close

Bullied

The following is an excerpt from the ebooklet Working with children who are bullied by Murray Evely and Zoe Ganim.

Introduction

  • Spreading rumours, mimicking, telling lies, encouraging others to exclude the child socially, or playing tricks to humiliate or harm the child’s social reputation
  • Cyber-bullying – where bullies use digital forms of communication such as SMS, email, chat rooms and social networking sites to repeatedly and intentionally humiliate and cause distress – can be particularly harmful. The 24/7 nature of web based communication tools and mobile phones may lead children to feel there is no place they can ever feel safe.  See the Australian Government’s cyber safety program, http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/

Who is more likely to be bullied?

Appearance and other attributes such as weight, race, and social economic status are not always predictive of being bullied. Other children, who don’t fit the common stereotype of the weak, sensitive, or anxious child who tends to get bullied, can be at risk. Some children who display a talent, who are slightly ‘different’ or popular with others can also be targets of bullying. Anxious children are frequently less liked by peers, and can be rejected, bullied and teased.

Effects of bullying on children

Children who are bullied are often anxious, insecure and unhappy. They may also be:

  • less likely to take risks
  • lacking in self confidence
  • lacking in age-appropriate social skills and may have few friends
  • more likely to have parents whom others consider overprotective
  • perceived as ‘different’ or physically weaker than their peers
  • more likely to have special or additional education provision.

Bullied children are up to three times more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression than their peers.[4] Rigby, K. (1998).  The relationship between reported health and involvement in bully/victim problems among male and female secondary school … Continue reading They also have higher rates of worry, self-harm and suicidal thoughts, poor physical health, impaired academic performance and greater school non-attendance. For some children, anxiety and depression will resolve itself when the bullying stops. For others, residual worry, anxiety or depression can persist. For these children, intervention by teachers and other professionals is needed to help reduce the harm and feelings of isolation, distress and anger that can result from being bullied.

In extreme cases, children who have been bullied may contemplate suicide or plan retaliation.

Children who are bullied typically do not feel supported or protected by the school and it is not uncommon for some families to have little faith in a school’s actual or likely response to bullying. In some cases, fear of retaliation from the bully or the bully’s family can mean that parents of a bullied child will go outside the school to seek counselling for their child, attempt to deal with the bully’s parents themselves, shift schools, and/or don’t report the bullying to the school.

What is bullying and what is not bullying

Single acts of hostility or aggression should not be defined as bullying, and neither should mutual conflict where there is no imbalance of power.

The key component of bullying is psychological or physical threats or harm that occur repeatedly over time, creating an ongoing pattern of abuse. This difference needs to be clearly explained to the school community.

However, all instances of hostility or aggression need to be followed up, ensuring that these unacceptable behaviours are not tolerated and/or do not escalate into bullying.

Caution

The school’s intolerance of bullying should be communicated through policies and procedures matched with clear actions to minimise and stop bullying. Ineffectual school interventions and serious cases of bullying can lead to police involvement and legal action. Policies should strongly recommend that parents of a bullied child refrain from approaching the child who is believed to be the bully or their family.

Unfortunately, bullying has been prevalent in schools for many generations. It is important to recognise that some parents may have been bullied at school, or subjected to violence and could feel fragile about their experiences, leading to strong emotional reactions when told their child has been bullied.

 

Strategies to assist the child who is being bullied

Whole school strategies

  • Ensure your school firmly implements a no-tolerance bullying policy, which is matched with the processes used to deal with bullying. It is important also to include a no-tolerance to witnessing bullying rule. That is, those who witness bullying but do not report it will receive a consequence. If you do not believe your school policy is effective, raise it with relevant senior staff privately or at a staff meeting. Ensure that no-tolerance bullying policies are clearly communicated to children, teachers, parents and other members of the school community through newsletters, websites, school assemblies, staff meetings, and in the classroom. The National Safe Schools Framework can help guide policy implementation or modification. The framework consists of nationally agreed principles and appropriate responses to bullying to create a safe and supportive school environment. Further tips on school policy can be found at http://www.kenrigby.net/ and www.friendlyschools.com.au.
  • Promote values of tolerance and acceptance. Classroom values such as a love of learning, along with respect, harmony, honesty and responsibility help instill in children a clear set of guiding principles. It can be helpful to explicitly incorporate classroom activities around these values to embed the meaning of these concepts. For Australian schools, values based curriculum ideas, lesson plans, and interactive web-based programs can be accessed at http://www.curriculum.edu.au/values.
  • Implement pro-social strategies, from the school principal to beginning students that promote positive social interactions, and foster responsibility and power sharing. For example:
    • Be a positive role model to all children. Ensure the school leadership and all teachers provide positive role models by using their power in a fair and balanced way during interactions with students, each other, parents and other school personnel. Work hard to foster an environment of shared respect— respect for the teacher and respect for the child.
    • Use school-wide policies in child friendly language such as ‘It is not swell to yell’ to promote a sense of calm and safety at school. It is important for all school staff to abide by these policies and for teachers to model and manage their own reactions.
  • Take all reports of bullying seriously. Ensure all cases of bullying are brought to the attention of the school principal and other relevant staff members. Parents of both the bully and the bullied child should also be informed.
  • Ensure staff supervision in the playground and in known bullying areas is appropriate. Survey students to identify key areas in the school where bullying may occur, or distribute a map of the school and have students colour in areas or ‘hot spots’ where they may feel unsafe or uncomfortable or where bullying may occur. Additional teacher supervision of hot spots and ‘blind’ spots behind buildings may help reduce the incidence of bullying. There are a number of bullying surveys available, see www.bullyingnoway.com.au
  • Use methods other than punishment. In the majority of cases, punitive measures do not reduce bullying but, rather, lead the bully to use methods that are harder to detect and typically more harmful. Children who break school rules or hurt another child should be given appropriate consequences but other measures should also be put in place. Effective methods are discussed below.

ISBN 978-1-921908-11-8

Copyright © Murray Evely and Zoe Ganim 2011

No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Click here to read copyright details, summary of the licence and terms and conditions to use and reproduce our digital materials granted to authorised users.

References[+]

This article is an excerpt from the ebooklet Bullied.

Download the complete ebooklet for full access to strategies and resources, including:

  • Whole school strategies
  • Involving all parents
  • Whole class strategies
  • Informing the parent of the bully

Purchase full ebooklet

Bullied - $14.95

$14.95Add to cart

Explore more resources

students with friendships issues