BULLYING: BULLY, BULLIED AND THE BY-STANDER

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]may bully others older, louder, more connected or more confident online.

[00:00:11]Bullying can be physical as you see there can be um verbal, social, we have as well cyber bullying and of course the first presenter went into detail here.

[00:00:27]So I will just say children learn not only from what we say parents but from what we model. Action speaks louder than words. So if we want respectful um children we must model respectful correction, respectful disagreement and respectful problem solving. We're modeling right there in our homes. So it's very very very critical how we interact with the members of the family in the home in terms of uh signs. What do you look for to say my child is being bullied?

[00:01:10]Because if you observe well you will know that there are some things that are signs telling you that this child might be being bullied. Not every child will say as I told you, I'm being bullied.

[00:01:25]Therefore, parents must observe changes in the behavior. So, a child is being a child who is being bullied may suddenly become afraid of school.

[00:01:39]They may complain frequently about headaches or stomach aches. They may lose interest in school. Their grades may decline. They may become withdrawn, angry, anxious or unusually quiet. When this happens, parents, we need to dig deeper, become even more alert as to what is happening here. You may notice damaged belongings, missing lunch money.

[00:02:13]So it might be uh to clothing, unexplained crying or changes in sleeping and eating patterns.

[00:02:25]Some children may avoid friends.

[00:02:29]Um school transportation, I don't want to take that particular bus. I don't want to take that car. Um and it's a transportation that the child has been using for some time now. certain areas of the school I don't I'm no longer wanting to go into a particular area or they may not want to go online. So so certain online platforms that they used to visit suddenly they don't want to visit those anymore.

[00:03:01]So we must be careful parents these signs do not always mean bullying is happening. I'm not saying all the time that it means, but what it is, it's a signal to dig deeper, to investigate more. They may also point to other stress. Um, family issues could cause it as well. Academic pressure, um, health concerns or emotional struggles. But when several signs appear together, parents should investigate. And let me say investigate gently. Very very important. Pay attention to changes. Do do not ignore repeated signs. Do not assume the child is being lazy.

[00:03:50]Uh he's just being lazy or she's just being lazy. She doesn't because she needs she knows when she comes home she needs to do this particular work. No.

[00:04:02]or that the child is just being rude or difficult.

[00:04:06]Ask questions with care because you want to verify what is happening here.

[00:04:16]As you continue, you want to be careful about your own responses. how you are responding to the bullying or the signs of bullying when a child reports bullying. So there are instances a child may report or you may see those signs as I just indicated. The parents first response is very important. How you respond is critical to resolving the issues. So the first step is to stay calm. So you may need to um deep breathe, do muscle relaxation, you may need to ground yourself parent, you want to be calm and you want to listen carefully even if you feel angry.

[00:05:09]And the truth is if you are a parent who you have ever had to deal with the fact that your child is being bullied, it can be a really emotional experience.

[00:05:23]But do not panic in front of the child.

[00:05:27]If the child sees you losing control, they may become more afraid. They may even regret telling you. So give the child your full attention. So when you're addressing it, give your child the full your full attention. Put down your phone so don't be distracted.

[00:05:48]Turn off all the distractions.

[00:05:51]Make eye contact.

[00:05:53]and allow your child to speak.

[00:05:57]The second the second step parent is to do not blame the child.

[00:06:06]Avoid asking questions such as what did you do to to them?

[00:06:13]Why didn't you fight back? Or or why are you so soft? Like sometimes we like to say and do. Those questions may cause the child to feel responsible for the bullying. Instead, you need to say things like, "I'm glad you told me.

[00:06:37]This is not your fault.

[00:06:41]You did the right thing by speaking up.

[00:06:44]We're going to handle this properly." So you're reassuring the child that I am here to support you and I'm here to work with you in addressing this matter. So so the first step I said is to give your full attention. Ensure that you're focused. The second one is to not jump into blaming and so the kinds of questions you ask, how you speak and the third step is to get the facts. So ask calmly what happened where where did it happen and as you're asking you're going to need to ensure that you're recording ensure you're getting the details of what is being shared when shared when did it happened who was involved was anyone there has it happened before did anyone take pictures, videos, or send messages.

[00:07:47]And as I said before, you want to write the information down. Your first job is not to as if you're an investigator. So, you're going to have to really be careful how you're doing this interaction is happening. Your first job is to listen, reassure, and protect. But it's important to have the data recorded for future reference.

[00:08:13]If your child is being bullied, after you document, as I said before, you're going to have to document the incident.

[00:08:24]After listening and gathering the facts, the next step is, as I said, documentation and action. So, I have my facts. I have my facts written down and now I need to take action. Parents should document incidents carefully. Write down things like uh dates, times, locations, names, witnesses, and what happened.

[00:08:56]If if of course it is cyber bullying, you keep screenshots, do not delete messages, do not respond in anger online. As I told you, it's a really emotional experience and if you are not careful, you may respond in anger online. Really restrain yourself.

[00:09:19]Ensure that you do not do that. Contact the school early. So, it's important that you contact the school early, speak with the class teacher, the guidance counselor, dean of discipline, uh a grade coordinator, or or go straight to the principal. Do not wait until the matter becomes unbearable. You want to move quickly at addressing it. Parents should not encourage as I know often we tell our children slap him in his face, take a stone and hit him. Why did you allow that?

[00:09:57]Please do [clears throat] not encourage that. Telling a child to hit back may place the child at greater risk. It may cause the child to be um disciplined. So if the child ends up in a fight at school, the child may now find him or herself in a in a situation before the dean of discipline, the principal or vice principal.

[00:10:20]It may also escalate the conflict. So as the adult with greater developed skill sets, you recognize that your role is important. So instead teach the child to report. So, so teach the child to report, move away from the unsafe situations, uh, stay near trusted peers, identify safe adults, and and and use assertive but non-aggressive language where appropriate.

[00:10:58]Also, parents, a safety plan is important. So, ask, "Who can my child go to at school?" So it's important to know that because there has to be a plan to say how are we going to respond? Does my child um know the this plan? Can my child respond this way? Where can my child go if um my child feels unsafe?

[00:11:24]Say they feel unsafe. Where can they go?

[00:11:27]Which route should they use?

[00:11:30]Who are their trusted friends? It's important to know these things. what should they do if something happens online? Who will follow up at school?

[00:11:40]So, I want to really congratulate all of our parents who are on this evening because it is important to empower yourself to ensure you have the knowledge. Do not fight bullying with more aggression.

[00:11:55]Fight it with wisdom, documentation, advocacy, and partnership. again. Fight it with wisdom, documentation, advocacy, and partnership.

[00:12:14]And and if we we would if we you could make that into an acronym to remember it. Wisdom, documentation, advocacy, and partnership.

[00:12:25]So the truth is as our my first presenter indicated not only do we have to deal with a scenario as parents when our child is bully when our child is being bullied but there are occasions where your child might be bullying another child. So your child is bullying others.

[00:12:48]This part is very important because sometimes our our our children are not the victims.

[00:12:59]Sometimes our child may be the one hurting others. That is not easy for any parent to hear. It's very difficult to hear that my child, the child that you're seeing operating a particular way at home is capable of that.

[00:13:19]But a responsible parent must not deny it. So don't deny it when you're hearing it. Don't ex um excuse it or defend wrongdoing without listening to the facts. Your role is to now listen to the facts. If the school calls and says your child has bullied another child, begin with not my child begin instead with help me understand what happened. It is difficult for you but a better response would be help me understand what happened.

[00:13:58]So speak to the child privately because you're not here for shaming the child either. Ask your child what happened and listen and ensure you're in control of your non-verbals. So you're not sending any message that um because you are the emotional leader here and so you're managing your emotion. And so ask your child what happened, but also listen.

[00:14:28]Make it clear parents that bullying is unacceptable.

[00:14:33]Do not label the child as bad or or or focus on the behavior. You may say, "I love you, but this behavior is not acceptable. I love you, but this behavior is not acceptable.

[00:14:50]You are responsible for your actions.

[00:14:54]This behavior is not acceptable.

[00:14:58]However, we're going to correct this.

[00:15:01]You must understand how your actions affect other people.

[00:15:07]We're going to correct this. Parents should teach empathy. So, an an important um lesson, life skill that you want to teach here is empathy. So ask the child how do you think the other child felt?

[00:15:26]Uh what if uh what what it feel like if that happened to you?

[00:15:38]Talk to me about that.

[00:15:40]What can you do to repair the harm? So you can hear now we're using restorative justice language. What can you do to repair the harm? How will you handle conflict differently next time? So the child, it's an opportunity to teach the child the behavior what is appropriate.

[00:16:01]So consequences should be fair, consistent and linked to the behavior.

[00:16:08]This may include um reduce device time, apology and as I told you before the restorative um conversation because you want to repair the harm, you want to repair the damage that you have caused.

[00:16:26]Um there may be need for counseling support or or closer monitoring. So this may now be a sign that I will need to be doing closer monitoring. The goal is not to label the child as bad as I said or or the goal is the goal is in fact to correct the behavior. Your role is to correct the behavior. One to correct the behavior two to build empathy and to prevent future harm. And so you're using the the method that will achieve this.

[00:17:02][snorts] Recognize that bullying is a can be complex and it is a complex issue. And so there has to be partnership between the home and the school. So so the homeschool partnership is very very important. Bullying is best addressed when home and school work together.

[00:17:23]So home and school need um to be working together. Parents should report concerns early. So if you have concerns, don't wait until after you've had seven different in instances and you now say it's it has been happening since last year. It's since she was in grade seven that no, you want to address and and and and bring the school in the loop early enough. [snorts] If you notice changes in your child, do not wait until the matter get worse. Parent, I cannot emphasize that too much. When speaking with the school, remain respectful. I know it's really an emotional issue, but remain respectful and solution focused.

[00:18:11]Remember, we're teaching all the children. We want them to learn and to do well. It is understandable for parents to feel emotional. Absolutely.

[00:18:20]And and especially when your child is hurt, but anger can sometimes block the progress that you would want to make.

[00:18:30]And it prevents um the opportunity for your child to learn how you manage when you're not when you're angry. Um it's really an excellent opportunity to show the child. You may do deep breathing, muscle relaxation. You may do some grounding technique and show the child, you know, I'm feeling this particular way. So you're identifying your feelings, but I am grounding myself. I am making sure we're calm as we're dealing with this. really great opportunity to teach your child a lesson that your child will continue to use not just at school but at workplaces um in a marriage relationship in families very very important. So go to the school parents with facts. So you would have already um gathered the data the details so you're not guessing now you have the facts with you. So go to the school with facts not just accusations. Share what your child told you. Share the documentation. As I said, ask what steps will be taken. Ask when you can follow up. So you want to ask so where are we do we go from here so you're clear as to the actions that will be taken and what will happen after this and when when you can follow up. It's very important.

[00:19:50]Parents should also um support school rules at home. So you need to send the important messages that school rule is important because they are there to ensure that there is a safe environment for all students. So uh support school rule. Don't badmouth your school um before your child. You're you're absolutely modeling the appropriate behaviors. If the school is trying to correct bullying behavior um and the parent excuses it, the child receives um mixed messages because the school is saying one thing and then the parent is saying another thing. to ensure that the school you're both on the same page. And if there are disagreements, you want to have those discussions um in a very respectful way and possibly um with the school um individuals personnel. Parents must encourage children to report concerns to trusted adults. It's important.

[00:20:56]Report it to trusted adults. Reporting is not weakness. And we're sending those messages that is not weakness to report.

[00:21:04]Reporting is wisdom. And we're teaching them that even in the society when issues arise, we have individuals that we must report to. There is due process.

[00:21:14]And it's not that you're taking things in your hand and addressing it um the way you think it should be addressed, but you're allowing due process to take course. For serious safety concerns like threats or abuse or criminal behavior, parents should seek urgent support through the proper agencies including the child protection and family services agency. Remember based on the childcare and protection act you may have need to report that as well or even the Jamaica Constabulary Force JCF in keeping with school policy and child protection procedures. The school cannot do it alone. The parent cannot do it alone. The child should not have to face it alone. Partnership is is critical. In fact, I could say partnership is protection. Partnership is protection.

[00:22:15]So parents, your response can make all the difference. Your response can either silence a child or support support a child. If a child comes to you and you dismiss them, blame them, mock them or overreact, that child may never speak again.

[00:22:41]But if you listen, believe, support, document, and act wisely, you create safety. Safety is critical. a psychologically safe child will learn.

[00:22:56]Let us create homes where children feel safe to speak. Let create schools where children feel safe to learn. Let us create communities where respect is taught, practiced, and protected.

[00:23:15]Be that safe adult. Be that listening ear. Be that voice of wisdom. be the protector for your child.

[00:23:32]As we close, I want to remind every parent that you are not alone.

[00:23:39]The school um guidance department is available for support.

[00:23:44]the class teacher, grade coordinator, dean of discipline and and and principal all have roles to play. If your child is being bullied, seek help early. If your child is bullying others, seek help early. If you are unsure what to do, ask for guidance. No parents has all the answers. What matters is that we remain willing to learn, willing to listen and willing to work together. The goal is not only to stop bullying after it happen after it has happened. The goal is to build children who are respectful, emotionally aware, confident, kind, and responsible.

[00:24:36]Parents, let us protect our children.

[00:24:39]Not only with our words, but with our presence, our listening, our example, and our partnership. Together, we can create safer homes, safer schools, and safer communities.

[00:24:54]Thank you so much for the opportunity to share with you.

[00:25:02]>> Thank you.

[00:25:05]Thank you very much, Mr. McDonald. That was a very powerful presentation as a parent. I was writing not those throughout the whole session.

[00:25:14]>> Thank you.

[00:25:14]>> All right. I know that that there are many questions that are popping up.

[00:25:18]We're going to save that for the end for the question and answer section. We're going to move on to our third segment that deals with school leadership and staff action. And our next presenter is another powerhouse, Mrs. Harleene Gordon Riley. She has 17 years of active service experience at the ministry of education skills and youth information as a senior education officer. She's an educational social worker, a guidance counselor and a teacher of religious education.

[00:25:52]She of course has a a degree in and and masters in psychology and a diploma in education in guidance counseling both at the Liverpool Johnsmore University International University of the Caribbean and Michael University College respectively.

[00:26:11]She's a master trainer in the national standards curriculum and implements the national guidance and counseling program. She coordinates the regional response to critical incidents in schools, provides guidance in developing, implementing and evaluating schools psychosocial support plans and provides technical support to school personnel and members of the school board of management in the recruitment, monitoring and appraisal review processes of guidance counselors.

[00:26:48]Right.

[00:26:49]She's a awardy of multiple awards and she leads by by this by the statement a man's life is not determined by his pursuits. It is what Christ Jesus makes of it. She says she remains ground spiritually grounded reflective teachable adaptable and client centered.

[00:27:12]So just allow me to welcome Mrs. Harleen Gordon Riley.

[00:27:25]This is Riley there.

[00:27:37]Not seen her.

[00:27:42]Any word from Mile?

[00:27:45]Yeah, she's on. Okay.

[00:28:09]All right. So, let me in the meantime, housekeeping matters. For persons requesting CMEs, please email Dr. Shetty. I think he's provided his email in the chat.

[00:28:20]So, you can request your CMEs there. And you can also add in the chat the questions for us to go through it at the end.

[00:28:54]afternoon.

[00:29:00]>> Here you go, Mrs. Riley. Go ahead.

[00:29:02]>> Excellent. Thank you so much for your patience and also to our participants who are still here with us. We've been here for over an hour, almost an hour and a half, and you are still here, which tells us that we are indeed addressing a critical topic, one that I would believe affects all of us. Whether it is that we would have lived it directly or vicariously, it is a current topic. And so you are here because it needs to be highlighted.

[00:29:44]It needs to be discussed and addressed.

[00:29:47]I would have listened to my abled colleagues, partners in the field and I could almost say dto in everything and leave the platform. But we could not do that without speaking about what we need to do as educators, as school administrators, as staff members.

[00:30:14]Whether you are academic or ancillary staff as students, whether you are a bus driver who interface with students and staff or as a parent who visits the school.

[00:30:31]We really could not have had this conversation without saying what do you do where bullying is present or where you are trying to prevent bullying. We could not leave this conversation without adding that bit of voice to the conversation. So I want to say you're in the right place at the right time. And for me where will be I will be addressing the children need and the fact that they need stability as it relates to reducing bullying in Jamaican schools. It is a gap that we need to plug.

[00:31:14]ensuring that both their emotional and social well-being are catered to in order to reduce bullying. So we are acknowledging that bullying exists. So that is the approach that we are taking tonight. We are not hiding that the fact that there is bullying and we are not solely resting the the the behavior at the feet of students but rather we are looking at it from a holistic approach a systemic approach. We're saying this is schoolwide and we must treat with it. We want to take an inform a researchinformed approach trauma sensitive approach. We want to create safe space, a supportive learning environment where children can thrive not just academically but also emotionally thereby which we believe that when we are able to do that Jamaica also will thrive. So if someone is still sitting here and we're saying where are we still discussing this topic why are we discussing this topic then this is the reason at the end of the day we must have a better Jamaica and where else to start but with our schools agreeing that children require stability children must be raised in a safe environment that encourages is learning positive connections.

[00:32:48]Stability in all places in the classroom, the play area, in the cantens, tuck shops, cafeteria area, on the the the the the pitch, on the porch, outside of the outskirts of school, within the vicinity of school.

[00:33:10]We are saying children require stability.

[00:33:14]Children require safety. They must be nurtured. And so for us to treat with bullying, we must admit that our culture either contributes to or prevent bullying behaviors in schools.

[00:33:32]I know that for many it is critical for us to to to to position ourselves to say that we are not responsible but we can point a finger to say they are. But the truth is whether directly or indirectly we are all responsible for treating with bullying behaviors in school.

[00:33:58]Everybody has a responsibility because we acknowledge that children do not learn bullying in isolation.

[00:34:07]They learn it through observation.

[00:34:10]They learn it through behaviors observed experiences that they would have had.

[00:34:16]They feel the power imbalance and they know the culture of of of of coercion of force and some might just lay in a layman term say they feel the toxic environment they are associated with it.

[00:34:39]One thing we need to understand which I I'm very certain that my able colleagues would have mentioned earlier that bullying is modeled. It's a learned behavior.

[00:34:51]It is repetitive.

[00:34:53]It is intentional.

[00:34:57]It is consistent.

[00:35:00]And where we make mention of schools, it is it is very much present in our schools, all our schools, I must add. So we want to ask ourselves as we reflect on our culture and our practices, does our school culture contribute or prevent bullying behaviors?

[00:35:26]And as we reflect on that, we must also ask ourselves, are we as adults, are we always emotionally um creating an emotionally safe space for our children?

[00:35:43]Are we contributing to an unhealthy insecure environment for our children?

[00:35:51]Are we enabling bullying in the in in in the schools or in our schools? And even if you have control over your little area, let's say you are a janitor and you are responsible for cleaning the the the bathrooms.

[00:36:09]Are you enabling bullying within the bathrooms?

[00:36:13]Are you leaving your your your posts to do something else other than monitoring which now leaves a space for a student who is practicing bullying to perpetuate bullying behaviors? We ask ourselves are you a teacher in the classroom who you should be transitioning within a particular time. But for whatever reasons you are delayed perhaps too frequently and during those periods usually the data suggests that bullying behaviors are practiced by those who perpetuate and then the victims of bullying receive the bullying behaviors and are emotionally and psychologically and mentally impacted by the bullying behaviors. Are your are your practices enabling? So we want to reflect on what we do on a dayto-day basis. You rise to go to work. Your intentions, your intentions are pure, but what do you do throughout the course of the day that either prevents or enables bullying behavior? We want to wrap our heads and our minds around that as we reflect.

[00:37:30]Do you take 30 seconds to do that?

[00:37:34]And whilst you are mentally taking notes, yes, you want to ask yourself, am I being fair to the system when I only lay the responsibility on students and on parents to treat with bullying behavior.

[00:37:56]All of that in one space and in 30 seconds.

[00:38:00]Earlier we heard and we listened extensively on what is bullying both scientific scientifically and and in terms of our practical experience our lived experiences. We are able to identify features of bullying.

[00:38:17]We are able to say or relate to incidents where we experienced bullying either as a student, as a teacher, as a member of staff both academically and and nonacademic staff either as a parent, a bus driver who interfaces all the time with students and staff. we are able to pinpoint at any given time experiences that we've had to really say that yes I indeed was bullied at some particular time or either I have witnessed as a bystander bullying behavior.

[00:38:58]Now just to reinforce I won't bel labor it is bullying is repetitive repetitive aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.

[00:39:11]So any behavior that is aggressive meaning it it encroaches upon the rights of others within the space not just children but adults within the school environment. You are your rights are being encroached upon are being violated and although you exercise your responsibilities within the space they are there there there are certain amount of rights that you're entitled to but they are not provided or they are ignored within the space aggressively and you are not able to advocate for self in a way that will yield the appropriate behavior. There is a power imbalance.

[00:39:53]Someone or a group of people intends to have full control at all times aggressively.

[00:40:04]The behaviors are intentional. They can be physical.

[00:40:09]The impact can be emotional, psychological, and we can either be bystanders or victims or perpetrators of bullying.

[00:40:19]So you want to make sure that you always remember that repeated patterns over time. Always someone seeking to to to retain or to gain power over the other.

[00:40:32]The behaviors are intentional and at all times the intent is to cause harm whether it be psychologically or physically.

[00:40:43]Now if you are still with me and on this screen you will also see various forms of bullying physically you are hitting you are pushing verbally the name calling labeling. So you will find students labeling a particular uh student or you might find a teacher labeling another student a big boy. see your head back broad. Once I see once I see that head back, I can tell that you have nothing in that head. And then from that, the students observe and possibly reproduce the behavior and begin to [clears throat] call names.

[00:41:28]Big, broadhead, bat boy.

[00:41:31]Social exclusion.

[00:41:34]Some children they will exclude other children to gain power to gain control to to to to ensure that they stamp an authority in a particular space. So they'll exclude some to ensure they can retain that or adults within the space might exclude other adults to ensure that they remain on top in front socially excluding persons in spaces where they ought to be. So we ask ourselves these are various forms in schools not just looking at students but also the adults within the space. How do we treat with cyber bullying, the online harassment, posting pictures and nudes of others in the space, trolling and always finding negative comments to to to leave below a person's profile, manipulating a situation to to to your advantage, ensuring that you appear the victim when you are indeed the perpetrator. You know, you look for these things, various forms of bullying within the school environment.

[00:42:53]We must always remember that a school is a place for learning, for growth, for teaching and learning and for growth, but it is also a place of work, for various stakeholders within the space, school personnel within the space. How about gossiping and rumors? Yeah, bullying can also be relational, you know.

[00:43:16]So there is a juice that we need to discuss the most recent happenings or a little in Jamaicans Jamaican vernacular we will say a little a a little um thing come up that we need a suss that we need to talk about before we either proceed to teaching or we might need to gather and have the conversation before we begin learning or is it that you have a certain information that you want to spread rumors within the space various forms of bullying. So as we proceed, we want to think about again how does our behaviors within the space enable or prevent bullying behaviors within the school environment.

[00:44:20]We continue again to differentiate bullying from other behaviors because we do have persons who will mistake certain behaviors that they they observe and would immediately label a particular behavior as bullying. So we want to be able to differentiate what is a bullying behavior, what does it look like? Yeah.

[00:44:43]How does it differ from this particular behavior?

[00:44:48]Yes. So we see conflict. We try to implement discipline and or reinforce discipline in school. We try to prevent abuse or we abuse.

[00:45:02]We try to prevent bullying or enable.

[00:45:07]How do we differentiate between these behaviors? So yes, conflict is merely a disagreement between equals between pairs, between teachers and parents, teachers and students, um the security guard and parents, the security guard and students, um principal and staff members, be it an academic or nonacademic.

[00:45:38]Uh we we see various forms.

[00:45:42]We have conflict all the time. But key features, it's mutual, it's occasional, and and usually conflicts are resolved.

[00:45:52]Normal behaviors from day to day. As you proceed on your daily routines, you'll find that bullying behaviors differ from your normal behaviors and operations throughout school.

[00:46:08]Discipline is corrective and action by authority. It's structured. It's educational. So if you are trying to teach a particular behavior, particular value or behavior expectation, then we believe that there must be a structure to teaching and reinforcing the positive behavior. It should be educational and we will consider that appropriate.

[00:46:35]Now, here's where we now begin to differ. Abusive behaviors cause harm.

[00:46:42]either by the caregiver or the adults within the space or by the students themselves, the pairs and I might want to say students to staff as well to adults within the space because we are now seeing where certain behaviors are heightened, repetitive within the space, frequent.

[00:47:04]We see abusive behaviors being demonstrated among critical school personnel.

[00:47:12]And we see and these behaviors cause power imbalance. [clears throat] So principal wants to to to take charge.

[00:47:21]Board chairman is wants to wants to govern.

[00:47:26]Teachers need to ensure that they in control of the classrooms. Students want to be in control of their peers. The security guard wants to control the environment. who goes in and who goes out and sometimes it's not really done in a positive way.

[00:47:46]This now is a serious problem in our schools. And then when we get to bullying now, as we said earlier in the previous pres presentation and now it's repetitive, it's aggressive behaviors, intentional and intent to hurt others in the process. This we say this behavior is problematic and that is why it matters.

[00:48:16]It matters because the impact of bullying is grave in our schools. We find that many persons, especially within traditional schools, will encounter experiences of bullying. or to protect the image of an institution might refuse to report to address incidents of bullying or and they might choose to to exclude students who perpetuate the behavior by dismissing students unofficially in order to reduce the incidents. But we are saying there's a better way.

[00:49:05]Whilst the impact is great, we must at all at all times operate in a manner that considers the best interest that rule the best interest of the child.

[00:49:21]at schools, school administrators, staff members, be it you're a teacher in the classroom or you are the chef within the kitchen or the security personnel at the gate, you have a responsibility to ensure that bullying behaviors are prevented or reduced where possible.

[00:49:49]What's the impact? We have the mental health issues. Students who experience bullying show significantly higher rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideiation. They want to harm themselves in schools.

[00:50:03]They find spots in schools and they will say, "This is where you go if you feel like cutting yourself."

[00:50:11]They will say to their classmates and and their peers, "This is where you jump off if you feel like ending it.

[00:50:22]So if they feel bullied, they cut, they attempt to harm, they find spots to establish as as as suicidal attempt spots and they encourage each other to commit suicide.

[00:50:42]academic performance decreases and we find that students now have lower test scores, reduced engagement. They no longer want to participate in school activities. You would have heard earlier Mr. Macdonald highlighting how students or children may react when they are being bullied.

[00:51:08]School attendance reduced interest in attending school, frequently wants to stay home and just be.

[00:51:19]Then we find that learning becomes difficult.

[00:51:24]Memory loss has increased.

[00:51:30]Where there is bullying, the school climate is usually toxic, unhealthy, low teacher satisfaction, students lack interest in connecting affecting the overall morale.

[00:51:51]And then there's the matter of safety.

[00:51:54]Bullying incidents contribute to feelings of insecurity and reduced sense of safety among students.

[00:52:06]You will find a a an institution struggling to enroll students because you have a community saying that school is not a safe school.

[00:52:21]Pure bad children go over that school.

[00:52:24]That school is where all the rejects are.

[00:52:29]And a school is labeled because the incidence of bullying is high.

[00:52:43]Then we want to look at the emotional and the social instability drivers.

[00:52:50]What contributes to bullying behaviors in schools?

[00:52:55]The adverse childhood experiences, the trauma, the abuse, the neglect, the household dysfunction that affect emotional development and the behavior regulation.

[00:53:07]The peer pressure, children wanting to gain status or regain status of prominence, community stressors, violence communities, low socioeconomic status, and of course the pressure of digital influence, social media influence, online gaming, the need to create content.

[00:53:42]So you will find students create content that will go viral, but the content includes other children bullying other children.

[00:53:54]You will find that or you have students who dare to video a teacher and post it in their little space, their gossip school's gossip page. And in that page, they will talk about the the the the administrators, they'll talk about the board members, they'll talk about other students and staff in general.

[00:54:20]And then the school environment itself where there isn't a culture of positive reinforcement modeling of positive behaviors highlighting and recognizing excellence or effort where the school environment is not one where there is maximum opportunities for meaningful engagement, social engagement and connections. These are drivers drivers of bullying behaviors.

[00:54:56]One where it is highly competitive and persons don't have enough opportunity to to to shine in a space to be innovative to to show forth their expertise either in the classroom or in the staff room.

[00:55:15]and where you find that new ideas are not honed and supported within the space. So when we talk about what causes bullying in simple terms for one it has to do with the person the adverse childhood experiences untreated unresolved experiences yes unresolved trauma but then we then we shift from the person to look at the environment what is happening because as we would have agreed we exist in an environment we exist in a system a network that supports supports us our own personal development as students and as educators within the space.

[00:56:05]If we create stability in our school in our school environment, we will find a reduction in bullying behaviors, incidents of bullying. So, as a school, we want to encourage positive emotional regulation.

[00:56:27]We want to be able to teach students and adults alike within the school environment, how to identify their emotions, to identify the triggers, and to be able to to say assertively and not passively or aggressively.

[00:56:47]what is happening to them.

[00:56:51]Yes. What what experiences they're having and how they feel about them. We are saying if you teach as a school, if you take the approach to teach emotional positive um emotion, emotional regulation, then everyone within the environment will be able to identify their emotions and their triggers and to express assertively what is happening to them.

[00:57:17]They should be able to relate and build healthy relationships and they should be able to reason well. So if we talk about decision making, if we talk about um emotional regulation, we have a book, we have a manual that's called raising emotionally smart children.

[00:57:40]If we teach that to children and parents and staff at the school level, then we would have already laid the foundation for reducing bullying within schools.

[00:57:56]If we look at the environment and ensure that there are opportunities for social connection, so good, healthy, meaningful relationships within the school community, then we will find a reduction in bullying behaviors among all school personnel. So for example, a school where there are no clubs to to to connect, where there there is no field trips going on, there are there are no projects for teachers, parents and students to come together, work on a a a on a collective uh project. Then you find that there is a wide gap and there is no opportunity for all the stakeholders to to to convene in a social setting. Not one where they are called in to be ridiculed to be told that your child is not performing or your child is not behaving.

[00:58:58]A school must ensure that there is peer support. So we intend as a ministry for every school to train student leaders, peer counselors.

[00:59:12]Yes. To actually support each other to support to establish support systems and to support your your fellow students the the their own educational journey and achievement.

[00:59:28]We expect that where there's a need for group interventions and support groups that those groups are established. So we look for parent support groups within within the schools. We look for student support groups within the schools. We look for where there are incidents of bullying or trauma where there are support groups internally at the school's level so that we can encourage so healthy social connections within schools and of course at all times schools must ensure that there is safety and structure clear boundaries are set predictable routines are established and even the physical compound with proper fencing, CCTV cameras, um um metal detectors in place, personnel are in their their positions, blind spots are identified and there's personnel within those locations. Transitional periods are predictable and during those transitional periods, there are persons on duty manning the transitional periods. During recess, there are persons rostered to man those times where there is structure and safety measures in place. Then we are likely to see at least 85% reduction in bullying behaviors.

[01:01:03]And this was mentioned earlier, the ecology of bullying.

[01:01:08]Every one of us is located within a system.

[01:01:17]We talk about the systems theory. Social workers who are online.

[01:01:22]We all belong to a particular system. The home, the school, the community, the church, social club or social group.

[01:01:37]We all belong in a particular system and the fact that we interact within those systems then all areas that contribute to our own personal growth and develop must be treated with as a school.

[01:01:54]School practices must seek to engage all stakeholders within the system. Home engagement school and home engagement.

[01:02:05]So if PTAs we often say as institutions we say the the parental invol in involvement is low parents um do not attend PTAs. What do you do? You seek to identify what is causing parents to not attend PTAs. Is it the time? Is it the schedule of the activity?

[01:02:32]Is it scheduled within parenting work hours?

[01:02:36]Is it that PTAs are virtual or physical?

[01:02:42]Do you have PTAs online and most of your parents do not have internet connectivity or facilities? What do you do? Do you remain static or do you reorganize to ensure that parents can be engaged?

[01:03:00]When you have parental workshops, do you just seek to sensitize all the school or do you target individual parents for parent engagement?

[01:03:15]Likewise, the community, the school exists within a community.

[01:03:20]Is the community informed of the program offerings of your school? Do you do walkthroughs to talk about bullying and other related activities that impact teaching and learning and relationships within school? Do you facilitate community consultations? Do you visit the the the the churches within the schools? Do you participate in some of the activities at the community level? football matches, cricket matches, SDC health fairs and and educational forums. Do you attend them? Do you attend the funerals? So that as a as a critical stakeholder, as a critical part of the system, you are able to impact the school community directly.

[01:04:13]And we could say so much and more, but we want to continue anti-bullying framework must be schoolwide. So we say all of this to make one valid point.

[01:04:27]All of what we are doing must influence all of the persons within the school environment.

[01:04:35]It is not just the students or parents responsibility to reduce bullying behavior but rather it's a whole school approach that must be adopted.

[01:04:50]Student empowerment sessions must be facilitated at all times.

[01:04:57]Leadership and governance must always ensure leaders within the space, school boards within the space must ensure that an anti-bullying policy is developed is sensitized throughout the entire school, implemented by all persons, reinforced where the positive behaviors are demonstrated and track track incidents of bullying.

[01:05:27]So you don't hide away from the the the the the fact that bullying is happening within the school, but rather you take a direct approach to know when it is happening and to track the behaviors, the incidents when they do occur.

[01:05:52]staff capacity building. We train our staff members what to do. We take a whole school approach to train staff members, both academic and nonacademic staff.

[01:06:08]Talk to them. Talk to them about children development.

[01:06:12]Talk to them about the need for children to have healthy social connections.

[01:06:20]teach I order skills, self-awareness, self-monitoring, decision making, refusal skills and also to staff.

[01:06:37]encourage staff members to model positive behaviors within the school school community at school and outside of the school community.

[01:06:49]Because as a school, we must acknowledge that a teacher in the classroom is still a teacher at home, is still a teacher at in your communities, is still a teacher at church. Once an educator, once a member of of of a school environment, you're forever seen as this person as your capacity. So if you're the security guard, the school security guard, you will be addressed as seeky school security. What are going up a school? You'll find person. So everyone must be trained as you are you serve an integral part of reducing violent behaviors.

[01:07:31]How to greet customer service if you are displeased? How what what position do you take both verbally and non-verbbally?

[01:07:41]What what does your body say when interacting with the customers at school? And when interacting with the children, how do you speak? What terminologies do you use?

[01:07:54]What exclude excluding practices do you enable over a period of time? Training of staff is important.

[01:08:04]Early intervention.

[01:08:06]Early intervention.

[01:08:08]So we do not hide incidents but we confront them.

[01:08:13]We do not deny that they exist but we acknowledge, we identify where they exist. We treat with perpetrators and the victims positively because at the end of the day we're not seeking to exclude. We're seeking to include everyone in the classroom in a school environment. But we must be very much deliberate. Ensure that students have a voice. Ensure that parents have a voice. So parents must not be engaged in WhatsApp groups where parents can't talk, where parents are only sent messages and they can only acknowledge using an emoji.

[01:09:00]Parents should not be denied opportunities to interact with teacher but rather establish a boundary and you facilitate conversations between parents and school.

[01:09:18]Students must have an opportunity to express themselves.

[01:09:23]So in classes we take moments brief moments to hear what children have to say. When a child reports bullying, be deliberate.

[01:09:37]So if you're wondering what should I do in a school as the principal, as the dean, we speak about it. Persons might ask whose responsibility is that? Isn't that the principal's responsibility?

[01:09:51]Isn't that is not my respon? I'm just the teacher in the classroom. The chef might say, well, I'm just here only to cook and to serve lunches or breakfast.

[01:10:02]the secretary might just say I'm only here to prepare minutes and and organize schedules and go home.

[01:10:09]But what we are saying it's not quite so because behavior is learned and the children are observing and experiencing various behaviors. So as a principal and principles and deeds, if you're here now, you would want to ensure that there is an anti-bullying policy at your institution that has accountability systems in place. So as you have it here, it out the policy must outline everyone's responsibility as it relates to reducing bullying.

[01:10:44]There must be a system to track data. So if you don't have that, you must have that. You can take a picture of my screen. Monitor the incidents. Track which class. Track the periods in which incidents occur. Is it after school, before school, during lunch or during break? Yes, during transitional periods.

[01:11:04]Is it within this particular teacher class or is it within the canteen or around by the touch shop or around by the bathroom? You must be able to track the incidents.

[01:11:14]staff culture. As a leader, you model respectful behaviors. So, as a dean, as a principal, you really should be speaking over the mic using connecting soft connecting but yet firm um voices and terms. So, you should never walk into an institution and hear you boy over the PA system. Get over there. You should not hear [clears throat] that.

[01:11:41]But rather you should say Samuel Joe or John Doe, please continue towards or direct yourself towards your classroom.

[01:11:54]Or please meet me at the tuck shop.

[01:12:00]Or you could rather make note of John Doe and silently locate him or her to speak with her in a private setting. It does not have to be loud and boisterous.

[01:12:15]And we should always practice restorative discipline.

[01:12:20]Practice restorative justice.

[01:12:23]Utilize your healing circles where there is conflict.

[01:12:29]As a teacher, you must model respectful behaviors, right? You call children by their names, their birth names. Yes, a child comes to your desk or your table, you accept the child with of course the appropriate physical distancing. So, you might say, "Every child, you establish a routine for your class. Once you come to the teacher's desk or my desk, you stop here and allow for me to acknowledge you before you come further. So you establish routines in your classroom. A child is unckempt in your class and you know this the expressions must not be seen on your face but rather you make a mental note after class or after school.

[01:13:17]You might want to directly um have a conversation with the child or speak with the guidance counselor, the dean or the nurse or as a form teacher, you you have you also have the responsibility to connect with the parents at home, right? Avoid shaming. Use private settings, constructive feedback.

[01:13:42]Good boy. You speak up so well in class today. You did a good job at spelling cat.

[01:13:51]Tom, let us work this method on the board. You observe that Tom maybe shrugs or declined. You gracefully move on to another student as opposed to forcing Tom to the the the the the board.

[01:14:09]You use fist bumps, high fives, positive tone and language and affirmation. and you might have jingles in your classroom.

[01:14:18]Build connection guidance counselors.

[01:14:20]You ensure that you have your intervention plans. You know who those students are, who the bully is, who the the the bullied is, and who the bystander is. You must know where the groups exist. You must know.

[01:14:39]You must have your databases to to record who these students are and to directly visit their homes, talk with their guardians, identify what are the contributing factors. Remember we talk about the drivers, right? Where where and how and when a student was impacted adversely.

[01:15:06]What methods have you tried? And you profer solutions to support. You teach teach students and parents self skills.

[01:15:18]You allow them to discover self to be aware of who they are, their emotions and their triggers.

[01:15:25]You you encourage the teaching of health and family life education in school.

[01:15:31]You teach risky behaviors, how to regulate yourself, monitor yourself. You teach refusal skills.

[01:15:40]You facilitate those support groups. Not just for the bullies, but also for the victims and the parents of the victims of bullying, the parents of the perpetuators. Because at the end of the day, it's a whole school approach. and the nonacademic staff. What do you do?

[01:16:03]If you're the security guard at the school gate, you receive every person with respect. You address them by your their names if you know it. And if you don't know it, you introduce your name first and then you ask what's your name and what is your purpose here.

[01:16:19]You treat everyone with mutual respect.

[01:16:22]You support students. So, you might want to um offer assistance. you direct them to the the correct block where they should go. You should know the property to be able to say you walk this way to get to your class or this way to get to the the the restroom. Avoid this particular aard because currently there's a hole there or there's development or construction taking place over there. You report any incident of bullying because at times students trust the security guard, the cook, the janitor, the coaches. They may talk to you about issues that they are having, experiences that they've had. And you also report at times they will also share experiences with other adults within the space. What do you do? You must report to the administrator the incidents because you are there to safeguard. You model the behavior and you monitor those areas, blind spots, risky area, risk prone areas in the school environment.

[01:17:30]The McDonald would have addressed parenting component. So of course I will proceed and just to highlight that students require voice and peer leadership. We talked about the bystander extensively earlier. Ensure that they are peer ambassadors, positive behavior ambassadors, violence prevention ambassadors. Give students a voice. Give them a role.

[01:17:58]Ensure that there's an active student council body. Students have a voice to say you're about to suspend a student.

[01:18:06]The student council president must have a voice. must not be informed that the student will be suspended or has been suspended, but rather the peer the the peer leader, the student council president must play a part in saying whether or not this student deserves to be suspended or whether or not you achieve agreement with the 5 days or 10 days suspension.

[01:18:34]You should allow the student council rep to to be able to profer and advocate for fellow students. You give them a voice.

[01:18:42]Establish peer media mediation groups, peer mentorship programs where peers can help to support other peers within the space and ensure that you have an active anti-bullying campaign in school being led by students. Students driving the programs themselves. Of course, supported by all members of staff, all members within the academic or non-academic staff. There must be a line to report port report incidents of bullying whether it is suspected or it is confirmed.

[01:19:26]Anonymous reporting should be encouraged. So establish a system where anyone can report. There should be a little line, establish a line, a CUG that you can um dedicate to this particular reporting.

[01:19:44]Everyone should know this number just as how we know 1888 protect or 211 to report child abuse. Establish that in your school and ensure that there are safe spaces for recreation in your school. Just as how we we we we we decorate our homes or we landscape our own homes. Ensure that school is is freshly painted, appropriately fenced.

[01:20:17]There are fountains, peace gardens, therapeutic centers and gardens where they can go just to have healthy conversations and ensure that there are adults within these spaces that can facilitate the conversation while students have a voice within the space.

[01:20:36]And we talked about monitoring um earlier. You want to ensure that you have an active system that monitors and track and evaluates incidents of bullying.

[01:20:49]And in closing, we talk a lot about ensuring that there's stability to reduce bullying.

[01:21:00]I want to close by saying ensuring that there is a culture of stability. It's consistent just as how bullying is repetitive, is intentional.

[01:21:16]It seeks to create harm.

[01:21:20]You want a policy and an action plan that is intentional, that is repetitive.

[01:21:29]Yes. that is consistent, that seeks to reinforce positive school culture, that seeks to ensure that children can learn positive behaviors and reproduce.

[01:21:44]An action plan must clarify what your policy is. It must aim towards training staff and holding staff accountable for bullying behaviors, either preventing them or or contributing to bullying behaviors.

[01:21:59]A policy must that treats with all members of staff or all categories of school personnel.

[01:22:09]A policy that engages parents and the community. And a policy that gives students a voice as it relates to anti-bullying campaign and the anti-bullying policy prevention.

[01:22:24]And I want to close by saying leadership and governance goes hand in hand and leadership must commit to ensuring that the environment, the school environment is safe, emotionally safe for all personnel, that there are positive accountability practices, that we practice traumainformed behaviors. We seek to restore through our healing circles. We seek to include all members in our activities. We seek to reinforce the positive behaviors where where they are they are practiced and we seek to at all times to ensure that our schools are anti-bullying safe.

[01:23:15]If ever a time we need to take a responsibility and if ever a time we are serious about treating with bullying behavior then it really should be now. I trust and hope that this webinar serves the purpose for which it was facilitated and I trust and hope that you are leaving here empowered with the practical steps that really do work if it is intentional, repetitive and aims to ensuring that there's positivity within our school environment. Thank you.

[01:23:56]Okay, that was Mrs. Gordon Riley.

[01:24:01]I can must agree that all three presentations were just absolutely excellent and very informative.

[01:24:09]Um, I don't know if Dr. Shetty would want to chime in here with any questions, any thoughts.

[01:24:17]I want to thank all the presenters uh for the excellent job uh and um load of information, load of practical tips and um the participants are well informed, still interested. We have 768 uh participants past uh half 8. We're supposed to close by 8:00 and we should start the question answering at 7:30. But that shows enormous amount of interest in this topic and some are requesting for presentations uh and I put in the link for YouTube uh and YouTube should carry it for some more time. Uh you can rewatch it uh if you're interested. And um some are asking for copy of PDF copy of the presentations.

[01:25:14]And I want to ask Mrs. Rile and Mr. Macdonald.

[01:25:19]This question comes from a distressed parent. Uh let me read it for you.

[01:25:32]Okay. Uh it's anonymous attendee. My child is being bullied. When reported to the teacher, he is told to be friends with that bully. If he reacts, he's told better is expected of him. The bullies always deny. School pretty much does nothing despite uh the parent has reported uh he needs advice or she needs advice. Uh they called both parents to get this solved awaiting the call back.

[01:26:02]guidance means I would say guidance counselors did nothing when the parent asked her. So um Mr. McDonald or Mrs. Riley could answer this please.

[01:26:17]>> Okay, I I'll go um and then maybe Mrs. Riley could add to it. Mrs. Riley, >> go ahead, Mr. McDonald.

[01:26:26]>> Right. So, um, first I'm I'm sorry that your child is going through this.

[01:26:36]I'm sorry. I'm just shifting my location a little.

[01:26:46]Right. I'm so sorry that your child is going through this. Based on what you've described, the school's response um is inadequate. I would say not enough.

[01:26:59]Telling your child to be friends with with children who are report um based on the report is repeatedly bullying him does not address the harm.

[01:27:11]and then holding him to a higher standard saying um he in terms of his reaction is is absolutely not the way to go. Here is what I would advise you to do. So one um do not only reply to phone calls or or verbal reports anymore. I would say uh send an email or a written letter to the to the guidance counselor or the principal. I I forgot the name of the person you said you've been communicating with. So um when you have something in writing it is people cannot say oh that's not what was said or how the matter went. So I would recommend that you should um send a letter something in writing is is important so you can document the incident. Um also as when I was presenting I spoke about the importance of logging. So start a bullying log today. So as of starting to say okay what date is it? What time what place?

[01:28:28]because sometimes after the incident it's challenging to remember it was last Tuesday or Wednesday and it was during so it's important to log it when it's fresh in your mind. Um if if the name of a child was was shared log that as well um what happened who witnessed it who was um who it was reported to. So whether it was a guidance counselor that um it was reported to or a teacher and how your child was affected afterwards, important to log those. Um do not ask your child to just be friends with with somebody. Um that that's not solving it.

[01:29:12]Of course, you're asking your child to be respectful, but not to be forced into being a friend.

[01:29:20]Uh a better option would say be respectful but keep your distance, stay near safe friends and trusted adults and report every incident immediately.

[01:29:35]Um do not suffer in silence. Friendship cannot be used as a bullying intervention.

[01:29:42]So I would definitely discourage that.

[01:29:45]Um I would also say because I heard about calling the parents uh be careful with calling the other parents directly.

[01:29:53]Um it would be helpful to involve the school in the resolution rather than calling the parent. Um because sometimes those calls can end up in arguments and um who said what and it could escalate.

[01:30:11]So I would not encourage calling the parent. I would um encourage requesting a formal meeting with the school. So ask for a meeting with the school um to have the matter discussed. As I said to you before, you'd want to send a letter, put something in writing, whether an email or something, so that there is documentation in terms of saying this was a date that I had written to the school to indicate that my child uh was being bullied and since then I have not had a reasonable response and you can ask the school to to the school for for exact things what exactly will be done by whom and by when. So you can ask for some specifics so you can have those as your monitoring as indication as to whether the matter is being addressed or or not addressed. Uh so so a letter to the school may sound like um you're just formally requesting intervention regarding the repeated bullying involving your child.

[01:31:24]um this matter has already been reported. However, the situation has not been um is not resolved and your child continues to report incidents when so writing is is is very good if you're not at the early stage getting the kind of response. I hope that response was adequate. Dr. Shetty, >> oh thank you very much. Uh and um there's lot of enthusiasm, lot of appreciation in the chat section. Um we would probably would invite you back again to do a bullying part two. U Mr. Macdonald, um Mrs. Riley, and Mrs. Johnson. Um >> most definitely.

[01:32:14]>> Definitely. I second that. And um before 710 faithful uh participants who are still with us uh disappear I would like to announce next Wednesday we'll have another webinar same 6 to 8 and the topic is about cutting or self harm and it is don't cut to soo the hurt right so it is lot of are selfharming cutting themselves to relieve their emotional pl pain pain. So it will be an interesting webinar led by some very interesting presenters. So I would like you to look out for the flyer register and we welcome you back next Wednesday at 6 to 8 and following Wednesday that will be the 27th of May between 6th and 8 again we have another important topic which is exposure to screen where we have the tablet babysitting our children and we have Instagram being a influencer for suicide. So another very important topic between 6th and 8th the following Wednesday that is 27th. So next Wednesday is self harm and the following Wednesday is screen screen exposure 6 to 8. Uh please look out for the flyer and please participate. Thank you very much um moderator Dr. Radley.

[01:34:05]>> Yes. I think you you you summed up everything.

[01:34:09]Those were the remaining webinars for the month and we again like to thank the presenters who did an excellent job. I don't know if there anybody with any more questions.

[01:34:20]I saw one question I could in the chat that that was addressing whether there were any specific guidelines for bystanders. That's probably directed at Mrs. Johnson.

[01:34:35]Not sure if we have any more time for that.

[01:34:41]No.

[01:34:43]>> Hi. Sorry, Dr. Rodney. Can you repeat the question, please?

[01:34:47]>> Right. One one of the questions in the chat. Are there any specific guidelines for bystanders?

[01:34:53]actually at the office of the children's advocates, we're currently developing guidance for bystanders. So, watch this space.

[01:35:04]>> Okay, that's great. And then one more question.

[01:35:08]>> What the role of of in schools?

[01:35:14]>> Uh, I'm very glad to hear Mrs. Johnson's voice again. uh some parent like the one we discussed uh who was very disgruntled about school response. What are the legal options they might have when nothing seems to work?

[01:35:33]>> Okay. Well, I actually responded to the mother privately given that bullying is a violation of the child's rights. The mandate of the office of the children's advocate is to protect children's rights and serve their best interest. So one recommendation that I would make to the mom is please get in contact with the office of the children's advocate. I'm happy to provide the contact details or the office um and you'd be assisted further by an investigations officer. Um [snorts] given that as well you haven't really gotten much support from the school it may or may not I'm not a lawyer may or may not be considered as inaction by a relevant authority.

[01:36:23]So my first protocol would be please definitely contact the office so that an investigations officer can get in contact with you.

[01:36:35]>> And also with uh in my private discussion with you, we are discussing a child who was bullied, cyber bullied. uh her head was cut off from her picture and um pinned on a naked body which was circulated. Uh and you're mentioning about the um laws that act would violate right. Yes, Dr. Shetty. So um I know a lot of young people are a little bit unaware but that is in fact indecent exposure. So it would most certainly be in violation of the child pornography act. But I would definitely say in such unique cases reach out to the office of the children's advocate um because we do deal with things on a casebycase basis and our legal officers and investigations officers will be more than happy to provide some support.

[01:37:39]>> Thank you very much Anna.

[01:37:47]You're most welcome, Dr. Shetty. And just again, parents, educators, everyone here, thank you so much for your attendance, but also if your children need additional psychosocial support. We do operate a 24-hour 7-day a week counseling helpline, call Safe Spot. I'm happy to drop the WhatsApp number in the chat. They can message us at any time. We're even open on Christmas. So, if you have a young person around you who needs a little bit of support, tell them to reach out. We have a team of trained psychologists, counselors, social workers at our disposal who are happy to assist you whenever.

[01:38:34]>> All right. Thank you again, Mrs. Johnson. I think this has an excellent place to stop for tonight. I know we could talk forever on these points. We can we will resume our webinar series next week, Wednesday, same time. Okay.

[01:38:51]All right.

[01:38:52]>> Thank you very much for moderating it.

[01:38:55]So, >> thank you for logging on.

[01:38:58]>> God bless you and good night.

[01:39:01]>> Good night. Good night.

[01:39:03]>> Good night everyone. Thank you.

[01:39:06]Good night, Steven. I appreciate it.

[01:39:12]>> Good night everyone. Thank you very much.

[01:39:15]>> Good night everyone. Thank you.

[01:39:17]>> Good night, Mr. Stley.

[01:39:20]>> Good night, Doc.