How do we deal with playground bullying?
Q: Can you offer any tips for dealing with the issue of bullying at lunchtimes within a large 11- 16 secondary school. We have tried on numerous occasions to recruit lunchtime supervisors but the quality of applicants tends to be very poor. Most LSAs,I have found, do not have the skills to tackle the basic issues - it doesn't appear to be a question of training. Can you offer any suggestions?
Jenny: It's really good that you are looking seriously at the issue of lunchtimes. For years now the majority of primary schools have worked hard on their lunchtime policies. In my book Quality Circle Time in the Secondary School I put in a section on ideas to create more positive lunchtimes. (QCT in the Secondary School Mosley J and David Fulton Press pg36 - 38) You are absolutely right - being a midday supervisor is such a difficult job and it disjoints peoples’ days so much that we often only get a few people who want the job. Some schools though do make a policy of employing play leaders at lunchtimes. If you can use LSA’s to combine with an MDSA job they will be far more effective. Nevertheless we have given as a consultancy, training to many secondary lunchtime supervisors. It is of no use if the senior management is not prepared to work on a whole school lunchtime policy. It is vital that a member of staff is elected as ‘lunch time co-ordinator’ and liaises between the staff and the team of lunchtime supervisors. It is vital that the PSHE and Citizenship curriculum include the topic of lunchtimes and involves, through Circle Time the pupils views and ideas. Schools Councils particularly need to work on this issue with the lunchtime co-ordinator and a representative midday supervisor. Time must be taken by SMT to explore exactly what is going on in the school and for an anti-bullying policy to be drawn up. You must review rules, rewards and sanctions to ensure they are displayed and utilised both inside and outside the building – with all staff having access to them. We also need to work proactively to raise the status and power of lunchtime supervisors, treating them as equal members of staff. You need to consider if there are enough activities to occupy pupils constructively eg: are there zoned areas for different activities, are there lunchtime clubs, are there lunchtime responsibilities eg dinning room duties, reception duties, assistants in the practical rooms eg, design and technology (home economics), art, science rooms etc. Some schools set up a community task force to keep the pupils who are always in trouble at lunchtime so busy that they have no time to create more trouble. So, this is a long sustained commitment to a whole school journey.
If lunchtimes are troubled unhappy times where some staff and some pupils are abused then the school cannot truly say that Personal and Social Education or Citizenship are truly working. What happens in the corridors and the outside grounds reflects whether your values are truly working. So, good luck it’s a long journey but a very worthwhile one.
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