From the Principal

From the Principal Dr Geoffrey Shaw - Principal

The Cyber Friendly Schools Project

ALL Saints' College has, for many years, had a strong and proactive approach to bullying issues. We were an early adopter of the Friendly Schools and Families program which had the great and unusual benefit of being evidence-based.

We maintain our Friendly Schools committee at the College to manage and review our implementation. We remain proactive in teaching our students how to behave so that bullying and its consequences are minimised, and we are serious in responding to instances of bullying.

Recently, an online reporting tool, the ASC Bullying Report Form, has been added to our Portal, accessible through the 'Counselling Services' page. Research indicates that online reporting is an immensely valuable facility.

In recent years, cyber bullying has become a prominent and much-publicised dimension of bullying. Research has indicated that there is a strong correlation between electronic and other forms of bullying. For example, 91 % of boys who bully offline also bully online. However, there is a pervasiveness to online bullying which makes it more insidious and potentially more dangerous. It certainly makes it more difficult to manage as it gives culprits far greater access to their victims, and the damage is spread much farther.

This year, All Saints' has joined the Cyber Friendly Schools Project, being one of 20 schools involved, with a further 17 joining by 2012. The project is being conducted by the Child Health Promotion Research Centre, based at Edith Cowan University, which developed and manages Friendly Schools and Families. The project will provide evidence-based strategies and training to enhance students' social skills and to reduce cyber bullying.

The Cyber Friendly Schools Project has already begun with an ECU briefing, informing several of our pastoral staff and some Year 10 students of up-to-date research related to cyber bullying. We will now revise our behaviour management policies to incorporate the latest knowledge. The project will involve both staff and students, with the students being prepared for a role disseminating information to other student groups. Earlier this year, we participated in a student survey, the results from which will indicate to us the nature of cyber bullying as it impacts on the College and our students.

The project will also supply us with lesson materials for curriculum delivery of information, both factual and ethical, about cyber bullying issues. As the project progresses, we will have early access to its findings on developing issues and on recommended interventions.

In July the Australian Communications and Media Authority delivered three presentations, one to Year 10 students, one to the College staff and one to parents. We subsequently hosted a further presentation for parents, Think U Know, provided by the Australian Federal Police. We have sought to concentrate on this area for parents as management of this whole issue demands strong teamwork between the College and families.

National data shows that between a quarter and a third of children between Year 4 and Year 10 report being bullied. As a school with a sharp focus on the pastoral care of its students, All Saints' seeks to take a prominent role in managing the behaviours which make bullying so damaging. Part of that approach includes constant review of our processes, informed by the latest research and thinking.