Student bullying (bullying) continues to be a major problem in Australian schools – studies suggest that around 15 per cent of Australian school students experience bullying every year. The number of school-aged children experiencing bullying in Australia has fallen over recent years but is still unacceptably high. In recognition of the harm caused by bullying, all Australian states and territories have adopted policies that address school bullying. Many Australian schools have also implemented their own anti-bullying programs and campaigns.

There are differing opinions as to what strategies schools should adopt to address bullying. While there is no single ‘correct’ approach to addressing bullying, it is important for schools to recognise that not all anti-bullying strategies are equally effective. Furthermore, some strategies can inadvertently cause further harm to victims of bullying. Accordingly, schools should be thinking carefully about the effectiveness and impacts of any anti-bullying strategies that they choose to implement.

To provide some guidance to schools in their thinking about bullying, this article will firstly outline the definition and impacts of school bullying. It will then explore some of the anti-bullying strategies that have been implemented in schools. Finally, it will suggest actions that schools can take to improve their approach to bullying.

Defining Bullying

Bullying is defined as an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm. Bullying can involve an individual or a group misusing their power in relation to one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening.

Bullying can take various forms:

• physical bullying which involves physical actions such as hitting or pushing. It can also involve damaging, stealing or hiding personal belongings
• psychological bullying which involves words or actions being used to cause psychological harm
• indirect bullying which may involve deliberate acts of exclusion, spreading rumours or sharing information that will have a harmful effect on a person
• cyberbullying which is any form of bullying behaviour that occurs online or via a mobile device.

There are certain negative situations that may be distressing for students but that do not constitute bullying. For instance, mutual conflict situations, which arise where there is disagreement between students but no imbalance of power, will not constitute bullying. One-off acts of aggression or ‘meanness’ will also not generally be considered bullying.

Some students are more likely to experience bullying than others. This includes students with a disability, students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and LGBTIQ+ students. Schools need to consider the specific forms of discrimination and bullying that these students may face.

The Impacts of Bullying

There can be a range of physical, psychological, social and academic consequences for children who are victims of bullying. Students who experience bullying are likely to suffer immediate physical or emotional consequences but there are also long-term effects. Victims of bullying are at higher risk of experiencing depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. These mental health consequences can persist for many years after the bullying has stopped. As discussed in a previous School Governance article, victims are also more likely to struggle academically and to disengage with their school work.

Students who bully others may also experience adverse consequences. Research suggests that children who bully are more likely to engage in criminal behaviours, to have substance abuse problems, to have poor educational and employment outcomes and to experience depression later in life.

Anti-Bullying Strategies

In response to the negative consequences that flow from bullying, schools have adopted various anti-bullying strategies to prevent and respond to bullying among students. While efforts to reduce bullying are commendable, schools need to be aware that some anti-bullying strategies are less effective than others and that some may have unintended adverse consequences.

There is a considerable body of academic literature that has evaluated the best ways to prevent and respond to bullying in schools. Two popular programs that have arisen from this literature are  the “Method of Shared Concern” Approach and the “No Blame” Approach. Research indicates that these approaches have effectively reduced the harmful effects of bullying in numerous Australian schools.

Other anti-bullying strategies have become popular, despite a lack of evidence that they effectively prevent bullying and minimise its detrimental impacts. For instance, installing  'buddy benches' was a popular anti-bullying initiative in Australian schools several years ago. Schools installed a colourful bench in their playgrounds that was intended to provide a safe place for students to go when they were being bullied or when they had no one to play with. The idea was that other children or teachers would notice the student on the bench and offer assistance.

While there is clearly good intent behind buddy benches, there has been no evidence to show that they are effective in reducing bullying. Furthermore, some commentators have highlighted that buddy benches may have unintended negative consequences for bullied students. When students sit on the bench, it highlights that they are struggling to get along with their peers and may result in them feeling even more isolated. Increased visibility of these students’ difficulties could also damage their peer status and make them less attractive for real friendships, which would serve to protect them from bullying.

The problems surrounding the buddy bench illustrate a broader point in relation to anti-bullying strategies. Although the strategies may be implemented with the best of intentions, they can end up worsening the situation of vulnerable students if they are not carefully implemented and evaluated.

What Should Schools Do?

Given that there are conflicting ideas about how schools should approach bullying, it can be confusing for educators to figure out what they should do to protect students from the harmful effects of bullying. While schools will need to spend time working out the specific anti-bullying policies and programs that are suited to their student cohort, there are some steps that all schools can take to better prevent and respond to bullying.

Regularly review anti-bullying strategies/programs: As has been emphasised throughout this article, some anti-bullying strategies are less effective than others and some can have unintended negative consequences. That is why it is important for schools to regularly review the anti-bullying programs or strategies that they have chosen to adopt. Anti-bullying strategies, like any other form of risk control, should be evaluated on a regular basis to ascertain their effectiveness in reducing the risk of bullying. If they are no longer effective, then interim risk treatments need to be deployed and the policies and or program will need to be reviewed and updated to better manage the risk.

Schools should ensure that they are collecting data about bullying so that there is adequate information available to undertake these reviews. Some potential methods of data collection may include:

• student focus groups
• regular student bullying surveys
• regular staff surveys
• assessment of reported incidents of bullying and the responses implemented.

Provide comprehensive training and education around bullying: Whatever anti-bullying strategies your school chooses to adopt, they are unlikely to be effective if they are not accompanied by training and education for staff, students and parents/carers. As we noted in a previous School Governance article, having all the right policies, procedures and strategies is valueless unless the school community understands them and puts them to use as intended.

Have a clear complaints process: All schools should have clear processes for reporting or making complaints about bullying. For a complaints process to be effective, the system needs to be well-known, trusted and accessible by all members of the school community. Unfortunately, many schools have not created such systems.

A study of 1600 Australian schools found that, while most participating schools had anti-bullying policies, 50 per cent of students at those schools were unaware of the policies. When students lack information about their school’s policies on bullying, including the places they can go to make a complaint, bullying is likely to go unreported.

In assessing your schools’ complaints process in relation to bullying, you should consider whether your school has:

• a public facing policy in relation to bullying on your website
• age-appropriate and student-centred complaints processes, forms or procedures that all students are aware of and can access
• a complaints capture process (online, paper forms)
• a complaints investigation process
• a complaints officer
• a complaints response process (timelines for response)
• a complaints register analysis (to identify systemic issues).

Finally, it is important that your school actively encourages students that are bullied, bystanders, staff and parents/guardians to use the complaints process when they are concerned about bullying. Having a safe and accessible complaints process will only be helpful if members of the school community feel comfortable using it.

Conclusion

It is encouraging that so many schools are committed to better preventing and responding to bullying. However, schools need to think carefully about the anti-bullying strategies that they choose to adopt, so that they do not waste resources on ineffective or inadvertently harmful policies.