Bullying. No way!

Every Thursday I take prospective parents on a tour of our school. It is a wonderful opportunity to walk and talk with new families, put new students’ minds at ease and answer any questions or worries people have. I am often asked ‘do you have bullying here?’

Friday 17 November was National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. 4W and 3D performed an entertaining assembly item which outlined the issues behind bullying and appropriate responses to it. I really do love how our kids can describe what bullying is and also understand what ‘mean moments’ are, and how the two are different. Teaching children a language they can use to help themselves and their friends is such a powerful way to end this insidious behaviour.

So, at Assembly on that Friday I asked the kids what they thought I said when new families asked me if there was bullying in our school. Overwhelmingly, most thought I said ‘no’. I’m hopeful that this is because so few actually experience bullying in its pure form of repeated negative attention that won’t stop. A few kids piped up that they thought I would say ‘yes’.

And they were right. I do say ‘yes’. And when parents ask this question, I add that any school who says their kids don’t bully others is not being quite truthful, and that bullying, unfortunately, exists everywhere in society – in schools, in sporting clubs or other cultural pursuits, and in the workplace. However, I also tell parents that every single teacher in this school is committed to assisting children who report bullying (and mean moments) or who ask for help – every single one. It’s a commitment we make at the beginning of every year. That commitment leads to every teacher explicitly teaching conflict resolution, assertive behaviours, the language for asking for help and just about any other skill that is developmentally appropriate for a child to grow the strength to take a stand and say ‘Bullying. No Way!’