MANITOBA SAFE SCHOOLS FORUM and YOUTH CONFERENCE 2006 We CAN Make a Difference!

BULLYING AND SAFETY: Issues and Interventions

WHAT WE KNOW Commercial “stand and deliver” programs have limited effect Interventions with the bully and/or victim are necessary but not sufficient for change Bullying is societal and learned Change must be societal, systemic to be effective

WHAT WE KNOW (cont’d) Suspending students for bullying behaviour without counselling intervention increases the risk for threat and harm 86% of Manitoba youth who indicate they are being bullied also state that they have bullied others

SCHOOL RESOURCE: -A Whole School Approach to Safety and Belonging: Preventing Violence and Bullying PARENT RESOURCES: -Stop Bullying! -Safe, Caring Schools, Families, and Communities WHAT IS NEW

RESOURCES: -Regional Safe Schools Forum and Youth Conferences -Information Packages -Consultation for parents, schools, and communities -Behaviour planning training sessions WHAT IS NEW (cont’d)

A Whole-School Approach to Safety and Belonging Preventing Violence and Bullying

Randall Sprick Terrance Scott Skiba, Rausch & Ritter Abraham Maslow Benjamin Bloom Lawrence Kohlberg THEORETICAL ALIGNMENT

BLOOM MASLOW KOHLBERG

Purpose To promote a positive approach to safety and belonging that aligns with school planning systems already in use in Manitoba schools To provide a simple, step-by-step approach to building collaborative safety plans To offer materials and resources that are easily adapted to unique needs of each school

The Context of Bullying Three-tiered model of school discipline and violence prevention TOTAL POPULATION AT-RISK STUDENTS: EARLY IDENTIFICATION & INTERVENTION DISRUPTIVE STUDENTS: EFFECTIVE RESPONSES TO DISRUPTION Skiba, Rausch & Ritter(2004)

The spectrum of anti-social behaviours MILDMODERATESEVERE PHYSICAL AGGRESSION -Pushing -Shoving -Spitting -Kicking -Hitting -Defacing property -stealing -Physical acts that are demeaning and humiliating, but not bodily harmful (e.g., depanting) -Locking in a closed or confined space -Physical violence against family or friends -Threatening with a weapon inflicting bodily harm SOCIAL ALIENATION -Gossiping -Embarrassing -Setting up to look foolish -Spreading rumours -Ethnic slurs -Setting up to take blame -Publicly humiliating (e.g., revealing personal information) -Excluding from group -Social rejection -Maliciously excluding -Manipulating social order to achieve rejection -Malicious rumour mongering -Threatening with a weapon -Inflicting bodily harm VERBAL AGGRESSION -Mocking -Name calling -Dirty looks -Taunting -Teasing about clothing or possessions -Teasing about appearance -Intimidating phone calls, s or messaging -Verbal or electronic threats of aggression against property or possessions -Verbal or electronic threats of violence or inflicting bodily harm INTIMIDATION -Threatening to reveal personal information -Graffiti -Publicly challenging to do something -Defacing property or clothing -Playing a dirty trick -Taking possessions (e.g., lunch, clothing, toys) -Extortion-Threats of using coercion against family or friends -Coercion; threatening with a weapon

Seven Simple Steps to Safety and Belonging 1.Establish a planning team 2.Involve parents 3.Involve students 4.Create a school pledge 5.Build a supervision plan 6.Develop a response plan 7.Implement and monitor the school plan

Step 1: Establish a Planning Team Staff meeting item – determine commitment level to safety and belonging plan Confirm membership on planning team Establish timelines Begin planning

Step 2: Involve Parents Make use of parent advisory council- or related meetings and opportunities that are familiar to the community Introduce concept and commitment levels Ask for ideas on effective communication strategies and preferred degree of involvement with parents and community Distribute helpful tips on supporting children

Step 3: Involve Students Suggestions: Include students on planning team as much as possible (directly/indirectly depending on age/stage) Develop a student safety and belonging committee (to provide input, feedback and communication strategy) Students plan school assembly to launch school plan Students contribute to pledge, to school-wide, classroom, and community activities

Step 3: Involve Students (cont’d) Suggestions: Conduct a school-wide positive behaviour campaign Encourage and support students to speak at parent meetings Encourage and support students to speak to other students in other grades or schools Link safety and belonging to associated learning outcomes

Step 4: Create a School Pledge Determine the form the pledge will take Invite staff, student, and parent input Incorporate contributions into final school pledge Align pledge with mission, code of conduct, charter, slogan, motto… Live the pledge

Step 5: Build a Supervision Plan Address violent and bullying behaviour When self-monitoring is absent in children, “the single most effective deterrent to violence and bullying is adult authority and visibility”

Step 5: Supervision issues –The safety of all students and staff –Each student’s ability to learn to behave in another way –The opportunity for students to practise and integrate more positive behaviour –The continuum of misbehaviour, from subtle, covert bullying to physical aggression –Adult recognition that students cannot always solve all their own problems –Adult feelings of intimidation, isolation, or lack of support when intervening in violent or bullying incidents

Step 5: Supervision - roles Build a supervision plan that clearly articulates roles of: –Administrators –Teachers –Educational assistants –Support staff Identify high-risk areas Acknowledge and reinforce pro-social behaviour Initiate programs to reduce opportunities for violence and bullying

Step 6: Develop a School-wide Response Plan Detail guidelines and procedures for responding to and tracking incidents of violent and bullying behaviours Identify strategies to –Support students who are bullied –Respond to students who are aggressive or who bully –Respond to students who witness violence or bullying Plan restorative interventions to bring together all parties to repair relationships that have been damaged

Step 6: Goals of a School-wide Response Plan Encourage communication Develop empathy Promote accountability Enhance pro-social behaviour

Step 6: What does a School-wide Response Plan look like? Unique to each school All students, staff and parents are informed of the plan Safety audit conducted regularly to determine hot spots Guaranteed response to halt violence and bullying when it is witnessed Use of incident reports; collection of data to inform plan Use of first/second responders to intervene quickly Code of conduct that takes into consideration the context and student-specific needs that may have contributed to the incident

Step 6: What does a School-wide Response Plan look like? –Guaranteed check on perpetrator, victim, and any affected witnesses –Restitution-based interventions/counselling/ opportunities for learning and practising new behaviours –Focus on pro-social behaviours

Step 7: Implement and Monitor the School Plan Promote the school plan Build and maintain commitment to the school plan: –Keep staff, students, and parents informed –Determine the format and activities for a school assembly –Determine strategies for keeping the plan alive –Determine strategies for monitoring the effectiveness of the plan

Begin with your Strengths Align safety and belonging plans with strategies and systems that are already working well Check for alignment to codes of conduct, threat assessment protocols, learning outcomes Use familiar communication strategies: newsletters, ACSLs, student councils, assemblies, community networks…

Keep it Manageable A whole school approach only works when the whole school can commit to the plan: select what is manageable as a starting point. Develop additional components of the plan as students, staff and community become comfortable during the monitoring process

The Learning Curve Keep in mind that any new initiative takes time and energy Progress can be wobbly at first as everyone gets used to new concepts and new behaviours are learned Support others Monitor progress regularly Celebrate successes

The Last Word At first, reports of bullying will increase when you start talking about violence and bullying. This does not mean there is more bullying. You are modelling that it is okay to talk about things that are usually hidden. It means students are open to discussing issues and trust that you will help. You can’t do this alone. It takes a community. You have a strong community.

For further information Lorna Martin Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth Phone: Fax: