SCHOOL HEALTH- PEER BULLYING

BY

RITA O. AGYEI

22019592
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZW8-ToYIAU
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this presentation, students will
be able to:
• Define bullying
• Know the types of bullying
• Understand the effects of bullying on the victim, bully
and witness.
• Learn how to detect if a student is being bullied
• Learn measures to stop bullying.
• The role of the nurse in addressing the issue of bullying.
• The role of other school staff in addressing bullying
OVERVIEW OF SCHOOL PEER BULLYING

Bullying is a major public health problem that demands the concerted and
coordinated time and attention of health-care providers, policy-makers and
families.
Evolving awareness about the morbidity and mortality associated with
bullying has helped give this psychosocial hazard a modest level of
worldwide public health attention. However, it is not enough.!
Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2010;88:403-403. doi:
10.2471/BLT.10.077123
Once children enter school, friendships and interactions with peers take on
an increasingly important role in their lives. These relationships have the
potential to contribute to a child’s sense of well-being and to social
competence, but they are also associated with exposure to new forms of
victimization.
Although peer violence can take many forms, available data suggest that
bullying by schoolmates is by far the most common.
https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/violence/peer-violence/
STATISTICS
 Target Or Victim: Student that has been
bullied

Bullier Or Student Exhibiting Bullying

Behaviour: Student that has been identified
TERMINOLOGY as exhibiting behaviour that was determined
to be bullying.

Witness Or Bystander: Student(s) that have

observed another student being bullied.
 Bullying is a multifaceted form of mistreatment,
mostly seen in schools and the workplace. It is
characterized by the REPEATED EXPOSURE of
one person to PHYSICAL and/or EMOTIONAL
WHAT IS
AGGRESSION including teasing, name calling,
BULLYING?
mockery, threats, harassment, taunting, hazing, social
exclusion or rumours in which that individual has
DIFFICULTY DEFENDING him or herself.
 TYPES OF
BULLYING

Physical
Verbal
Social/Relational
Electronic or Written
Communication(CYBERBULLYING)
PHYSICAL BULLYING

Physical bullying involves hurting a

person’s body or possessions.
Physical bullying includes:

Hitting/kicking/pinching

Spitting

Tripping/pushing

Taking or breaking someone’s things

Making mean or rude hand gestures

VERBAL BULLYING

• Verbal bullying means saying MEAN

THINGS.
Verbal bullying includes:
Teasing
Name-calling
Inappropriate sexual comments
Taunting
Threatening to cause harm
SOCIAL/RELATIONAL BULLYING

Social bullying, sometimes referred

to as relational bullying, involves
hurting someone’s reputation or
relationships.
Social bullying includes:
Leaving someone out on purpose
Telling other children not to be
friends with
someone
Spreading rumors about someone
Embarrassing someone in public
ELECTRONIC OR WRITTEN
COMMUNICATION
BULLYING

Electronic or Written Communication

Bullying including all forms of
Cyberbullying is bullying that takes
place through the use of written
messages or using various forms of
electronic technology.
Examples of Electronic bullying
include:
 Mean text messages or emails.
 Rumours sent by email or posted
on social networking sites.
 Embarrassing pictures, videos,
websites, or fake profiles.
BULLYING CYCLE: SOCIAL WORLD
 Perceived as “being different” from peers

RISK Perceived sexual orientation

FACTORS- Perceived ability/disability level

OF THE Perceived socioeconomic status

TARGET or Poor social skills

VICTIM. Socially isolated/few friends

Overweight/underweight. etc
 Aggressive or easily frustrated

Have less parental involvement

Experiencing issues at home

CHARACTERISTICS
OF A BULLY Think badly of others

Have difficulty following rules

View violence positively

Lacks empathy for others

WARNING Unexplainable injuries Declining grades or
interest in school
SIGNS  Lost or destroyed
STUDENT IS clothing, books, Not wanting to go to
possessions school
BEING
BULLIED Frequent headaches, Sudden loss of friends
stomach aches or
illnesses Avoidance of social
situations
Changes in eating habits
Decreased self-esteem
 Difficulty sleeping
Self-destructive
behaviors
 Kids who are bullied can experience negative
physical, school, and mental health issues.

EFFECTS of More likely to experience depression and

anxiety
BULLYING Increased feelings of sadness and loneliness
on TARGET
or VICTIM Changes in sleep and eating patterns

Loss of interest in activities they used to

enjoy.
Suicidal intents.

Health complaints

Decreased academic achievement and school participation.

They are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school.

A very small number of bullied children might retaliate through extremely violent
measures.
www.stopbullying.gov
EFFECTS OF BULLYING ON BULLIES

Kids who bully others

can also engage in Abuse alcohol and other Get into fights, vandalize
Kids who bully are more
violent and other risky drugs in adolescence property, and drop out
likely to:
behaviors into and as adults of school
adulthood.

Be abusive toward their

Have criminal
Engage in early and illicit romantic partners,
convictions and traffic www.stopbullying.gov
sexual activities spouses, or children as
citations as adults
adults
EFFECTS OF BULLYING ON WITNESS

Kids who witness bullying are more likely to:

Have increased use of tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs
Have increased mental health problems, including depression and anxiety
Miss or skip school because they don’t feel safe
They may not know what to do.
•They may feel depressed or worried
They may join or stay silent, so they won’t get bullied
PREVENTING BULLYING

Bullying is everyone’s problem. It will only be controlled through a total school effort.

Administrators, faculty and Educational Support Professionals (ESP) who may witness bullying in their school include:

 School nurses

 Teachers, Instructional aides & substitute teachers

 Administrators & Counselors

 Cafeteria staff

 Bus Drivers

 Custodians

 Parent volunteers
  Make a comprehensive school plan to address bullying

 Educational ministry Policy on bullying

 Appropriate responses/consequences to identified bullies and targets

STRATEGIES  Professional development for ALL staff/faculty
FOR  Parent training
PREVENTING  Build empathy
PEER  Teachable moments to build community and model appropriate
BULLYING IN behavior

SCHOOLS.  Student empowerment

www.stopbullying.gov
 School administrators are now required to hold their
staff accountable for recognizing and reporting acts of
bullying. We all need to be aware of:
The definitions of bullying
TRAINING
How to recognize bullying when we see it
ALL What are our schools' protocols for reporting
SCHOOL incidents to administrators

STAFF How we can contribute to creating a safe school

environment
Note that Bullying can occur anywhere in the school.
THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL NURSE

Researchers state that second only to home, school represents the most
influential environment in a child’s life
School nurses promote and support healthy behaviors by being a part of
every school community, resulting in positive outcomes:
Academic excellence
Physical
Psychosocial &
Mental Health
A child’s ability to learn is directly related to health status
Prevention of Bulling and Violence

Promote the prevention and reduction of school violence

Implement evidence-based programs promoting violence prevention
Recognize factors that increase risk of a student becoming a perpetrator or victim of
school violence
Bullying
Mental health crisis
Physical assault
Student on student violence
Student on staff violence
Staff on student violence
Escalating violence/violent intruder
Serve on school safety and curriculum committees
Collaborate with social work, counseling, and law enforcement to
maintain security
If violence occurs:
Coordinate emergency response
Provide nursing care to injured
Apply crisis intervention strategies to de-escalate the situation
 School food service professionals can have a big impact on anti-bullying
efforts.

The less structured nature of most school cafeterias make their

environments increased opportunities for bullying behaviors.

If you are a food service ESP, here’s what you can do:

 Create a positive cafeteria environment by treating students the way

In the you’d like them to treat each other.

 Use positive non-verbal interactions – a smile or nod or thumbs up.

Cafeteria  Notice something positive about the students and do or say something
about it to them or someone else where they can hear it.

 Don’t expect students to solve bullying incidents themselves; they

lack the skills.

 Encourage students to report incidents of bullying to you and other

adults.
HOW CAN I INTERVENE WHEN I OBSERVE BULLYING IN THE CAFETERIA?

Learn about bullying so you know what you are looking for (see previous slides or handout).
Learn what your schools discipline policy is for bullying and what support is in place for victims of
bullying.
When you see something, do something – be assertive and calm.
Express strong disapproval of and stop bullying when it occurs.
Report incidents as required by your school’s policy.

National Education Association (www.nea.org).

In the Classroom

By design, students spend most of their school day within the classroom.

Teachers, instructional aides, parent volunteers and substitute teachers have considerable interaction with
students and therefore can have a considerable impact on bullying prevention.

Here is what you can do:

• Create a safe and supportive environment in your classroom.

• Develop rules with your students so they set their own climate of respect and responsibility.

• Use positive terms like what to do rather than what not to do.

• Manage student behavior. Overall, well managed classrooms are less likely to have bullying.
HOW CAN I INTERVENE WHEN I OBSERVE BULLYING IN
THE CLASSROOM?

Learn about Learn about bullying so you can effectively identify bullying behaviors.

Intervene Intervene immediately. It’s okay to get another adult to help if necessary.

Separate Separate the students involved.

Stay Stay Calm. Reassure the students involved, including bystanders.

Model Model Respectful behavior when you intervene.

Follow Follow your school’s incident reporting protocols.

Refer Refer the victim to medical or counseling support if necessary.

On The Bus

The bus is a place where bullying can occur on a frequent basis. Bus drivers can make a big difference in
reducing these behaviors and creating an environment that sets the students up for success once they
arrive at school.
HOW CAN I HELP PREVENT BULLYING ON THE BUS?
Explain that you expect students to follow the rules while on the bus.
Remind that name calling and put downs are bullying behaviors and are strictly forbidden on your bus.
Model Respect for each child.
 Strongly encourage
students to report
Create a caring,
Knowing the names anything that makes Encourage parents
respectful, and Greeting students Asking students
of students on your them feel to stand at bus
cooperative climate daily. how their day went.
bus. uncomfortable or stops.
on the bus by:
afraid during the
bus ride.
HOW CAN I INTERVENE WHEN I OBSERVE BULLYING ON THE BUS?

 Speak Up – Stop the Action!

 Pull over and stop the bus.

 Support the Victim.

 Name the bullying behavior.

 Refer to the school and bus rules.

 Impose immediate consequences (at least move bully near you).

 Encourage the bystanders.

 Report the incident immediately, following school corporation protocols.

 Crowded hallways are environments that can
promote aggressive behavior.
In The
Hallways & It is important for administrators to coordinate
teachers and staff to insure an adequate level
Common of supervision.

Areas A key role can be played by custodians. The

nature of their role in the school allows
custodians to observe student behavior
throughout the school building each day.
 Establish a culture of inclusion and respect
that welcomes all students.
HOW CAN I Maintain adequate supervision in hallways
HELP and common areas at all time.
PREVENT Role model a positive and respectful attitude
BULLYING when interacting with students.
IN THE  Be aware of “Hot Spots.” Bullying may be
HALLS? more likely to occur in areas with little or no
adult supervision.
Anti Bullying Strategies

• Regular promotion of anti bullying in assemblies.

• Use of CCTV within the school grounds to help with the prevention of
• bullying.
• A duty rota for staff so they patrol key areas before school, break, lunchtime
• and after school
• Annual questionnaires to research student views on how safe they feel in
• school
• Self esteem and circle time work in the school’s inclusion facilities
• Anti bullying training for the Pastoral Leaders
• PSHC lessons on anti bullying
• A special e-mail address to report any incidents of bullying
• One to one counselling from a trained sixth form team available every
• lunchtime
• Strong teacher-student relationships so students feel comfortable in reporting
• any issues
• Information talks from the School Police Liaison Officer
• CEOP training for staff (Child exploitation online protection)
• Information leaflet for students and parents about E-Safety
HOW CAN I INTERVENE WHEN I OBSERVE BULLYING IN THE HALLS?

01 02 03 04
Calmly intervene. Do not publicly Follow your Provide support
If the situation criticize the school’s incident for the victim if
warrants it, get students involved. reporting necessary.
another adult to protocols.
help.
Remember….
It takes everyone working together to make your school a safe and supportive
environment where every student feels welcome and ready to learn.
Learn about bullying and how it differs from other student behaviors.
Make sure you are well versed in your school’s bully incident reporting
protocols.
Make the development of a positive school climate your priority. Promote it in
the classroom and in the halls.
SUMMARY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDG1-BCZvTE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6FfxnhRssw
 When you see something, do something!!
REMEMBER • Intervene by separating the students involved.
• Get their names, but do not question students in
front of other students.
• Report the incident following your school’s
guidelines.
• The students can then be questioned individually.
• Don’t try to resolve the incident on the spot.
• Don’t assume that students can work it out without
adult help. They can’t.

www.stopbullying.gov
REFERRENCES

1. Gini G, Pozzoli T. Association between bullying and psychosomatic problems: a meta-

analysis. Pediatrics 2009; 123: 1059-65 doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-1215.
2. Srabstein J, Piazza T. Public health, safety and educational risks associated with bullying
behaviors in American adolescents. Int J Adolesc Med Health 2008; 20: 223-33
3. Srabstein J, Joshi P, Due P, Wright J, Leventhal B, Merrick J, et al., et al. Prevention of
public health risks linked to bullying: a need for a whole community approach. Int J Adolesc
Med Health 2008; 20: 185-99.
4. https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/violence/peer-violence/
5. Gannon Tagher, Ed.D., MSN, RN, APRN. Kentucky School Nurse Initiative. Interim Joint
Committee on Education October 20, 2020.
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZW8-ToYIAU