Page 1226 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 3 April 2019
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year 9 Australian students reported being bullied every few weeks or more often in a national study in 2009.1 A 2018 PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by the Alannah & Madeline Foundation’s National Centre Against Bullying found that almost 25 per cent of school students in Australia experience bullying at some stage during their time in school.
Schools are not isolated from wider social issues and their effects, like bullying or violence seen in the community. For example, two in five Australians (39 per cent or 7.2 million people) aged 18 years and over experienced an incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 15. 2 Addressing violence anywhere in society requires community-wide engagement and cultural change over time.
In schools, the government is focused on acting on this issue informed by expert guidance and advice and evidence-based best practice. The nature of the problem is relatively clear and there are well-established responses. While continued rigorous implementation of existing evidence-based approaches across government schools is required, the government is making necessary investments, diligently working to prevent violence in schools affecting both students and staff, and responding when incidents of violence arise.
The Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development has also recently sought an independent, expert appraisal of the issue through a constructive forum comprised of key perspectives, including that of parents and carers.
The government will also refer the issue of violence in schools to the relevant Legislative Assembly standing committee for inquiry and report.
Existing advice and evidence-base
The Education Directorate’s current approach to providing safe, supportive and inclusive schools is based on contemporary advice and evidence about the system’s strengths and areas for further work. Four extensive pieces of work since 2015 have informed the Directorate’s approach.
These include:
• Schools for All Children and Young People: Report of the Expert Panel on Students with Complex Needs and Challenging Behaviour and the Schools for All Program
• the 2016 Independent Assessment - Occupational Violence conducted by David Capel and Associates (Caple Review)
• the Occupational Violence Management Policy and Management Plan developed during 2016, and related work such as an enforceable undertaking agreed with the Work Safety Commissioner
• the government’s Future of Education Strategy.
As a result of these reviews, the Directorate has implemented improved approaches to safety in schools that directly respond to recommendations and findings.
The Schools for All Children and Young People: Report of the Expert Panel on Students with Complex Needs and Challenging Behaviour was commissioned in 2015 and was authored by an expert panel comprised of Professor Anthony
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