To better support children and young people with disability at school and online, bullying solutions need to focus on policies, models, and practices.
In our submission to the federal Department of Education’s Anti-Bullying Rapid Review consultation, we review the most commonly used model for behaviour management in schools across Australia.
We explain how this approach often targets individuals rather than looking at the bigger picture and can make things worse by reinforcing ‘othering’, disempowering students, and putting pressure on already stretched resources.
Instead, we recommend a more holistic and critical approach. It should include:
- Using best practice approaches based on relational neuroscience
- Improving data and reporting systems to get a clearer picture of bullying, segregation, and exclusion, especially for students with disability
- Developing a National Standard with guiding principles that centre inclusion, co-design and human rights.
These changes are critical for addressing the unacceptably high numbers of children and young people with disability who experience exclusion and bullying by peers and staff.
You can download the PDF and Word versions of our full submission using the buttons above.