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bully [n.]
[pl. bullies] a person who deliberately intimidates or persecutes those who are weaker. [verb - bullies, bullied] intimidate.
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ORIGIN probably from Dutch boele ‘lover’.
Compact Oxford English Dictionary
‘Student Welfare refers to the promotion and maintenance of good learning, good mental and physical health as well as social well-being of students, and conditions which are conducive to these.’[1]
Schools and other educational institutions have a responsibility to every student to ensure they have the best possible educational experience. As the above quote indicates, this is not just in reference to learning but also in respect of their physical and emotional well-being. This is becoming more necessary with the increasing access to, and use of, new technologies such as the internet and mobile phones. Internet safety and the prevention of cyber bullying are as damaging at least, as physical and verbal bullying. Vigilance is also required with regard to child abuse of any kind, with teaching staff as mandatory notifiers.
Schools and other institutions have Welfare Policies designed to provide clear guidelines for all parties and including strategies involving all relevant parties - student, staff, parents and outside bodies where required. Samples of these are provided below.
This page looks at Student Welfare requirements and procedures in all states & territories, welfare articles & documents, Australian and International information about bullying, peer support, policies, support groups and more.
We would be happy to consider further areas and inclusions as time permits.
States & Territories
Australian Capital Territory
- Bullying, Harassment and Violence
Countering these in ACT Public Schools. Policy download. - Countering Racism in ACT Public Schools
Policy download. - Providing Safe Schools Policy
Policy download. - Student Wellbeing
‘The specific focus is on supporting students to take positive action and responsibility for their physical, social, emotional, moral and spiritual health.’ Department of Education & Training. - Sun Protection
Policy download.
New South Wales
- A Strategy for Clarifying Roles In the Student Welfare Program
‘Clarifying the roles of the people involved in the Student Welfare Program is an important step in ensuring its effective operation.’ Department of Education & Training. - Bullying - Who Needs It !
Programs, links, contacts. - Child Protection [Catholic Schools]
Guidelines. - Child Protection : Guidelines, Procedures and Policies
- School Holiday Parent Kit
‘It’s good to have some ideas and information to give you inspiration when the kids say those dreaded words I’m bored. Ten fact sheets providing a collection of tips on avoiding holiday stress, safety issues and fun activities for the kids during the school holidays.’ - Student Leadership, Student Representative Councils and Participation
Another aspect of student welfare. - Student Wellbeing [NSW]
Includes the following.
- Student Welfare Policy
Download a copy of the Policy Document here.
Northern Territory
- Behaviour
‘Work toward a safe, supportive and caring environment in order for each individual to recognise their potential, interact more effectively and accept responsibility for their behaviour.’ - Building Relationships and School Wellbeing
‘10 Key Elements including the National Safe Schools Framework to develop a climate of wellbeing within the school community.’ - Safe Schools Northern Territory
‘The Code of Behaviour and tip sheets aim to help parents, students and teachers deal with some of the issues in schools such as bullying and harassment, safe play and cyber bullying. The tip sheets offer hints about areas of concern.’
Queensland
- Code of School Behaviour
‘Defines the responsibilities that all members of the school community are expected to uphold and recognises the significance of appropriate and meaningful relationships. It outlines a consistent standard of behaviour for all state school communities in Queensland, inclusive of students, staff and parents.’ - Fighting the School Bullies - What Needs
to be Done ?
‘Discusses the changing nature of bullying including the increase in cyber bullying and studies the impact bullying has on victimised children, the bullying student and bystanders. The approach taken by the Queensland Government to combat bullying and other inappropriate student behaviour through the Code of School Behaviour and the Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students is discussed before moving on to a brief overview of the policies and programs in other states and territories.’ - School Health and Wellbeing Initiatives
- Student Health and Wellbeing
Initiatives operated by Education Queensland. - Student Health and Wellbeing Curriculum Framework
Information under a series of headings. - Student Management & Support
Department of Education Manual.
South Australia
- Behaviour Education
Catholic Education. Information, contact details. - Child Protection
Internet safety, policies, notification, students in care, resources. - Health & Wellbeing [SA]
Use the menu on the left for individual items. Includes behaviour management, child protection, cyber safety and more. - Student Welfare Policies and Procedures
AHealth Promotion, Managing Complaints & Challenging Situations, Bullying & Harassment, Child Protection, Grief & Loss. Emergency and Crisis Management section of Schoolcare, Department of Education and Children’s Services. Download the text of the site or Critical Incident Flowcharts - Values Education
Catholic Education. Summary, information and posters.
Tasmania
- Child Protection and Children In Care
‘Outlines the role of the Department of Education in ensuring that children experiencing abuse and neglect are cared for and educated in a manner which maximises their opportunity to grow up in a safe and stable environment and to reach their full potential.’ Mandatory reporting, family group conferencing and general information about child abuse. - Discipline Guidelines
Covering all disciplinary procedures. - Promoting Positive Behaviour
‘Schoolwide Positive Behaviour Support is an organised and tailored system of strategies that support social and learning outcomes for students, whilst preventing problem behaviour [Turnbull, Edmonson and Griggs et.al. 2002].’ - Student Health, Safety & Wellbeing
Major areas, strategies and guidelines. - Unacceptable Behaviour and Discipline
Information for Parents. Includes Discipline and Bullying.
Victoria
- Child Protection [Vic]
Protocol and Safe From Harm documents. PDF. - Framework for Student Support Services in Victorian Government Schools
Detailed information on processes to be followed when developing and implementing student wellbeing support. - Independent Schools Victoria Compliance Framework - Student Welfare
Establishes criteria then components of appropriate student welfare policy directions and inclusions. Links to resources to assist this. - Informing Staff
Of Their Legal Responsibilities for the Care, Safety and Welfare of Students. Common sense steps to ensure staff are aware of their obligations. From the AISV but applicable to all schools. - Pastoral Care of Students in Catholic Schools
Click on Policies, then go to 1.14. - Risk Assessment and Management Process
‘An early identification and intervention process designed to improve the wellbeing and access to learning opportunities for at-risk students. It has been developed, trialled and evaluated over a seven year period and has been implemented in more than 20 primary and secondary schools in the state of Victoria in Australia. ’ Available for purchase. - Safe Schools are Effective Schools
‘The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is committed to providing safe, secure and stimulating environments for all students, and provides a range of an anti-bullying policies and strategies for schools to deliver on this commitment.’ - School Focused Youth Service
‘Complements the increase in support provided to schools in response to the recommendations of the Suicide Prevention Taskforce. The focus of the initiative is the co-ordination of preventative and early intervention strategies for young people, to be delivered through school and community clusters.’ The main SFYS site is here. - Student Wellbeing [Catholic, Vic]
Catholic Education Office, Archdiocese of Melbourne. - Student Wellbeing [DEECD]
Portal entry that includes Student Safety, support for schools, drug education and publications. - Student Wellbeing Policy
4 PDF documents. Teacher Resources to summary pages. - The Provision of Student Welfare in Schools
Australian Education Union [Victoria]. Read online, download in RTF format.
Western Australia
- Behaviour and Wellbeing
‘The DET Behaviour Standards and Wellbeing Directorate works to ensure schools are safe, supportive and engaging environments for learning and teaching where the social and emotional wellbeing of all students and staff is nurtured and developed’. Behaviour Management, Student Engagement and Social & Emotional Wellbeing.
Catholic Education Office of WA
- Educational Policies Related to Students at Educational Risk
Includes Behavioural Management, Social Justice and the main policy. - Health & Wellbeing
Part of the larger Students at Educational Risk site. - Student Wellbeing
[WA]
A series of links to programs and resources related to Student Wellbeing in government schools. [Scroll down to ‘Student Wellbeing’ links.]
Bullying
Australian
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Addressing Bullying in Schools : Theory and Practice
‘6-page Australian bulletin considers different approaches to dealing with bullying in schools and their limitations’. PDF format available. - Bullying
Information in question and answer format from the South Australian Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service. - Bullying [Better Health Vic.]
Fact sheet. Related fact sheets on Discipline and Teenage Health. - Bullying [CAPER]
Quiz, further reading, school bullying, conflict resolutin, teenage girls, It’s a Crime and more. Click on Bullying in the menu. - Bullying [Parenting SA]
4 page Parent’s Easy Guide. - Bully Blocking
Covers bullying in many situations, not just schools. Book for purchase. - Bullying in Schools and What to Do About It
Information and methodology, Dr Ken Rigby, University of South Australia.
Well presented - Bullying in Schools
Can Self-concept Theory Shed Any Light ? Abstract, full-text. - Bullying. No Way !
Issues, resources, forums and more. - Friendly Schools & Families
‘Provides individual, group, family and school community level actions to address and prevent bullying in its social context. The Program assists with the design, development, implementation, dissemination and evaluation of a social skill building and comprehensive anti-bullying program.’ Fee-based. - Kid’s Help Line
‘Australia’s only Free, confidential and anonymous, telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25.’ - Method of Shared Concern, The
‘Staff training resource for dealing with bullying in schools. Dr Ken Rigby interprets, and describes in detail, this internationally recognised Method originated by Swedish psychologist Dr Anatol Pikas.’ Fee-based. - MindMatters
‘Resource and professional development program to support Australian secondary schools in promoting and protecting the social and emotional wellbeing of members of school communities.’ - National Coalition Against Bullying
‘To raise awareness of the seriousness of bullying in Australian society. We aim to support schools through our coalition by providing expert advice, through its members, to those developing and implementing school, work and community based programs.’ Questions answered, resources, readings. - National Safe Schools Framework
‘Nationally agreed principles for a safe and supportive school environment and includes appropriate responses which schools can adopt to address issues of bullying, violence, harassment, and child abuse and neglect.’ Downloads available. - Parent Guide
To Helping Children Manage Conflict, Aggression and Bullying. Tip Sheet from the Australian Psychological Society that presents information in an easy to understand manner. - Project Rockit
‘Hands-on program for students, addressing a range of school issues, with a particular focus on those that relate to, or may be fuelled by bullying.’ - Stories of Us
‘Unique series of education resources for primary and secondary students. This is the first time students have collaborated in brainstorming the subjects, developed the scripts and performed all key roles in a series of dramatised resources. ’ Preview online, but Fee-based. -
The National Safe Schools Framework
‘The NSSF was developed in response to concerns from parents and the wider community and their expectations that Australian education authorities take every possible measure to ensure the physical and emotional safety of students’. Extensive information from both a Commonwealth and state/territory perspective,
International
- Anti-Bullying Alliance
‘One network with the aim of reducing bullying and creating safer environments in which children and young people can live, grow, play and learn.’ UK. - Anti-Bullying Network
Scotland. Useful resources and information. Covers more than school. - Bullying [BBC]
Select from three sections of this site. - Bully OnLine
‘The world’s largest resource on workplace bullying and related issues.’ Includes school bullying. - Don’t Suffer in Silence
‘Pack offering practical advice for combating bullying in schools’. UK. - European Conference on Initiatives to Combat Bullying
Information, initiatives from this. -
Hector’s World
‘Hector’s World® is a free online learning resource for children 2-9 years of age. Children can be entertained and have fun as they learn about serious and complex topics like online privacy and safety’. NZ developed resource especially for cyber bullying. - No Bully
New Zealand program. Provides details. - What Can I Do If My Child Is Being Bullied ?
BBC. Links and resources are also useful.
Other Information
Articles & Documents
- Addressing Bullying in Schools, Theory and Practice
‘Considers different approaches to dealing with bullying in schools and their limitations’. - A School System Perspective on Strengthening Student Wellbeing
‘Australian Conference Paper describes how Western Australia is using research to improve student wellbeing [Peter Hamilton].’ - ASG Student Social and Emotional Health Report
‘Has unveiled groundbreaking findings into the social and emotional health of more than 10 000 Australian students from the early years of schooling to senior secondary school levels.’ Download documents including the report, in PDF format. -
Behaviour Management
A collection of documents, articles and other resources collated by Essington School in the Northern Territory. - One More Broken Window
The Impact of the Physical Environment on Schools‘Explores whether schools are affected by the physical environment and what impact it has on their ability to meet their targets.’ UK. - Student Wellbeing [Independent Schools Victoria]
Information on resiliency programs, 2 PDF documents. - Supporting Student Wellbeing
Full text article originally from ACER. - The Importance of Teacher Quality
- The Pastoral Academic Divide
Impacts and Implications for Pastoral Care. Research thesis. ‘A qualitative case study, based in an independent secondary school in Western Australia. It investigated the impacts and implications of the notional division between the pastoral and academic dimensions of the school.’ PDF version on the site.
General Sites
Links to Child Safety on the Internet this can be found here.
- Behaviour Influence Techniques
‘Pro-active, classroom-centered, and teacher-initiated. They will assist professionals in preventing the build-up of inappropriate behaviour to the point of a crisis. Many will be familiar to professionals.’ - Child & Student Welfare : EdNA
Enter Student Welfare; into the Search box. - ClickView
The Digital Video Solution for Schools. Bullying, decision making, growth & development and families & relationships. Not Free but a Free Trial. Prices quoted. - Friends, Preventing and Treating Anxiety in Children and Youth
‘Helps children and teenagers cope with feelings of fear, worry, and depression by building resilience and self-esteem and teaching cognitive and emotional skills in a simple, well-structured format.’ Multiple resources. Note proviso at the top of the page. - Generation Next
‘Understanding the unique health and wellbeing challenges facing our young people and how they can be met.’ - Peer Pressure
2 page ‘Parent’s Easy Guide’ from Parenting SA. - Positive Discipline
Information for parents and teachers, Fee-based workshops, resources. - Resource Kit
REDI - a drug information resource for Australian school communities. Information, resources. - Self-Esteem
4 page ‘Parent’s Easy Guide’ from Parenting SA. - Stepping Forward - Sharing What Works
‘Initiatives, listed by State/Territory and Commonwealth, that contribute to building the foundations of support needed to promote the wellbeing, participation and identification of young people in vulnerable circumstances.’ - Youth Excel
‘Life skills resources that have been developed for the young people between the ages of 12-16. They are an excellent life skills curriculum set in themselves and are used by many schools throughout Australia.’ Sample resources are available. There are several programs they can run including Guys Excel, Girls Excel and Prepare for High School.
Peer Support
- Peer Resources
Mentoring, peer support, resources, links. - Peer Support Foundation
‘Provides schools and their communities with programs designed to develop physical, social and mental wellbeing.’ - Respect and Responsibility
Resources from the NSW Board of Studies. - Stride
‘Creates programs in schools for students and teachers to develop supportive communities for young people.’ Staff workshops, programs including Peer Support, Leadership, Friendship, Peer Mediation, Resources. Fee-based. - Why a Peer Mentor Program ?
New Zealand site. Information including a sample program.
Policies, Schools & Others
Examples of Student Welfare policies. Only institution names are provided. We have tried to provide a wide variety. They vary in content, emphasis and length.
- Alfred Deakin High [ACT]
- Annesley College [SA]
- Black Hill Primary School, Ballarat [Vic]
- Cairns State High School [Qld]
- Cambridge Primary School [Vic]
- Emmanuel College [Qld]
- Holy Spirit School [Vic]
Select from Student Wellbeing in the main menu. - Kahibah Public School [NSW]
- Rossmoyne Senior High School [WA]
Check their related Behaviour Management page. - Radford College [ACT]
- Sydney Boys High [NSW]
- Trinity College, University of Melbourne [Vic]
References
- 1. Websites about Student Welfare.ppt. Scribd, 18 Mar. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2010. http://www.scribd.com/doc/13377967/Websites-about-student-welfareppt.