Anti-Bullying Week & Behaviour Management With Bromcom
As you may or may not know, last week was anti-bullying week. Whether we even realise or not, we have all likely been subjected or witness to some form of bullying in our lives, be it in the workplace or during our school days. In this blog, we wanted to celebrate anti-bullying week, discuss 5 practical actions, and list 5 Bromcom MIS features that empower schools to combat bullying and effectively monitor behaviour.
What is Anti-Bullying week?
Anti-Bullying Week is coordinated by the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA), a coalition of organizations dedicated to tackling bullying. The aim is to raise awareness about bullying and its impact on individuals and communities, as well as promote practical ways to prevent bullying.
During Anti-Bullying Week, schools across the UK organize various activities and initiatives to educate students about bullying, encourage discussions, and promote kindness, respect, and empathy. The theme of the week changes each year, some past themes include “Change Starts with Us,” “Choose Respect,” and “All Different, All Equal.”
Schools often provide students with resources and information, hold assemblies and workshops, and engage in classroom discussions about bullying and its effects. These activities aim to empower students to stand up against bullying, support one another, and create a positive school environment.
The goal of Anti-Bullying Week is to highlight the importance of preventing bullying in all its forms and to support the creation of safe and inclusive learning environments for children and young people. Anti-bullying week provides those against it with a voice, and those in power with an opportunity to tackle the issue head on. With that said, I would like to share with you, 5 tangible ways in which schools can combat bullying.
5 ways to combat bullying within Schools
- Promote a Positive School Culture:
Fostering a positive school culture is crucial in preventing bullying. Educators should actively promote kindness, empathy, and respect among students. Emphasize the importance of inclusivity, tolerance, and acceptance of diversity. Encourage students to celebrate each other’s differences and discourage any form of discrimination or prejudice.
- Implement Comprehensive Anti-Bullying Policies:
Every UK school should have well-defined anti-bullying policies in place that address various forms of bullying, including cyberbullying. These policies should be communicated to staff, students, and parents. Include clear consequences for bullying behaviours and mechanisms for reporting incidents. Regularly review and update these policies to ensure their effectiveness.
- Educate Students, Staff, and Parents on Bullying:
To prevent bullying, it is important to educate everyone involved, including students, staff, and parents. Organize regular workshops and training sessions that provide comprehensive information about bullying, its impact, and how to recognize and respond to it. Encourage open discussions on the topic to increase awareness and understanding.
- Encourage Peer Intervention:
Empowering students to stand up against bullying is crucial in creating a safe school environment. Implement peer support programs like buddy systems or mentoring schemes. Encourage students to report bullying incidents they witness and provide them with the necessary tools to intervene safely and respectfully. Instilling a sense of responsibility in students strengthens the collective effort against bullying.
- Enhance Supervision and Monitoring:
Increasing supervision and monitoring in key areas such as classrooms, hallways, playgrounds, and online spaces can help identify and deter instances of bullying. Well-trained staff should actively observe student interactions and promptly intervene when necessary. Additionally, establish effective channels of communication, encouraging students to report incidents confidentially or anonymously to ensure their safety.
Where does an MIS come into the equation?
A school MIS has a very large part to play when monitoring Behaviour, both for schools and parents. Thanks to intuitive technology and years of development, Bromcom are proud to offer an MIS solution that covers all your comprehensive behaviour needs. This includes;
- Automated Events – Combine Attendance and Behaviour to enable automated Behaviour events which are triggered once Attendance is taken. This could be a positive event for high attenders, or a negative event for frequently truant students.
- Watchlist Processes – Compile a Watchlist of vulnerable, disadvantaged, poorly or well-behaved students, which automatically sends home communication when the selected students are involved in an incident, receive a reward, or miss a lesson.
- Referral Recipients – Within Bromcom, you have the option to select specific members of staff as referral recipients within a Behaviour event or action. This means when an event is assigned to a student, select staff are instantly notified and can help or intervene.
- Detentions – Bromcom offers both manual or automated Detention functionality, depending on your requirements. Staff can manually assign detentions to those in trouble, or a Detention can be automatically triggered once a negative event or action is assigned.
- Pathways and Reporting – Finally, we have Pathways and Reporting. Its all well and good creating complex Behaviour systems or policies, but you need to be able to extract the data on a moment’s notice and ensure said systems work. Behaviour pathways allows you to simulate the ‘Behaviour pathway’ or journey from start to finish, while our reports provide the key figures and data required for analysis.
- MyChildAtSchool Portal – Our MyChildAtSchool (MCAS) portal/app allows parents to monitor their child’s behaviour, attendance and performance in school. Positive or negative behaviour events are visible in real-time, removing the need for manual management or correspondence, allowing parents to also identify trends or areas they can intervene.
Parental Engagement
While schools can implement every system and solution under the sun to combat bullying, they cannot do it alone. Children are most impressionable between birth and the age of 7, meaning they absorb, learn and take in everything around them. After the age of 7, their subconscious mind begins to take control and begin influencing their behaviours, habits and decision.
Parents play the most important role in a child’s life and must try their best to guide their children, discourage negative behaviours and teach kindness. A child considered to be a ‘bully’ frequently have their own insecurities or issues and see their actions as a form of venting or releasing anger. By being open with our children, listening to them and showing them right from wrong, we may be able to steer them away from bullying or negative behaviours while they are still young.
Through Bromcom MIS and our MyChildAtSchool portal, parents can access real-time updates on their child’s conduct, disciplinary incidents, and overall behaviour trends. Additionally, the MIS enables the school to communicate directly with parents, sending timely notifications about notable behaviour events, positive achievements, or areas for improvement. This transparency fosters a collaborative partnership between parents and educators, encouraging open communication and proactive involvement in the child’s academic and behavioural development.
Conclusion
Preventing bullying requires a collaborative effort from all stakeholders within UK schools. By fostering a positive culture, implementing strong policies, educating students, staff, and parents, encouraging peer intervention, and enhancing supervision, we can effectively create safe and nurturing environments that promote respect, empathy, and equality. Together, we can combat bullying and provide every student with the opportunity to thrive academically and emotionally. With a powerful MIS at your disposal, the once stressful task of combating bullying and effectively managing Behaviour, can become far simpler.
