download "Solid management of bullying situations" review
A solid behaviour management system promotes school connectedness by developing:
- a shared concern for one another
- problem-solving approaches to find solutions
- appropriate consequences for actions
- reinforcement of solid behaviour
The most effective systems support students to take responsibility for their decisions and actions and develop socially acceptable behaviours.
In schools with Yamaji students this would include the development of a mentor program that provides Aboriginal students with an opportunity to develop pro-social behaviour with the guidance of Aboriginal staff and/or community members.
The reflection questions below link to two of the National Safe Schools Framework (NSSF) Key Elements: Four, ‘Managing incidents of abuse/victimisation’; and Five, ‘Providing support for students establishment of agreed policies, programs and procedures’ (DEST, 2003).
Reflection questions for solid management of bullying situations
- Do you have a case management team to respond to and manage reports of bullying behaviour according to the behaviour management and bullying reduction guidelines?
- Does your case management team include your AIEOs (ATA or AEW) or other Aboriginal staff members?
- Do you have clear and consistent procedures when bullying is reported involving Aboriginal students?
- Are Aboriginal staff invited to mediate/assist with managing bullying incidents involving Aboriginal students?
Managing bullying situations in an Aboriginal context
One of the key factors to reducing bullying is having a clear management plan in place. It is essential that the management of bullying is consistently implemented by all staff.
- Yamaji wangi
- Recommendations from Sharing Days:
- Parents expect their children to go to school and not be teased or picked on. They trust the school system to look after their children. Trust is broken if they perceive their children are treated unfairly, especially if they are involved in bullying. They also trust teachers and the school to encourage their kids to attend and to enjoy learning. Parents and carers of all children feel angry when their children come home crying and do not want to go back to school.
- When there is a lack of communication from the school, some parents and carers think that the school is not dealing with issues appropriately and as a result feel they need to deal with the issue in their own way. Sometimes school staff are unaware of local family issues and do not realise that there can be many ongoing factors contributing to that incident. It is important to Yamaji parents and carers for school staff to find out if there are other issues involved before punishing children.
Aboriginal parents and carers want to know that the school is taking all factors into account when deciding on the consequences of bullying incidents.
- Yamaji wangi
- ‘…my kid was suspended but the school got the story from the other kid and didn’t talk to my kid; my kid told me that the other kid was jarring him and he couldn’t take it any more so he smashed him’
- Yamaji parent/carer
Case management team
Establishing a case management team is helpful when responding to reports of bullying behaviour.
It is ideal to have more than one person in the school responsible for managing behavioural cases. This eases the workload and ensures that more than one staff member is building solid relationships with students and their parents and carers.
Who should be on the team?
Ideally members of the case management team are familiar with the skills of anger management, dealing with conflict, detecting bullying, and supporting students involved in bullying situations. If your school is big enough, the team could be made up of pastoral care or behaviour management staff.
Success is more likely when the case management team:
- is made up of people who directly deal with the behaviour of students in the school on a regular basis including the AIEO (ATA or AEW)
- is trained to identify signs of bullying and can recognise the severity and nature of bullying incidents
- is trained in specific counselling approaches, problem-solving methods and restorative practices
- has clear methods to record and collate the data
- provides support for students involved in bullying situations to develop solid behaviours, including students who are bullied, students who bully others and bystander
- can effectively utilise student support services
Behaviour management
- Yamaji wangi
- Behaviour management strategies for school, classrooms and at home are important. Feedback suggested school behaviour management programs should:
- be understood by students, staff and parents
- include a staged management approach
- have a clear and transparent response to an incident
The behaviour management process needs to be established so parents and carers are able to trust the school to respond fairly before an incident escalates.
Important points from Yamaji community about behaviour management
- Recommendations from the Solid Kids, Solid Schools. School staff made the following suggestions about behaviour management with Yamaji students:
- The issue needs to be resolved on the day of the incident, after everyone concerned has cooled down.
- Parents and carers must be invited to be involved in the process; however, school staff need to understand that some parents may feel more comfortable with a home visit from the AIEO (ATAs or AEWs) than with coming to the school.
- Parents and carers need to be given support and information about who to contact for help.
- AIEOs (ATAs or AEWs) need to be given the opportunity to mediate for Aboriginal students (they can often provide background information when a decision is being made about the consequences of the behaviour).
- Although the restorative justice process is effective, it is time consuming; teachers and AIEOs (ATAs or AEWs) need support.
Case management of Aboriginal students
Case management addresses the needs of students directly engaged in bullying, such as the student being bullied, the student/s doing the bullying and students who know or see bullying happen (bystanders). Case management can also be used to support students who:
- may be the targets of bullying
- need support with their social development
- have ongoing behavioural issues
- need support to use proactive behaviours
Developing a case management plan should be considered when working to support students involved in bullying. All students who are involved in bullying require a plan that responds to their strengths and needs. Asking students for suggestions to resolve the situation and helping them improve their behaviour establishes trusting relationships and maintains pride.
Case management should be developed in conjunction with social workers or psychologists to decide the most suitable and appropriate approach for individual student needs.
- Yamaji wangi
- ‘The teacher needs to realise that the Aboriginal students they are dealing with may be angry with other things. They need to try to gain an understanding about Aboriginal students and their backgrounds, so they know how to handle different situations…’
- Yamaji AIEO
When managing Aboriginal students, staff must allow the students to express the reasons for their behaviour. It is then possible to support students to change their behaviour and to help them find more appropriate ways of responding to situations.
The subject of shame also needs to be considered when working with Aboriginal students in a case management situation. ‘Teachers must promote the “no shame” factor and help our kids connect … and [encourage] student acceptance of each other’ (Trevaskis, no date). It is also important to talk to students about unacceptable behaviour in private rather than in front of others (e.g. whole class).
- Success of case management is more likely when:
- there is awareness of the social and environmental factors surrounding bullying behaviour
- case management team members are trained in problem-solving methods and resolution strategies
- parents and carers are invited to be involved in the process (some parents are more comfortable with home visits, from the AIEO (ATA or AEW), rather than coming to the school)
- support is provided for students involved in bullying situations to develop solid behaviours, including students who are bullied, students who bully others and bystanders
- whole-school awareness is raised about the purpose of solid behaviour strategies and support programs
- peer support is utilised to support students to develop solid behaviours and social skills
- student services complement school action to address bullying
Examples of commonly used case management interventions
- Student support plans
- Student support plans can be designed for students who have been bullied, bully others, have the potential to bully, or have been affected by bullying. Support plans reinforce appropriate behaviour and restore feelings of safety and trust.
- Individual behaviour program
- An individual behaviour program is designed to prevent and reduce problem behaviour and to increase and maintain appropriate behaviour. It requires collaborative involvement of parents, school staff, students and appropriate student services personnel.
- Utilisation of student support services
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Student support services should be used to complement school action to discourage and manage bullying and address specific student needs. Support services resources include:
- school psychologist
- school health nurse
- year leaders
- AIEO (ATA or AEW)
- school chaplain
- siblings or relatives of members of the school community
- child and adolescent clinicians
- police officer
