STUDENTS from the Redlands have joined their peers at schools across Australia to take a stand against bullying.
Almost two million students were set to take part in the annual National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence.
Mount Cotton State School principal Meagan Steward said the student council led by teacher Lisa Pavey had organised activities for the day.
“We also have proactive strategies that we use throughout the year to help students deal with difficult situations,” she said.
Ms Pavey said student leaders had encouraged their peers to visit the National Day of Action website and learn about bullying and its impact.
Teachers were also provided with lesson plans and information on strategies for parents was distributed.
Student Braxton Hunt-Nissen said council members helped with an ongoing program that involved fun activities for students at break and monitoring the school’s buddy bench where students can sit if they have no one to be with at break.
Gus Bunce said students would show videos on anti-bullying made by year 4 to 6 students during lunch break on National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence. Students in lower year levels had made posters on the theme.
Maia Ross said the day was important because bullying could make people very upset.
Fletcher Campbell said students should stand up for someone who is being bullied and tell bullies to stop their behaviour.
Ms Steward said money donated by students on the day would be used to buy resources for a program that helped children build social and emotional skills.
Thousands of schools take part
Education Minister Simon Birmingham said 4355 schools had signed on to take part in the event this year.
“We’ve seen school involvement more than double since last year and this year marks the highest participation levels in the event’s eight-year history,” he said.
“Schools and students are sending a clear message that bullying and violence have no place in Australia.
Mr Birmingham said Australians had been affected by devastating stories about bullying in recent months.
“As a dad of two young daughters, the stories of bullying, both in the schoolyard and online horrify me just as I know they do thousands of parents across Australia.”
“Students, schools and families want to do the right thing both inside the school gate and online.”
Kids Helpline
Kids Helpline called for an increased focus on ‘why’ kids bully rather than technology used.
Chief executive of the helpline and yourtown Tracy Adams said the focus of the anti-bullying debate was often skewed to smart phones and social media instead of a better understanding of what was causing bullying behaviour and addressing this at its grass roots.
“Banning smart phones from children’s lives does not mean bullying behaviour will stop. While there is no doubt digital devices play a part in bullying, in reality it’s not where most bullying takes place,” Ms Adams said.
“Seventy-three per cent of contacts to Kids Helpline about bullying in 2017 said it did not include a cyber online or texting component.
“We need to acknowledge that regardless of how the bullying is done the bullying behaviour is the same and look at ways to unpack, understand and mitigate this.”
