Would you sign this?

[Stvalentinescansuckit]

So I've been asked to sign a petition on Facebook to introduce a 3 strike rule to bullying, so 1. Warning 2. Parent meeting and 3. Exclusion

Bullying is shit I've experienced it myself and I dread to think if my lo's were to ever experience it when they grow up but I'm not sure I agree with this.

Personally I don't think the same punishment should apply to all levels of bullying surely it should be more support for the children.

I'm not sure how far this would even go it's only just been started up but I'm Interested in other people's opinions on this petition?

Bullying is not as clear cut and simple as this. The headteacher also has to make a decision about exclusions and this is done by looking at the evidence, history, child's SEN, etc. It is not done by a straw poll of parents on Facebook.

Is it for your child's school specifically? I think it's too simplistic tbh. Just don't sign it.

Not a school anywhere near me, I know the person who set it up moved her dd to another school due to bullying so can only assume they have encountered the same problem but I don't know the extent of the bullying

That's the problem. One person's view of "bullying" is another person's "banter" and another person's "misunderstanding" and another person's "argument".

A staged approach is necessary normally, but no school is going to be put in a position whereby a Facebook vote decides their policy.

I doubt it will go anywhere but I have a feeling I'm going to get a lot of messages asking me to sign

no I wouldn't - 'bullying' is not so straight forward

My daughter was excluded in yr 6 for upsetting another girl and hitting her

This girl was the bully - my daughter was just one of the kids she could get a reaction out of - then the 'victim' would cry and cry and play innocent

The teacher eventually caught her out but my child spent half the year with the bully label

If you search hard enough there is an online petition for (and against) almost every conceivable thing, from the sublime to the ridiculous...

Bullying is not straight forward, as everyone says. Sometimes the bully will accuse the victim of being the bully, sometimes there is neither a bully nor a victim but simply kids who don't get on, sometimes there is clear cut bullying, sometimes it is hard to see what is going on immediately and it takes a while to get to the bottom of, but if a child had to be excluded just because another child accused them of bullying 3 times that would be wide open to be used as a bullying tactic in itself!

I don't think this could be implemented legally but I definitely think their should be stronger punishments for bullying, alongside the approach of support for the child to improve their behaviour. Bullying ruins lives and in some cases takes them, it needs to be taken more seriously by schools. It's wrong that some children have their futures stolen because the bad behaviour of others goes unchecked.

Completely agree with you Schwabis

Thanks all I wasn't going to sign it definitely not now and if asked I will explain why but it's great to see other people's opinions

No I wouldn't sign it because of the reasons already mentioned.

Every school should already have an anti-bullying policy. So could the problem be that the school isn't sticking to the policy they already have? And therefore just changing the policy isn't the answer.

No, I wouldn't sign anything on facebook. It's almost completely pointless.

I certainly wouldn't sign it.

My dd was bullied by another child at school who, as it turned out, had a number of personal issues. The school handled it very well and actually turned things round for the bully. Some years later, DD is good friends with the child in question. It would have been utterly disastrous for her to be the target of knee-jerk exclusion like this.

*there

Far, far too simplistic.

Plus knee-jerk exclusions will just bounce the problem around schools without giving anyone the time to sort it.

imagine if everything was decide by facebook polls!!

I wish down thing like that was in place in dds case. Her bully only stopped when the police were involved in year 6 after she was hospitalised. They still go to the same secondary school and as a last ditch attempt at not excluded him he is now taught in seclusion. He has just moved on to assault on other people.

However, it now always that easy or clear cut. It took a few years to get to the point where I wanted him removed.

I do think that schools emphasis is on the bully and trying to support them so they don't bully anymore and the victim comes second. I am talking general terms, not every school will be the same. But this isn't the answer.

No child would be excluded after one warning and one meeting.

Waste of time.