We are a primary school of 360 students in a regional, coastal area. There has been a recent change in the demographics, with young families moving into what was traditionally a retirement area.

Where It Began... The change in the local population resulted in isolation issues, with students feeling alienated and exhibiting low self-esteem and a lack of confidence in their ability to manage problems. This can mean they feel incapable of doing anything about bullying, especially within a general culture that to report bullying was 'dobbing'. In addition, research has found that children who bully others typically feel little or no pride in their school and are not well integrated into their community (Morrison 2002).

Getting Started... We decided to implement a range of programs to develop a strong sense of community spirit within the school. Our rationale has been that no single approach provides best practice. Rather, we felt we needed to consider the strengths and limitations of a range of approaches.

• The first step was to actively involve students in decision making in the school. A Student Representative Council was established and bullying became a focus area. The following initiatives were implemented:
• Students were surveyed and data was collected on bullying behaviours.
• A playground register was established and teachers recorded incidents of reported bullying in the playground. This allowed the staff to focus on specifics rather than perceptions. It also demonstrated to students that teachers took incidents of bullying seriously and that something would be done.

How We Went About It... Staff have:

• taken on particular responsibilities and have participated in professional development to develop and implement programs such as peer mediation and peer support
• developed and taught a whole school anti-bullying across all grades.

Parents and carers have:

• all received an anti-bullying policy and pamphlet.

The school community has:

• been kept informed of initiatives via regular reports in newsletters, on school noticeboards and at meetings.
• participated in celebrations such as leadership inductions and special assemblies.

For students:

• a peer support program was implemented. This specifically focussed on bullying and culminated in a poster competition. Posters were laminated and displayed around the school as permanent reminders.
• senior students are given explicit leadership training and they attend the National Young Leaders Day. Senior students are positive role models for younger students. For example, the elected school leaders participated in leadership training to give them the skills to lead the peer support groups and to act as buddies for Kindergarten students.
• links have been established with the local high school whose students train our Stage 3 students in peer mediation.
• a mentor is provided for each new enrolment in the school.

Programs have been developed over the past two years and are constantly reviewed and revised to ensure their effectiveness. Data is collected via surveys, the playground register, and student referrals.

What We Are Learning... Students completed the same survey on bullying a year after the student welfare strategies had been implemented. The results showed that:

• 20% more children stated that they felt safe at school
• the number of students who recorded being bullied on a regular basis fell by 12%
• 79% of students stated that they would report bullying to a teacher. On the original survey, only 36% of students identified teachers as someone they would notify if they were being bullied at school
• there has been a noticeable reduction in the number of parents complaining about their child being bullied.

What's Next... The school will continue to build upon the positive programs already established such as buddies and peer mediation. The programs will now be extended to promote resilience in students. Peer support in 2005 will promote family connectedness, peer connectedness and fitting in at school. This will enable students to develop social competence.

The school has been selected to participate in a pilot program from Canada called Roots of Empathy. The program strives to develop a sense of connectedness, belonging and empathy with others through fostering a close relationship with a young baby from the community family. The school has also established a link with local support agencies who will conduct a positive parenting workshop on the school site.

If bullying is not addressed, it can distract the school from its core business of teaching and learning. Prevention programs need to be in place, as do effective reporting and intervention methods. Students also need to be provided with a diversity of peer friendships. The community needs to be actively involved in the process of creating a peaceful and socially cohesive school environment.

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