Bullying in schools: a new approach

Today is the third day of Anti-Bullying Week and once again the discussion of how to prevent bullying in our schools has hit the headlines again. A story I was particularly interested in was about Passmores Academy in Harrow and their approach to the issue. Unlike many schools Mr Goddard the Head teacher has decided to tackle the problem head on rather than just have a ‘policy’. The first part of his plan was to make the whole concept of bullying a very open topic and not something to try and hide, namely by making it very easy for the students to report any incidents via email and text message. With this system in place hopefully the situation can be dealt with very early on and all parties spoken to, rather than students becoming increasingly miserable and unwilling to attend school.

A survey carried out by the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) found that every year over 16,000 children aged between 11 and 15 years old are truanting every day to avoid their tormentors. Goddard’s second strategy involves using ‘vertical’ tutor groups in which students from Year 7 – 11 are mixed, rather than having the traditional horizontal classes where the students are all the same age. This idea has already been trialled and is said to be working very well, creating more of a family environment where the older students take care of the younger ones.

Although these strategies are not particularly relevant in an early years setting, it is important to make children aware of bullying from a very early age so it isn’t shameful to tell someone about it. This can be done by clearly defining what is considered ‘bullying’ and helping the children to understand how it can make another person feel. We’ve got some posters that are specifically designed for the classroom or playground to try and encourage inclusive play so no one feels left out or bullied:

Editable Emotions Dice

Emotion Spinners

Emotion Fans

‘How Do You Feel?’ Posters

Friend Station Poster

Editable Superhero Rules Poster

If you would like some helpful hints and tips on how to prevent bullying in your class then have a look at our other blog post to give you some ideas: Hints and tips to prevent bullying in your class.