Expect Respect - PBL anti-bullying lessons
expect respect
At our school we understand that bullying is a very complex social behaviour that occurs between people of all kinds and all ages. It is likely that bullying behaviour could, at times, be evident amongst groups of children during their schooling. However, our school is taking an intentional, proactive approach to reduce the likelihood of bullying behaviour at our school. One of the most effective means to reduce bullying among young people is to enhance their social and emotional understandings and competencies, in developmentally appropriate ways throughout their schooling, using a whole-school approach.
Our philosophy is simple:
1. Teach the definition of bullying behaviour (teach the difference between what is rude, what is mean and what is bullying) and explicitly teach and develop the pro-social behaviours we expect to see at our school. This means explicitly teaching how to be respectful.
2. Teach students how to report possible bullying behaviours (immediate self-report or peer report) and who to report to (teachers first).
3. Teach teachers how to respond consistently and respectfully to any report of bullying behaviour and how to explore these reports with relevant students in a respectful way.
4. Develop school-wide systems for reporting concerning behaviour (eg self-report, anonymous report, online report).
5. Develop staff capacity to recognise, develop and sustain a whole-school approach to developing each students' unique social and emotional learning and foster the prevention of bullying behaviour.
Expect Respect - Lesson Overviews
Each week in Term 3, our focus on anti-bullying across all K-6 classrooms will be presented through weekly PBL lessons on the theme ‘expect respect’. This series of lessons has been developed specially for our school context and will be cover such topics as: ‘
- what is respect’?
- how do we show respect to others?
- how to be friend-ly (but not friends with everyone).
- how to be tolerant of others.
- understanding the concepts of inclusion/exclusion and how this is a covert bullying behaviour.
- how to be an 'upstander’ not a bystander.
- when to tell an adult
- how to solve common friendship problems.
Whilst most lessons focus on not over-using the term 'bullying', it is important that we develop a common language to talk about the complex social dynamics that take place in (and out of) school between students and be very clear about what is okay (and not okay).
Scroll down for lesson overviews and video lessons that you can view and discuss with your children at home.
Links to the NSW Department of Education Child Protection Curriculum
In Term 3, Child Protection Education lessons are delivered on a weekly basis across the school. for Stages 2 and 3, this curriculum will be delivered across stages in gender groups. Lessons cover topics such as:
- power in relationships,
- Saying "No"
- coercion,
- harassment,
- assertiveness in different situations,
- talking to adults about a problem and
- using personal networks for support.
Child Protection lessons are often a safe space for students to talk candidly about events that are currently concerning them relating to social relationships. In all lessons there is a very clear learning intention for all students and a clear link to expected social behaviours relating to social inclusion/exclusion, covert bullying behaviours and complex social dynamics related to bullying.
It is mandatory to teach child protection education in every stage of learning from Kindergarten to Year 10 as part of the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) K-10 Syllabus. The child protection education curriculum support materials assist in guiding teachers in the implementation of child protection education as part of the mandatory PDHPE K-10 Syllabus.
To view child protection units of work, use this link.
Lesson 1: expect respect (overview)
This lesson is the first introductory lesson to our "expect respect" series of PBL lessons. This lesson introduces the term 'respect' and makes clear to students that respect is about accepting others the way they are, even if you are different from them or don't always agree with them. the clear message to students is that we may not like everyone but we should show respect to everyone.
The lesson is explicit in providing examples of what respect looks like at school. The lesson introduces a very simple explanation for bullying behaviour. This term is explored more deeply in consequent lessons. Whilst most lessons focus on not over-using the term 'bullying', it is important that we develop a common language to talk about the complex social dynamics that take place in (and out of) school between students and be very clear about what is okay (and not okay). It's important that students grasp the difference between rude, mean and bullying behaviour. The lesson esablishes some clear expected behaviours relating to "what to do" if someone is treating you with disrespect.
For parents:
This lesson includes an acitivty for students to draw a picture or create a poster after this lesson: it would be great if parents get involved with their children in making a poster for home/sign for the fridge, reminder on a noticeboard etc..
Teachers register lesson delivery each week and make a note of students who were not in attendance on the day of lesson delivery - these students will recieve a follow-up re-cap of the lesson before the next lesson in the series is delivered to the class.
Lesson 2: How do we show respect?
This lesson is the second lesson in our "expect respect" series of PBL lessons. This lesson goes into more detail regarding how to show respect to others.
The lesson explicitly introduces the "Big 5" ways to show respect to others. By teaching others how to be respectful, we develop their understanding that this is expected behaviour which not only helps school to be a positive, safe environment but can reduce the likelihood of harmful bullying behaviours occuring.
The Big 5 includes:
- use your words
- use your actions
- be kind
- be polite
- be tolerant
Over the next few weeks, each of these values, behaviours and actions will be explored further in consequent lessons.
For parents:
This lesson includes an acitivty for students to draw a picture or create a poster after this lesson: it would be great if parents get involved with their children in making a poster for home/sign for the fridge, reminder on a noticeboard etc..
Teachers register lesson delivery each week and make a note of students who were not in attendance on the day of lesson delivery - these students will recieve a follow-up re-cap of the lesson before the next lesson in the series is delivered to the class.
Lesson 3: Be friend-ly
This week's PBL lesson is called "be friendly"..
The focus is on being friend-ly (as opposed to trying to be friends with EVERYONE).
The key teaching moments are using your words, face and body language in a way that recognises the feelings of others and attempts to minimise possible hurt/upset reactions. The last section of the lesson starts to lead into our response when others don't show respect - this builds the foundation for our next lesson which introduces the role of the "Upstander".
For parents:
this lesson incudes an activity where students (at home or at school) are encouraged to consider their facial expressions or body language when they are talking/interacting with others. Perhaps you can have a conversation about how body language sends a VERY CLEAR MESSAGE that is sometimes contradictory to our words. For example, try modelling disengaged or disinterested body language whilst your child is talking to you (eg arms folded, body pointing away from speaker, looking at watch, sighing, turning your back). Then talk about how this made your child feel. Body language is a powerful tool: we need to teach our young people how to show respect with our faces and bodies and be aware of how others may feel if our body languge is disrespectful.
Lesson 4: Be an upstander
This lesson is the fourth lesson in our "expect respect" PBL lesson series. This lesson explicitly introduces and defines the terms 'bystander' and 'upstander' and starts to describe the complex but different social behaviours evident when bullying occurs.
The lesson focuses on teaching how to develop and show upstander behaviour and why this is expected at our school. Students will have opportunities to practice speaking and acting like an upstander. In any role-play opportunities, the teacher aways plays the negative role (eg demonstrating bullying behaviour) whilst students always role play the positive behaviour expected (eg upstander behaviour).
For parents:
If you are considering a role play at home (which is a very powerful tool to develop confidence in practising pro-social behaviours), always let your child demonstrate the positive, pro-social behaviour and praise their efforts. Asing a child to 'act the bully' is not part of the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) philosophy.
Lesson 5 - be tolerant
This lesson focuses on teaching students that not everyone will be the same, think the same or act the same as others...and that's okay. Being tolerant is a way of getting along with others that may be a little different to you. This lesson teaches students what to tolerate and what NOT to tolerate (and what to do about it).
For parents: tolerance is a complex concept: it is very important that children know where the boundaries are between what we can tolerate (annoying behaviour, differing views or opinions, people who may be different to us) and what we should never tolerate (hurtful, harmful, aggressive behaviour, derogatory comments relating to race, heritage, gender, sexuality, country of origin). It's important for children to understand what to do if they experience such behaviour from others: telling a trusted adult is essential! We appreciate our parents talking to their children about tolerance, particularly around the types of behaviour that should always be reported and never tolerated.
Lesson 6: S.T.O.P (short time out process)
At our school, students are supported to develop positive behaviours for learning and are explicitly taught the values and behvaiours of excellence, respect and responsibility. Fair and consistent processes are in place to support teachers in responding to behaviour which does not reflect these school expectations. S.T.O.P ( Short Time-Out Process) is a consistent, scripted behaviour support strategy which starts with an offer of help and support and a re-focus on the learning task. Positively worded reminders are provided, linked to the clear behaviour expectations of the school and a short time out is enacted if a student requires a short break to 're-set' and re-focus.
For parents and families:
The short time-out process is aligned to the Zones of Regulation and recognises a change in student behaviour (even small changes) from positive to negative as a sign of increasing anxiety. Teachers are aware that, in the 'yellow zone' the student is less able to regulate their own behaviour with success: this is where the teacher must step in and provide cognitive reminder of agreed expectations of behaviour. Similarly, in the 'red zone' students emotional systems are flooded and they are simply unable to regulate their behaviour: they need an adult to step in and take charge: long time out in this case is not a punishment but a calm-down strategy for all involved: the student, the teacher and the class. We encourage parents to watch this video with their children and discuss the process/answer any questions/provide feedback, if required.
Lesson 7: include, don't exclude
This PBL lesson teaches the concept of inclusion and teaches expected behaviours related to including,and not aggressively excluding others. This lesson includes some challenging concepts that may need unpacking by an adult, especially for younger children. Whilst this type of relational aggression (exclusion) is generally more common amongst girls' friendship groups, it can also be covertly evident within boys friendships as well. The clear message is that aggressively excluding others is never okay. At the same time, it's hard to include everyone: hence the challenge! We also need to encourage our students to be resilient and show effective 'getting along skills'.
For parents and families:
Please take the time to work through the scenarios at the end and allow your child/children to spend some time discussing how they could respond: brainstorm mulitipe options. If possible, perhaps try some positive role play. Remember, if your child discloses that this type of behaviour has been happening to them, please make sure that you contact your child's teacher so that we can respond with sensitivity in a timely and proactive manner.
Lesson 8. How to solve friendship problems (and when to get help)
This week’s lesson is on how to solve friendship problems (and when to get help). The important part of the lesson is to ensure that students know the difference between small and big friendship problems. Small friendship problems are problems that kids are strong enough and smart enough to handle; big problems are where kids need help from an adult to solve. The learning content is linked to our lesson tolerance as it is very important for children to be clear about what they can tolerate and what behaviours should NEVER be tolerated. There is a clear link to our “upstander” lesson with instructions to STOP, WALK, TALK if students encounter a big friendship problem.
For parents and families:
We encourage families to pend some time discussing the simple ways that kids can try to solve a small friendship problem:
- Find another friend to play with
- Choose another space
- Talk it out
- Ignore
- Walk away
- Use your words to explain how you are feeling
- Take a deep breath… is it worth getting upset over?
- Take a little time out
It’s always a great idea to spend time practicing these actions: try doing a role play where your child can practice handling a small friendship problem in an assertive, respectful way. Provide feedback, encouragement and suggestions on how they can choose their words respectfully when explaining their actions. Give lots of praise: we know that students who are able to independently handle small friendship problems feel confident, in control, satisfied, successful and resilient.
Our School Commitment
In line with our Anti-bullying policy, as a school we are both prepared and equipped to talk about challenging topics relating to bullying with our students through lessons developed for students from K-6. At our school we aim to be clear in our communication around what is rude, what is mean and what is bullying behaviour, equipping students with both the knowledge and strategies to know how to respond to this behaviour and who to tell.
We want all our students to feel valued and respected at school, developing a strong sense of belonging and connectedness from the moment our students start school, all the way through Year 6. We understand that bullying behaviour is a very complex social problem which frequently occurs in our adult world and it’s common to occur with children, too. However, when we equip our students with the knowledge, language, confidence and strategies to respond when bullying behaviour happens, we are able to promptly and consistently respond to students displaying negative, disrespectful or bullying behaviours. Our ongoing goal is to teach students how to be respectful, how to "expect respect" from others and how to respond to negative, anti-social behaviour with the support of an adult. We invite parents to join the conversation, watch our videos and use the positive language associated with our 'expect respect' lessons to support the development of prosocial behaviours in our students at PBPS.
PBPS Draft Anti-bullying Plan (updated 2020)