Over the next few weeks we are going to review strategies to help students deal with potential bullies. Please discuss these with your child so that they feel confident to deal with a situation, if it arises.

POSSIBLE SIGNS OF BULLYING  

A student who is being bullied may show signs of the following behaviours:  

• Be unwilling to attend school 
• Feel ill in the mornings 
• Begin performing poorly at school 
• Come home hungry 
• Become withdrawn, lack confidence 
• Become distressed and anxious, stop eating 
• Have nightmares 
• Have their possessions go missing 
• Ask for money 
• Refuse to say what’s wrong 
• Become more aggressive and unreasonable.

If you suspect that your child is being bullied or perhaps is bullying another child, please contact the school so that we can work together to intervene. Please remember that not every situation of conflict is bullying, sometimes children need to be taught the skills to solve disagreements before they become more serious.

Students are actively encouraged to practise the following anti-bullying strategies:  

• Fogging – best used when being teased or put down 
• Robotic Voice – best used when being harassed 
• ‘I’ Statements – useful to show feelings towards bullies
• Avoiding places where bullying might take place 
• Seeking out friends 
• Using a really strong, loud voice  
• Being confident 
• Discussing issue with a teacher  
• Talking to friends 
• Talking to parents or carer

We will look at some of these in more detail over the coming weeks.