|
1.The following three case studies provide further
reading to accompany the DfEE anti-bullying pack, Don't Suffer
in Silence. They feature a primary school and two secondary
schools which, in various ways, are committed to reducing bullying.
They are not presented as 'ideal' types but as realistic examples
of progress made and difficulties experienced.
| Case study 1 |
 |
2.This is a medium-sized primary school
employing twelve teaching staff and one part-time support teacher.
Pupils come from a restricted catchment area in the centre of a
large town. A fairly large proportion of pupils come from single
parent families, and unemployment in the area is higher than the
town's average.
3.In 1994 the head teacher reported an
increase in disruptive and anti-social behaviour over his ten years
at the school. He was particularly concerned about what he perceived
to be an increase in physical bullying and intimidation, especially
since it was not restricted to just a few pupils. He spoke of 'a
culture of bullying' that in his view reflected some sections of
the local community. He pointed to vandalism of the school building
as evidence of an anti-social ethos in some of the local youths.
4.In 1995, one of the teachers (the 'co-ordinating
teacher') attended a seminar on anti-bullying initiatives and, with
the support of the head teacher, set about co-ordinating the development
of a formal whole-school anti-bullying policy and exploring other
interventions. A questionnaire survey of the entire school showed
almost half the pupils had been bullied 'sometimes' or more often,
and about a quarter reported they had bullied, in the current term.
These high figures alarmed the head teacher and so bullying became
a key issue he wanted addressed.
5.A special meeting of teaching staff in
late 1995 was led by the co-ordinating teacher and an invited anti-bullying
researcher. A consensus was that a whole-school policy should be
the key response and that other more specific actions should follow
and link up with the policy. It was decided to offer lunchtime supervisors
the chance to attend a whole-day training course, to train teachers
how to work with pupils involved in bullying, and that teachers
would tackle bullying in class.
6.As part of the awareness-raising exercise
and as a way of including all people connected with the school,
a series of meetings were held in 1996. The head teacher also arranged
for a special meeting to which parents were invited but few actually
attended. Teachers and pupils fed their ideas to the co-ordinating
teacher who then, in collaboration with the head teacher, produced
a first draft. This provided a definition of bullying, a statement
that made clear why bullying would not be tolerated in the school,
what sanctions would follow if a pupil was found to be bullying,
and guidelines on what action should be taken if someone experienced
bullying. It was circulated to all pupils and teaching staff and
to parents with requests for comments and suggestions. These views
were considered by the head teacher and the co-ordinating teacher
and a final version produced in May 1996. The policy was announced
at an assembly and copies posted on every classroom wall and throughout
the school. Each class discussed bullying and the policy in the
launch week.
7.From the launch of the policy through
to the end of that school year, all class teachers reported that
they had raised bullying as an issue with their pupils. Some continued
to do so when reports of bullying came to their attention. In the
following academic year, some teachers, especially of the older
grades, carried out more systematic work that included the Quality
Circle approach, story writing, drama, and literature (such as Roald
Dahl's Rhyme Stew and The Twits).
8.Part way through the 1996/97 school year
the co-ordinating teacher was approached by some of the school's
lunchtime supervisors who expressed concerns about 'being left out'
of the anti-bullying work. They complained that the head teacher
had informed them some time ago that they were to have an opportunity
to attend a training course but that they had heard nothing since
then. The co-ordinating teacher also reported that several teachers
believed that the lunchtime supervisors sometimes acted in ways
that were inconsistent with the stated policy about how the school
would respond to bullying. It became clear that the lunchtime supervisors
felt devalued in the school and that they wanted to play a more
active role in the school's anti-bullying initiatives. At a meeting
with the head teacher it was agreed that the training course would
run early in the following school year.
9.The lunchtime supervisors attended a
one-day training course and shared and acquired basic knowledge
about bullying. The facilitator challenged some myths about bullying
and how it should be responded to, and this led some of the supervisors
to change how they defined bullying.
10.Other activities focused on preventive
strategies (such as regular patrols of 'bullying hot spot', and
keeping a close watch on pupils known to be vulnerable to being
picked on) and how bullying and playful fighting could be distinguished.
11.The head teacher was very impressed
with the lunchtime supervisors' role in helping to prevent and respond
to bullying. He reported a fall in the number of pupils sent to
him for misbehaving during lunch breaks. The supervisors attributed
this to their greater confidence in dealing with bullying. One said
that, 'I no longer let the children hide behind the excuse that
they were only playing. I now have ways to convince myself that
this really is or isn't the case'.
12.The questionnaire survey has been repeated
twice. Despite a slow reduction in bullying at the start of the
project, the final survey suggested that the figures had reduced
to about one in ten pupils for both bullying and being bullied.
Although still high, most of these cases involved 'low level' bullying
such as disputes between friends that are quickly resolved. Moreover,
there has been a huge decrease in levels of physical bullying (down
from 46% in the first survey to 5% in the final survey).
Problems and solutions
13.The co-ordinating teacher left the school
at the end of the 1996-97 school year. No other teacher was willing
to take up this role. However, the head teacher recognised the
benefits that the actions taken so far had brought about and so
decided to 'lead from the front'.
14.A failure to include the lunchtime supervisors
during the early part of the project alienated them, and their lack
of knowledge about the policy compounded the problems faced by teachers.
However, when steps were taken to make them feel included and valued,
and after some systematic training, they were quickly able to make
a vital contribution.
15.The second survey, about 18 months after
the first, showed a reduction in being bullied (down to 38%) and
bullying others (down to 18%) - still very high. Moreover, many
pupils reported a shift in being bullied from the school premises
to the journey home in the afternoon. When the head teacher became
aware of this shift, he arranged for it to be raised as an issue
in assemblies and in the classroom. Further, it led to a change
to the wording of the whole-school policy to make it clear that
all bullying was unacceptable among its members regardless of where
this took place.
16.The co-ordinating teacher had been due
to tell colleagues what she had learned through attending training
courses. However, she left the school before being able to do so.
The head teacher was unable to fund this type of training for the
remaining staff, so the school was not able to add this type of
intervention to its list of actions.
Summary
before intervening, very high proportion of pupils
involved in bullying, particularly physical assaults and intimidation
range of actions taken including developing a whole-school policy,
curriculum/classroom work, and training of lunchtime supervisors
intervention suffered loss of momentum when co-ordinating teacher
left school
head teacher continued to support anti-bullying activity
large reduction in incidence of bullying, especially physical bullying
| Case study 2 |
|
17.This is a secondary school with over
1200 pupils aged 11-18 years and 67.5 teaching staff. In many ways
its actions to combat bullying could be considered proactive rather
than reactive.
18.Work began at a time when bullying was
not a major issue in the school, but a consensus was emerging among
a number of people, particularly the school counsellor, the pastoral
deputy head and the head teacher, about the sort of social climate
they envisaged. This was to be based on the counselling model of
a 'sharing approach' to the whole school community, placing relationships
at the heart of curricular and pastoral work. The whole-school
anti-bullying policy was developed to be an aspect of a wider whole-school
equal opportunities policy.
19.The school decided it wanted to adopt
a long term and co-ordinated approach, with all other interventions
designed to be part of an over-arching framework. Initiatives included
a comprehensive peer support scheme, contracting by pupils and their
parents, PSHE work that focused on issues around bullying, and curriculum
activities where appropriate. As evidence for the school's high
level of commitment to addressing the problem, an anti-bullying
working party was set up almost at the outset with representatives
from teaching and non-teaching staff and pupils.
20.A whole-school approach. This quickly
led to a whole-school day workshop which raised awareness of bullying
and created a consensus about the actions to be taken to address
it - co-ordinated by the anti-bullying working party.
21.The policy was drafted in 1991 and it
remained a draft for four years. Nevertheless, it continued to be
viewed positively by pupils, parents and staff. In 1995, the anti-bullying
working party formalised it into a short written statement. This
contained the school's definition of bullying, current practice
and clarified directions for the future.
22.The written policy was published in
the staff handbook and posted throughout the school building. Although
the anti-bullying working party continued to operate, two members
of staff -the pastoral deputy head and the school counsellor- were
instrumental in ensuring that the specific anti-bullying actions
identified during the whole-school day workshop were realised.
23.A Pupil Helper Scheme built upon the
work carried out by the school counsellor that began in 1984. This
early work taught volunteers from Years 11, 12 and 13 how to use
the Re-evaluation Counselling model. Since the scheme became part
of the overall anti-bullying policy more emphasis was given to helping
the peer counsellors listen to and support those involved in bullying.
Formal training by the school counsellor was augmented by self-development
by co-counselling among the volunteers. Uptake of this initiative
has been high - around 50 pupils a year since 1992 have become
pupil helpers. The training they receive is cascaded down to the
younger pupils as they regularly spend time in tutor periods, teaching
listening and co-counselling skills, and running self-esteem-building
activities and quality circles.
24.All pupils have opportunities for individual
time with peer helpers and they are offered the choice to see a
teacher or a pupil counsellor. Alongside this formal 'booking' arrangement,
there is also a lunchtime drop-in facility. An important aspect
of the scheme is that it is made clear that pupil helpers are not
responsible for managing bullying. They receive regular adult supervision
and support and, most crucially, they offer users limited confidentiality.
In cases of extreme bullying they have a duty of disclosure to an
adult member of staff.
25.Ananti-bullying contract is introduced
to all pupils in Year 7. They voted on the form and wording of the
contract and this was acknowledged in the contract itself, along
with three principles which pupils agreed to follow. These were
(i) treat fellow pupils with respect, (ii) don't humiliate or hurt
others physically or verbally, and (iii) help others who are being
hurt or upset through bullying. Parents are also asked to sign,
to confirm that they will strive to ensure that their child abides
by it. The contract is discussed in PSHE classes so that each pupil
can appreciate how seriously it is taken.
26.Surveys have been carried out at regular
intervals, involving questionnaires and pupil and staff interviews.
Instances of bullying are also recorded by heads of year.
27.The school regards the increased tendency
of pupils to report being bullied as a success, especially as this
trend has been accompanied by a four-fold reduction in 'serious'
cases -now down to around one a month. There has also been a reduction
in pupils reporting that they have been involved in, or witnessed,
bullying. Pupils' written responses suggest they are not as prepared
as before to accept bullying. When they do report it, pupils generally
believe it is dealt with effectively. In general they regard the
school as 'taking bullying very seriously'.
Problems and solutions
28.The school recognises it has taken quite
a time for some members of staff to commit themselves to the anti-bullying
policy. One reason may have been that it was initiated and driven
by a handful of colleagues at first. Another is that some staff
may not have recognised that bullying needed to be addressed.
29.Although the school recognises that
they have largely broken the culture of silence that so often surrounds
bullying, they have been faced with the need to spend more time
dealing with both serious and minor instances. Teachers are encouraged
to be patient and not abruptly to dismiss pupils reporting apparently
trivial incidents. Because of the greater awareness but decreased
tolerance of bullying some pupils have adopted more subtle forms
of abuse, particularly verbal.
Summary
-a concerted and co-ordinated approach was proactive
rather than reactive
-effective use of anti-bullying working party
-peer helper scheme integrated with policy work
-greater awareness, and reduced tolerance, of bullying
-decrease in general and serious bullying
| Case study 3 |
|
30.This mixed comprehensive school has
some 450 11-16 year-old pupils taught by 30 teachers. It serves
a disadvantaged city district. 63% of the pupils are eligible for
free school meals; 60% are from single parent families; 40% are
on the school's special educational needs register.
31.The school has a well-articulated code
of conduct and an equal opportunities policy which specify its expectations
about pupils' behaviour, including bullying. Copies of these documents
are given to all pupils when they join the school, and to their
parents. The school's Anti-Bullying Campaign (ABC) peer support
system is an integral part of the way in which the code of conduct
and the equal opportunities policy are implemented in practice.
The anti-bullying work in the school was established after careful
planning and consultation with all interested groups. It has strong
support from the school's governors, senior managers, and the majority
of the teachers, parents and pupils who are all well informed about
the system.
32.ABC involves pupil peer supporters trained
to offer help to other pupils who are being bullied. Some of the
peer supporters visit the school's feeder primaries where they speak
to prospective pupils and their parents about the school's ABC scheme.
These visits are re-inforced early in the school year when all new
pupils (Year 7) have a series of PSHE lessons on the code of conduct
including the school's anti-bullying stance and what victims can
do if they are bullied. Bullying and the ABC system are also frequent
topics of assemblies for all year groups of pupils.
33.This peer support system was established
because of concern that bullying was going unreported, despite appeals
to speak up- and pupils had thought adults would not understand.
However, it is not intended to replace any of the people to whom
victims might report their bullying problems; it is simply another
avenue that they may use.
34.Consultation meetings with the school's
senior managers, teachers, ancillary staff and some of the pupils
were positive and the system was established in 1996. A teacher
has day-to-day responsibility for managing, administering and monitoring
it under the oversight of the other teacher, a deputy head.
35.Prospective peer supporters from Year
8 and above are invited to complete an application form. The short-listed
applicants are interviewed by the educational psychologist, the
counsellor and existing peer supporters, on the basis of how convincingly
the forms have been completed. A history of bad behaviour is not
in itself a reason for excluding a pupil from consideration.
"I'm clear in my own mind that you're aiming to recruit
the kids. ..who've got big 'cred', are shiny, attractive and who
people will think that if they're doing it then it must be a good
thing. ..Often they'll be a bit naughty but you need the 'cred'
that they bring with them" (Educational psychologist).Unusually,
for many mixed-sex schools which have a peer support system, this
school has succeeded in achieving a gender balance amongst the peer
supporters. Successful interviewees are invited to attend extensive
training sessions run by the school counsellor and the educational
psychologist. Only on the successful completion of this training
are individual interviewees appointed as peer supporters.
36.Lunchtime group supervision meetings,
lasting for 30 minutes, are run every week by at least two of the
adults. Unnamed individual cases are discussed, during which supporters
occasionally seek advice and disseminate ideas on, for example,
appropriate or successful approaches.
Outcomes
37.The teacher in charge of the ABC system
conducts an annual anonymous questionnaire survey of all of the
pupils and teachers in the school. In 1997 39% of pupil respondents
said they had ever 'been a bully in this school'. For 1998 and
1999 the corresponding figures were 41 and 30% respectively. There
has also been a decline in the number of pupil respondents who report
having ever 'been bullied in this school'. In 1997 58% did so,
whilst the corresponding figures for 1998 and 1999 were 53 and 42
% respectively.
38.At the end of the 1997 autumn term,
unnamed records showed the system had dealt with forty-seven cases
involving sixty-two pupil victims since the service began in mid-1996.
Apparently, the anti-bullying work has encouraged pupils to tell
someone they are being bullied, as well as reducing the numbers
of bullies and victims.
Summary
well integrated peer support system with wide
support
·system managed by a co-operative team of adults
with clearly defined roles and who are careful in the selection,
training and supervision of the peer supporters
system has a clearly defined function, understood
by peer supporters and users
regular evaluation through questionnaire surveys
and analysis of records
progress in encouraging use of the peer support
service and in reducing bullying
Comparison of the three case studies
39.These schools were not in privileged
positions. Schools 1 and 3 had many pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
All three schools took bullying seriously and brought in outside
help early on - getting strong support from the head teacher or
senior management, and consultation on how to proceed. Responsibilities
were also clearly assigned.
40.In all three schools the approach has
centred around a whole school policy; but the emphasis of the work
has varied. School 1, a primary school, put a lot of emphasis on
the playground, training of lunchtime supervisors, and curriculum
work. Schools 2 and 3 both used peer support or helper schemes
as a central approach. In each case these methods were carefully
planned and integrated with the policy and other methods.
41.These schools also faced difficulties,
such as changes in key staff, resentments, and sometimes scepticism
from parents, governors or even teaching staff that bullying needed
to be addressed seriously, or that a proposed method was appropriate.
It is likely that in any sustained initiative difficulties will
be encountered, but these schools persevered in their efforts.
42.Each school has successes to report,
sometimes immediate, sometimes after a short-term rise in reporting
(school 3) as the topic is 'opened up', followed by a fall. Bullying
is far from being eliminated in these schools but the planned and
concerted efforts are clearly having a positive impact.
Some websites about bullying in schools
ANTI-BULLYING NETWORK http://www.antibullying.net
Scottish site with sections for young people, parents and families,
and school staff.
BBC BULLYING SURVIVAL GUIDE http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/bully/index.htm
Provides information, guidelines for dealing with all aspects
of bullying, a help and resources list and accounts of celebrities
who were bullied when they were at school.
BULLYWEB http://www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/science/psychol/bully/bully.htm
A research site with links to other sites on bullying.
CHILDLINE http://www.childline.org.uk/
Gives details of the telephone help line, the CHIPS (Childline
in Partnership with schools) initiative, and the leaflet 'Bullying
-what can parents do?'
KIDSCAPE http://www.kidscape.org.uk
Describes their work; gives advice for victims of bullying,
their parents, and schools.
PEER SUPPORT NETWORKER http://www.peersupport.co.uk
Newsletter linked to Peer Support Forum.
SCRE WEBSITE http://www.scre.ac.uk/bully/index.html
Provides information for parents and schools about details of
resources available from the Scottish Council for Research in Education.
EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON INITIATIVES TO COMBAT BULLYING http://www.gold.ac.uk/euconf/
Gives an account of anti-bullying work in various European Community
countries.
THE NATURE AND PREVENTION OF BULLYING http://www.gold.acuk/tmr/
Describes an ongoing research programme on the nature and prevention
of bullying, funded by the European Commission.
DR KEN RIGBY'S BULLY PAGES http://www.education.unisa.edu.au/bullying/
Australian site, providing an introduction to bullying, an account
of the options open to parents and schools on dealing with bullying,
and a useful list of resource materials.
INFORMATION ON BULLYING FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS http://www.lfcc.on.ca/bully.htm
A Canadian site that gives a lot of information on bullying issues.
SAFECHILD BULLIES http://www.jlraleigh.com/safechil.htm
A site from the USA giving advice on child safety.
|
