Cyber-bullying

In a recent article by Douglas Blane in the Times Educational Supplement Scotland (Friday March 30th 2007), Helen Glen, headteacher at Springhill Primary in East Renfrewshire, described how she had identified a problem with a P6 class as being caused by cyber-bullying. Pupils were using mobile phones and computer chatrooms to bully other children in the class. What could be done to deal with this dreadful situation? “We went back to something I had used many years ago which was developed at Jordanhill College, by Steve Bell and Fred Rendell.” she says. “We got the parents in to work with the children on creating a community, with houses, shops, and people with all their individual histories. The initial aim was to get the class to work together on a creative project, with lots of chat and constructive engagement. But there was more to it than that. The people who lived in the street all had names and personalities. The kids called it Cherry-blossom Lane. They built a frieze and put it on the wall. Once they had done that and were really involved with the people in the street, I sent them for a bite to eat in another part of the school. While they were away I ‘vandalised’ Cherry-blossom Lane. When they came back and saw what had happened there was a stunned silence…… We got them to talk and write about those feelings of hurt and how we can prevent it from happening.” The next session will focus on cyber-bullying.