Bullying is an age-old issue, and if your kids are affected in any way it’s tough to know what to do. Time Out UAE Kids speaks to educators in the UAE to find out how bullying and bullies are dealt with at school.
Swiss International Scientific School in Dubai
Brian Nolan Deputy Head of Primary and Ms. Ashley Fitzgibbons Deputy Head of Secondary
How do teachers and educators spot a bullying situation?
We work with our entire community to understand and identify bullying in its six forms- cyber, physical, verbal, relational aggression, bystander and prejudicial. Once our community is empowered with this knowledge, we then train students, teachers and parents on the importance of reporting.
What are the hallmarks of a bullying situation? Do schools work to a checklist of sorts, or is it more instinctual?
For Primary School: When in doubt, report. As an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) school, reflection is at the core of everything we do. Our students are confident and comfortable when communicating with each other and the adults they come into daily contact with. This enables them to openly and confidently speak with peers or adults and share concerns, no matter how major or minor they may feel. A student will always be praised and supported for reporting. In the rare occasion when this does not happen, teachers will have certain signs to watch out for: sudden withdrawal from activities, loss of appetite, change of attitude towards learning and friendships and more.
For Secondary: As one of our core values at SISD is Togetherness, students and teachers are encouraged to develop strong communication channels. Homeroom teachers are instrumental for this at secondary level as they have regular check-ins with secondary students where they can share any concerns they have.
At your school, how are children encouraged to come forward and report bullying?
This is something that is explicitly taught within the first four weeks of the academic year, where forms and reporting channels are shared. Students are then supported as they begin to refine the skills involved in successful reporting and managing friendships. The Moral Education curriculum allows us to explore moral values across the secondary curriculum. At the beginning of each school year we explore ‘Character and Morality’, through which we have meaningful conversations with students about bullying. In these lessons we discuss tolerance for one another, respect for differences and being caring, as well as how reporting incidents of bullying should be approached.
How do teachers intervene? What are the practical steps involved?
We use our Reflection Cycle (think, reflect, act) to aid conversation, reporting, fact checking and consequence creation. Instances of bullying will have negative consequences. These consequences will often be led by the student, who will be asked to consider steps they can take to repair the damage caused. Quite often we will be in a situation where victim and bully are working together on a project that has been co-constructed by them with a view of educating the community based on their experience. Other, more serious instances (or repeated instances) can lead to temporary suspension and expulsion.
What training do teachers / educators undergo to hone their ability to spot and stop bullying?
We do a mixture of internal training, led by our Pastoral Care Team and external. Most recently we have work with FRIENDS Resilience to become trained in their ‘Friends for Life’ programme, in which students are empowered to build resilience, develop social and emotional skills and reduce related anxiety. Providing our students and teachers with these skills and tools has resulted in a community that is calm, happy and confident.
Does your school run / take part in any anti-bullying campaigns?
In our first couple of years as a school we had dedicated anti-bullying weeks and months but found that we could potentially become tokenistic. The approach and programme outlined above is now part of our DNA.
Bright Learners Private School
Principal Adrianna Chestnut
How do teachers and educators spot a bullying situation?
Bullying at times can go unnoticed because of the subtleness. However, there tend to be two main indicators that reveal bullying situations. The first is when a clear power dynamic between the students is apparent. In these situations, when a student is bigger or taller, more extroverted, or even older than the suspected victim, they could be using their power as an intimidation tactic. This sign should not be taken lightly as bullies tend to target those they see as less powerful. Another sign for teachers to be aware of is noticing whether the students in the suspected bullying situation are friends. All too often, teachers see friends who go about laughing together while they tease each other. However, a red flag should be raised when the suspected bullying is happening between two students who are not friends.
What are the hallmarks of a bullying situation? Do schools work to a checklist of sorts, or is it more instinctual?
A lot of the time teachers have to use their instincts to determine whether or not a situation is one that is playful or harmful. A lot of this judgment comes in the moment, which is why it is extremely important for teachers to focus on their surroundings in the classroom. They need to be aware of friend groups, how students interact with one another, how often a suspected bullying situation arises between two students and whether one of those students is at a clear disadvantage in terms of “power”. When a teacher suspects even the slightest bullying, they must report it in order to keep track of repeat incidents. In these cases, it is better to be safe than sorry. And not reporting a situation can do a huge disservice to students and their livelihoods as well as their education.
At your school, how are children encouraged to come forward and report bullying?
Students are always encouraged to report any situation, as it’s important for students to understand that witnessing a bullying situation and not doing anything about it can be detrimental to their peers. In this way, we teach our students that being courageous and doing the right thing can have a major positive impact on their community.We also understand that a student may feel too pressured or intimidated to come forward, so we give students the opportunity to anonymously report situations too.
How do teachers intervene? What are the practical steps involved?
Teachers should intervene in the event of suspected bullying. In my experience, the most successful route is talking to the student who is bullying and getting a clear picture as to why they are acting the way they are. Usually, you will discover they have a lot of bottled emotions. Having a one-on-one meeting with the student doing the bullying allows the counsellor to get a sense of what is happening in their life that could be causing them to act in a malicious way. From there, it would be most productive to provide this student with counselling and support in order to fix the issue at the source.
When you become aware of a child being bullied, at what point do you involve the parents of both parties?
Parents should be involved as soon as the incident is reported. After the teacher or administrator has had some time to speak with both students individually, they should meet separately with the parents of both students in order to fill them in on the situation. Parents in this instance are partners in education and thus should be a part of finding a solution.
What are the differences in approach when dealing with online bullying versus playground bullying?
Online bullying is extremely prevalent and in some cases is the primary way for those exhibiting bullying behavior to reach their targets. When dealing with online and at school bullying, we approach it with the same goal in mind – to help the bully understand why they are harming their peers and help them find healthier solutions to coping with those issues by providing them with counselling. We do not see one as being worse than the other, and we take both extremely seriously.
How are the roles of the parent and roles of the teacher distinguished in a bullying scenario?
Both parties have the responsibility of helping their students grow in a positive way. The teachers do what they can in school and provide professional services for both students, but what happens at home and the way students are assisted there is as important in their growth toward becoming better peers to each other.
What resolutions do teachers / schools encourage to bring a close to bullying?
Our school will do all we can to ensure we have a healthy, safe and bully free environment. This is made possible with the provision of anti-bullying campaigns and teacher and student awareness.
Sara Hedger, Head of Safeguarding and Child Protection, GEMS Education says…
“As educators, we can recognise the signs of bullying by developing strong and positive relationships with our students and families and through training. We are always on the lookout for any changes in behaviour of any students, which could indicate that something is worrying a child, whether that is bullying or some other issue, such as bereavement, a friendship issue or a worry at home.
“It is important to involved parents in bullying concerns as early as possible. Parents are crucial when we consider how best to handle a bully or a child who is potentially being bullied.
“All GEMS Education schools have anti-bullying and peer-on-peer abuse training for staff. This type of training is always most effective when a whole school community is involved. School anti-bullying programmes should remove barriers to reporting, and introduce methods such as counsellor drop-ins, peer-to-peer support groups, and more. During remote learning, our schools have reviewed their anti-bullying policies to ensure that routes to reporting are also appropriate for remote access. This includes an increase in regular welfare checks with students.
“Next year, GEMS Education will be heavily involved in the Safety Ambassador Programme with Dubai Police that targets bullying and empowers students to identify, support each other and report concerns to adults.
