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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Maintain pastoral care/student welfare systems that enable all students to feel safe and to feel valued |
All students have a right to access appropriate support from specialist/pastoral care staff when they experience, witness or demonstrate bullying behaviour.
Education systems have done much to resource schools with guidance officers and counsellors and many school communities have vigorously established partnerships with a range of support and social services.
In addition to addressing the underlying causes of bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence, schools often teach protective behaviours and social skills through ongoing curriculum activities that involve all students.
Some individual students also benefit from learning and rehearsing appropriate
behaviours during one-to-one counselling. These kinds of approaches are important
because they provide students at risk with additional tools to handle behaviours
that are potentially damaging to their self-esteem, confidence and safety.
In addressing homophobic beliefs and behaviours, a secondary school has added specific support mechanisms for heterosexual and homosexual students to its awareness raising activities and curriculum-based examination of the construction of gender and sexuality:
providing a safe environment for parents, students and staff to discuss the issues and identify relevant safety and educational needs
establishing links with the wider community, including gay and lesbian communities
establishing a staff position as a contact point for students.
Classroom teachers have responsibility for the general welfare of their students. In many schools, all teaching staff have been trained in the Protective Behaviours Program which develops students' awareness of keeping themselves safe in our society. The core ideals are 'I have the right to feel safe all of the time, and 'Nothing is so awful that I can't talk about it with someone'. The training also equips teachers to provide one-to-one counselling for individual students who are at risk.
One secondary school has developed a Youth Space in response to students identifying the need for a safe and relaxing fun space to go at lunch times. To ensure safety for all students, the Youth Space is supervised by the Student Support Services. Students have made basic rules for the Youth Space and decorated the area with posters relevant to young people's health and lifestyle issues. The Youth Space has become a meeting place, a haven for safety, a place to meet with and talk to support staff and an opportunity to share information to promote healthy relationships.
Another secondary school ensures safety and support for Special Education Unit students through a gradual transition to high school over the last six weeks of primary school.
Students get used to the way the school runs and meet staff and peers who can help. If students come across bullying or harassment, they know where to get help.
All students have a case manager/teacher who is available to listen and help with problems.
At lunchtime, if things get too noisy, they have a safe, quiet supervised place to talk about their problems, finish assignments, read or just spend some quiet time.
All of these strategies are designed to make it easier to be included in the high school and learn valuable life skills.
Family, School and Community Responses to Bullying in Schools
Griffiths, C. (1998)
Queensland Guidance and Counselling Association Conference Proceedings.
