Hi families,
Next week as a school community we will be talking about the importance of growing connections and promoting that we are a ‘NO Bullying zone’ at St Augustine’s. Classes will be partaking in discussions that promote positive relationships and what this looks and sounds like in our school.
Today’s article look at some information about what bullying is and is not and what we can do to prevent bullying.
Happy reading,
Ms Jodie
Growing connections for the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence
As Friday the 18th of August 2023 is a closure day at St Augustine’s we will be participating in the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA) over the following week.
The NDA is Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative for schools and provides an opportunity to connect with students, staff and our school community to implement workable solutions to prevent bullying.
The 2023 NDA theme, Growing connections, promotes the importance of school, family and community connections in building safe and supportive learning environments where all students can belong, feel accepted and respected.
Research has shown that strong school connections and positive relationships can help to prevent bullying. When students feel a sense of belonging and connectedness at school, they are more likely to enjoy school, to trust and respect their teachers, and be concerned about and help others (Australian Education Research Organisation 2023).
At St Augustine’s we will help grow connections by promoting inclusiveness, respect and community belonging for all students. This is something we work very hard at achieving and value very strongly as a school community.
Over the week, students will be participating in activities / discussions that look at what bullying is and is not and classes will discuss the importance of looking out for one another and treating each other with respect and kindness.
This ties in beautifully with our Wellbeing theme this term “Everybody matters”, and highlights that we are all valued members of the St Augustine’s community.
What bullying is and what it is not ….
Parents and carers have a key role in preventing and responding to bullying.
Understanding the definition of bullying is the first step in talking about how to prevent and respond to bullying with your child. ‘Bullying’ is a word that is used for behaviours that are not actually bullying. These other behaviours can be just as serious but may require different responses.
School responses to reports of bullying can be much more effective when parents and carers report bullying and support school staff efforts to respond to it.
Working together with the school is the best way to help your child resolve bullying issues.
Three key characteristics outlined in the national definition of bullying distinguish bullying behaviours from other negative behaviours, which are not bullying. The key characteristics of bullying include:
- power imbalance
- deliberate intent to cause harm, and
- ongoing and repeated behaviour.
While the following behaviours are not bullying, they may still be serious and require intervention at home and at school:
- arguments and disagreements (where there is no power imbalance)
- single acts of social rejection or unkind behaviour, or
- isolated incidents of aggression, intimidation or violence.
It is important for our whole-school community, including our staff, parents, carers and students to have a clear understanding of the definition of bullying to be able to correctly identify and respond to incidents of bullying. The full national definition can be found on the Bullying. No Way! Website
You can read St Augustine’s bullying prevention Policy on our website or by clicking the link below to learn more about our school’s process for preventing and responding to incidents of bullying.
