; and the interrelationships between these different factors.
How the school's ethos is perceived and acted out is crucial. Studies have shown, for example, that schools in very similar circumstances can differ greatly in the extent of bullying and harassment that occurs. A strong sense of nurturing, inclusiveness and community feeling appears to play an important role.
Students, staff, carers and the wider school community require time to discuss
and articulate the qualities that contribute to the school's sense of safety
and support, and the ways in which the school community needs to actively
work to counter existing societal beliefs and behaviours in order to create
a fair, respectful and inclusive learning community for all.
A secondary school believed it was important to recognise and reinforce to the school community that although bullying is part of many areas in society, it is absolutely unacceptable in the school. The school wanted to highlight the impact of bullying on people who bully and on those who experience bullying, and focus upon creating a culture of shared responsibility for addressing the issue of bullying.
Awareness was raised about what was meant by bullying behaviour in order to develop a strong anti-bullying feeling in the school. The aim was to implement an anti-bullying campaign and to reduce bullying within the school environment.
Schools in action:
Sharing the anti-bullying focus
