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Bully Stoppers: principals

Guidance for principals including legal duty of care, school policies and reporting systems.

Principals must take reasonable steps to reduce risks to students.

School leaders and leadership teams play a vital role in shaping the culture of a school and ensuring that effective policies, procedures and strategies are in place to respond to and prevent all forms of bullying.

Schools that adopt a whole-school approach to bullying prevention, including engaging all members of their community and responding to concerns appropriately, are more likely to succeed in creating safe, respectful and inclusive school environments.

Information and advice

What is bullying

How to define bullying, the four types of bullying behaviour and the impacts of bullying.

The role of schools

How schools can create safe and respectful environments, and how to respond to bullying.

Legal duty of care

Requires principals and teachers to take all reasonable steps to reduce risk, create a safe environment and implement strategies to prevent bullying.

School policies

Bullying prevention and response policies.

Whole school strategies

Schools with an integrated strategy to prevent and respond to bullying have more successful outcomes.

Reporting systems

How to establish reporting systems and procedures.

Vulnerable students

How to take into consideration the demographic of your student community and identify any particular vulnerable groups of students and families.

Schools and cybersafety

School-based cybersafety education and conversations are two major factors that influence young people's online safety strategies.

Get involved

National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence

Join the nationwide movement to take a stand against bullying on the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA) on Friday 18 March 2022.

Take a stand

Resources

Survey tool

A practical resource to assist schools to work with their community to better respond to and prevent bullying.

Bully Stoppers pledge

Make a stand for your school community - take the school Bully Stoppers pledge!

Advice sheets: Bullying, cyberbullying and cybersafety

Practical advice sheets aim to help school communities deal with bullying online and offline.

Help and support

Teachers: Bully Stoppers

Students: Bully Stoppers

Parents: Bully Stoppers

Reviewed 11 July 2022

Education

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