A toolkit for schools for preventing and addressing bullying
Well-being is continuously monitored at schools and educational institutions via school health care surveys and well-being profiles. Every school and educational institution utilises these two methods to monitor the everyday lives and coping of pupils and students. The collected information is used to prevent bullying and intervene in it.
Every daycare centre, school and educational institution has access to a toolkit for identifying social situations and emotions, and learning new skills. It is easier to get involved when you have tools to work with.
The communities, groups and classes of every daycare centre, school and educational institution should work together to prepare sets of rules that help prevent bullying and intervene in it firmly when problems have occured.
Everyone at daycare centres, school and educational institutions does their part to ensure that new arrivals are not left out. Group building is continued until new arrivals have adapted to their new environment. This does not happen instantly, so efforts must be persistent and long-term. Group building should be an integral part of everyday life to ensure that no one is left out.
At the start of the school year, seventh-graders and new upper secondary school students participate in small group discussions held by pupil or student welfare services personnel about mental health and factors that endanger it, such as bullying.
An online feedback channel to report bullying will be created.. Bullying can also be hidden and occur on social media, for example. Not a single bullying incident should stay hidden.
It is important to document all reported incidents of bullying. There is a memo template on Wilma for documenting reports and investigations of bullying.
Schools select persons who are responsible for intervening in bullying and promoting bullying prevention and follow-up measures. The operating model will be piloted at select schools.
The use of restorative methods, which means methods that mend social relationships will be implemented at schools and educational institutions systematically. Basic education pupil welfare services staff, upper secondary level welfare officers and some school psychologists have already been trained in the use of the method. New employees are provided with the same training as necessary.
Sometimes more extensive support is needed. In such cases, the pupil or student who has experienced bullying is designated a safe adult who will help and support the pupil or student moving forward. In basic education, each school records the designated adult in their operating plan.
Putting a stop to prolonged bullying requires all available help. Sometimes an external party can provide the missing piece needed to resolve the situation. A fresh perspective can help review the overall situation in cases that have grown complex and strained. This approach, called K-0, will be expanded to all schools in Helsinki.
The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare has organised a harmonised training course for teachers who steer pupil mentor activities on how pupil mentors can better contribute to the handling of bullying incidents. The training will also be organised for student tutors. Helsinki will continue to work with the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare to support pupil mentors and student tutors in anti-bullying efforts.
The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare and Aseman Lapset ry are piloting a peer support group in basic education for pupils who have experienced a lot of bullying and for the guardians of these pupils. In upper secondary schools, student welfare services organise school-specific peer support groups as necessary.