Pesten op school is een ernstig probleem, dat vaak ernstige gezondheidsproblemen veroorzaakt bij slachtoffers. Pesten houdt volgens onderzoek statistisch verband met criminaliteit.

BULLYING PREVENTION: PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES

Nebrasca School Safety Center

Prevention and intervention strategies include school-wide programs and individual actions to stop bullying behaviors and encourage positive behaviors. All staff, students, parents and others associated with the school or community should share the responsibility for bullying prevention and intervention.

Refer to the Resources section of the Bullying Prevention website for additional information.

School-Wide Prevention and Intervention

The most effective anti-bullying plan is designed and implemented with specific knowledge and skills consistently trained and used throughout the school district. This plan declares a school's commitment to creating a safe, caring and respectful learning environment for all students. A bullying prevention and intervention plan adopted by the district might include specific behavior programs, forms used, philosophies of interactions, curriculum, or basic protocols. Effective anti-bullying programs or curriculum implement a scope and sequence of knowledge and skills to be learned by all students and requires school-wide involvement and support. Students involved in bullying situations benefit from additional instruction specific to their role as one using bullying behaviors, as a target, or as a bystander/witness.

Prevention Strategies

Prevention is best addressed by communicating and teaching the expected pro-social behaviors.

Clearly communicate policy and protocols for bullying behaviors to all staff, students and parents

Discussion and presentations about bullying and caring behaviors are ongoing

Empower bystanders to promote and take responsibility for creating a safe and welcoming environment

Provide a means for safely reporting bullying behaviors

Staff are observant and responsive to reports of bullying

Students are recognized for caring behaviors

Adopt a social skills curriculum

Monitor and adjust local bullying prevention program based on analysis of local school data and best practices in the field of bullying prevention (change in supervision, use of resources, methods of communication, reporting procedures, etc.)

Bystander/Witness Interventions

Activating and empowering the bystanders/witnesses through education about bullying and practice (role plays) in intervening is the most impactful intervention. Group training for bystanders includes emphasizing that there is strength in numbers and that permission is given with the expectation to intervene respectfully and safely or report the bullying behaviors. Determining specific bystander interventions depends on analyzing the level of risk of a particular bullying situation.

School/Classroom Strategies for Bystanders

Talk about it with the class

Emphasize strength in numbers

Explain the expectation to take action

Teach and practice skills and strategies to take a stand

Empower witnesses to take leadership roles in making the school safe for everyone

Acknowledge and reinforce caring behaviors

Clarify the difference between tattling and telling (reporting).

Individual Strategies for Bystanders

Make a safe choice; consider the level of risk in choosing an action for intervening.

Teach options for intervening:

Choose to not participate

Report to an adult

Encourage the peer group to take a stand

Take an individual stand

Be friendly toward the target

Target Interventions

Targets need to be supported by a third party and have their reports taken seriously. Target interventions typically include teaching social skills such as friendship, assertiveness and anger management skills. Interventions for targets may be done one-on-one or in a support group. Targets should not be re-victimized by bringing the target and perpetrator together to try to resolve the situation.

School/Classroom Strategies for Targets

Provide a safe place to report; take all reports seriously

Assign new or needy students to a buddy

Assign a caring staff member to “connect” regularly with the students who are potential targets

Get a caring majority in the classroom; use class meetings/discussion to teach expected behaviors and model value of each person

Consider how students are grouped so that the targets are not left out and are not paired with someone who bullies them.

Teach friendship and assertiveness skills.

Individual Strategies for Targets

Provide options for preventing bullying incidents

Avoid the bully

Stay in safe areas

Share your feelings with someone you trust

Provide options for responding to bullying incidents

Walk away

Make an assertive statement, then walk away

Tell an adult

Bullying Behavior Interventions

School discipline policies, while needed to address student conduct issues and support positive student behaviors, are not sufficient to address bullying behaviors. Bullying behavior interventions may include teaching social skills such as friendship, empathy and anger management in one-on-one settings, not in a group setting. Discipline should be addressed privately. Interventions focus on identifying the expected behaviors.

School/Classroom Strategies for Bullying Behaviors/Perpetrators of Bullying

Equalize the power - work one on one

Challenge distorted thinking.

Use consistent, predictable discipline

Focus on behaviors and expectations

Use a problem-solving approach

Forward documentation to a central location to be reviewed regularly

Individual Strategies for Bullying Behaviors/Perpetrators of Bullying

State (do not ask) rule violated, feelings of target, and plan of action

Teach social skills

Friendship skills

Empathy skills

Emotional self awareness

Social awareness

Develop personal management skills

Anger and emotion management

Assuming personal responsibility

Provide pro-social consequences

Bron:

http://www.nde.state.ne.us/safety/Bullying%20Prevention/BullyingPreventionPreventionandInterventionStrategies.htm

www.nde.state.ne.us/safety/Bullying%20Prevention/BullyingPreventionPreventionandInterventionStrategies.htm

Meer websites met ‘best practices’ in pestpreventie:

http://www.google.nl/#hl=nl&tbo=1&tbs=qdr%3Ay&q=bullying+prevention+%22best+practices%22+effective+bystanders&meta=&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=97c6ac426e3202c3

www.google.nl/#hl=nl&tbo=1&tbs=qdr%3Ay&q=bullying+prevention+%22best+practices%22+effective+bystanders&meta=&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=97c6ac426e3202c3