Bullying – support group approach
If a child feels they are being bullied at school, the problem can be solved using a solution-focused approach that has much in common with the Kids’Skills steps. This method, known as the Support Group Approach, has been used successfully in many elementary schools around the world. It was developed by Sue Young in the mid-1990s when she was working as a teacher in Hull (UK) and acted as the school’s anti-bullying coordinator. In this role, her job involved both helping resolve individual incidents of bullying and reducing overall levels of bullying.
To learn more, see a series of Youtube videos where Sue Young explains the approach in detail.
The support group approach
The support group approach aims to help children who are troubled by bullying start enjoying going to school again. The idea is that when a pupil is supported by a group, any bullying that may be occurring will eventually cease without further intervention.
This is very different from the more conventional approach that first seeks to investigate what has occurred, and then attempts to deal with the bullying problem by getting the bullies to admit what they are doing, accept some form of punishment and promise to stop.
In the support group approach, teachers avoid using unhelpful words such as ‘bully’, ‘bullying’ or ‘victim’ and do not spend time attempting to establish what has occurred. Rather, they adopt the view that regardless of what has taken place, a child has become unhappy and this alone is a good reason to take action that will make him happy again.
In the support group approach, teachers avoid using unhelpful words such as ‘bully’, ‘bullying’ or ‘victim’ and do not spend time attempting to establish what has occurred.
Benefits of the support group approach
Compared to other common intervention strategies, the support group method has many advantages. It does not demand from adults the amount of time required for other approaches because no investigation takes place. It’s more acceptable to children’s parents since no pupils are labelled as being ‘bullies’. An additional benefit is that the support group method also works well in those difficult – but not uncommon – cases when a pupil reports being bullied at school but no firm evidence of bullying exists.
Concerns regarding this approach
When people first hear of the support group method they sometimes wonder whether it’s ok that a pupil who has suffered by being bullied starts to enjoy going to school again and begins to get along well with their peers, even though the bullies don’t admit any form of wrongdoing and are not punished in any way. Experience of using this approach suggests exactly the opposite, in that punishing children for acting in a bullying manner carries the risk that the situation for the victim(s) will in fact become worse. Inviting bullies to contribute towards helping an unhappy pupil enjoy going to school again is a far more effective way of changing their behaviour than punishing them for having contributed to making the pupil unhappy in the first place.
The support group approach step-by-step
Step 1. Talk to the unhappy pupil
Start by interviewing the pupil who is unhappy and in need of support. In this interview, the aim is to discover which pupils should to be asked to participate in the unhappy pupil’s support group. Tell the pupil you want to help them and ask
– who are they finding difficulty with in school right now?
– who else is around when things are difficult?
– who are their friends, or who would they like to have as friends?
The purpose of this first meeting is not to establish what has been happening (since this can be counterproductive), but to find out which of their peers should be invited to be part of the support group.
Step 2. Introduce the support group idea
Explain to the unhappy pupil that you are going to invite a small group (consisting of the pupils they have named) to help make them happier in school next week. Tell the unhappy pupil that you will see them again after the week is over, and ask them to note any improvements that happen in between.
Step 3. Arrange the meeting
The support group consists of 5–8 pupils whose names the unhappy pupil has given you. It should include one or more friends, all of the children that the unhappy pupil has had difficulties with, and some of those who have been present when things have not been going well. When the group has assembled, tell its members that the pupil in question has been unhappy in school saying something like “We don’t want anyone to be unhappy here, which is why I’m asking for your help.” You then ask them to commit to helping the unhappy pupil become happier without explaining to them the cause of the unhappiness.
Step 4. The plan
At this point you may also ask the group members if any of them has ever been unhappy at school and encourage one or two to briefly share their experiences. Continue by asking group members to suggest how they could help the unhappy pupil enjoy school again. Suggest that each of them comes up with an idea and show interest in all the ideas by complimenting each contributor and making the ideas part of the group’s joint plan. Most of this meeting will be spent encouraging contributors and praising their suggestions. Arrange a meeting with the group in a week’s time.
Step 5. Follow-up with the pupil
After the week has passed, arrange a follow-up meeting with the unhappy pupil. In most cases you’ll find there has been a drastic change; the pupil who had been unhappy is now once again happy. Focus on discovering what has changed for the better and congratulate the formerly unhappy pupil on whatever they have done to contribute to the positive development. This meeting allows you to monitor the situation and reinforce positive change.
Step 6. Follow-up with the group
Meet with the support group to show your appreciation for what they have done, both individually and as a group. This meeting provides another opportunity for you to monitor how things are going. If you have any doubts, ask the group to continue their support work for a further week.
Synopsis:
When children are unhappy at school because they are being bullied by their classmates or other pupils, there are many ways to intervene. A common approach is to intervene by confronting the bullies, punishing them and extracting promises intended to stop them behaving in this way. Unfortunately, this conventional approach has many disadvantages and alternative approaches have therefore been developed. This section presents a non-blaming method that has been found to work well in many cultures around the world.
This article is owned by: Kids’Skills https://www.kidsskills.org/WP-fin/http://www.kidsskillsapp.com/
