With the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence falling this Friday, the Cessnock Community of Great Public Schools are working together to raise bullying awareness within their schools and the wider community.
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In the lead-up to the event, Cessnock and Mount View High School and their 13 feeder primary schools will be using a range of individual strategies to inform, teach and re-enforce the day's message: "Bullying, No Way! Take action together" - from formal student-led assemblies and classroom activities, to visual strategies such as wearing odd socks to show it's OK to be different.
Students from across the 15 schools have also contributed their voices to jointly produce a video which will shown at each school on the day.
Cessnock Community of Great Public Schools spokesperson Scott Anderson said although the National Day of Action is a great time to raise awareness, schools understand that bullying isn't something that can be prevented through one day of action.
"Research shows that using a combination of strategies through whole-school approaches over a long duration is the key to making ground in this area," Mr Anderson said.
"A focus on building positive learning environments based on caring and respectful relationships is a key focus across our schools, with initiatives such as Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL), and a range of social-emotional learning programs giving kids the skills to deal with issues affecting either themselves or their peers."
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Along with schools, parents play a key role in preventing bullying.
According to the Bullying, No Way! website for Australian schools, there are many things parents can do to support their children through negative social situations, including having open and honest conversations with children, supporting them to develop their social and emotional skills from a young age, working in partnership with schools to solve any issues, and modelling positive and respectful social interactions during conversations and use of social media.
"When schools, students and parents work together to address any bullying related issues they are often solved much more quickly, allowing students to get back to what school is all about - learning and having fun," Mr Anderson said.
Visit your school's website to view its annual anti-bullying action plan.
