For the last 18 months Emily has been experiencing moderate bullying at school. A number of strategies have been put in place to improve the situation, with limited impact. Recently there have been a series of highly negative anonymous social media posts targeting the ring leader of the bullying and you suspect that Emily is the author.

Key Elements

• What are the important differences between types of bullying? Physical; verbal; social/exclusion; and cyberbullying. Are some types more harmful and long lasting?
• How prevalent is bullying? What are the characteristics of schools where bullying is less prevalent?
• Are there any gender issues?
• Should a school get involved in cyberbullying or bullying outside of the school?
• Do you confront a child who you suspect is bullying and if so, how do you approach the conversation to maximise the chances of a positive interaction? Are the parents involved?
• What are the long term impacts of being bullied?
• How can you support both the victim to move forward? How about the perpetrator? How common is it for the victim to become the bully?
• How do you address the peer pressure elements of bullying?
• What support is available?

Kids Helpline

Kyle has just returned to school following the tragic loss of his mother. He’s a lot quieter than before and says that he doesn’t want to talk about the situation.

Key Elements

• What does the ideal support structure look like in this situation? How close does this match reality?
• How resilient are children? Do all children want or need to talk through issues?
• Do children tend to follow stages of grief? (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) Does a child’s age tend to influence this?
• What are some destructive ways that grief may manifest itself? What do we need to look out for and how can we help?
• How can you support children dealing with a break-up of their parents? How about the loss of a much loved pet?
• How can you support children who are dealing with an ongoing traumatic home life?
• What if a school faces the loss of a student or teacher? How can they support the entire student body through that grief?

Alexi has always been such a beautifully mannered, positive girl, however upon returning from summer holidays there are some significant changes in her look and general demeanour. Teenagehood has well and truly set in. You are not surprised that on only day two Alexi has a major outburst directed at a teacher.

Key Elements

• What physiological aspects are occurring through teenagehood?
• What are the common differences for boys and girls through teenagehood? What about for children who are struggling with issues of gender identity?
• What are the biggest challenges for students as they move through teenagehood?
• How can schools best support students through this time? What about parents?
• How important are boundaries and how do you handle them being broken?
• What do you do if the student intentionally wants to get in trouble?
• How do you best preserve relationships when they are heavily strained?

Sandra used to be the most passionate of teachers, loving nothing more than helping her students succeed. Now she’s just exhausted.

Key Elements

• How do you recognise if you’re “stuck in a rut”? How can you recapture your spark?
• How do you support colleagues whose passion may have waned?
• What can you do if the predominate staff culture is negative? How can you positively influence the group?
• What are some great success stories of happy, dynamic, inspirational teaching groups?

Daniel is quiet and he is no bother in class. Daniel is not bullied, but he is friendless. He is lonely. How can you help?

Key Elements

• How common is it for our students to be friendless? Is it becoming more prevalent?
• How important is it for children to have a sense of belonging? What are the ways that schools can build a sense of belonging?
• What strategies can we put in place to assist children who are seemingly “invisible” to their peers?

You’ve spoken to Indra’s parents about the lack of progress of their child and they’ve replied that it’s all your fault.

Key Elements

• How do you minimise the chances of this conversation deteriorating rapidly? What techniques can be used to de-escalate a heated situation? What sorts of things might inflame?
• When is it best to involve a senior teacher / executive in the situation? Is that a sign of weakness and should teachers be embarrassed by that?
• What additional factors may be contributing to the parents’ anxieties? Are parents’ expectations of teachers realistic?
• What if parents start banding together?
• What are the best tips for positive relationships between parents and teachers?
• Is this a similar approach that you would take if a student tells you that they don’t like the way you are teaching or treats you poorly?

Zac requires a highly individualised management program and for the most part it's going pretty well. Recently, a few of the other students who got in trouble for being disruptive, have been saying it’s not fair and that Zac wouldn’t get into trouble if he did the same thing.

Key Elements

• Types of Special Needs:
• Physical – such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, chronic asthma, epilepsy
• Developmental – such as Down syndrome, autism, dyslexia, processing disorders
• Behavioural/Emotional – such as ADHD, bi-polar, oppositional defiance disorder
• Sensory Impaired – such as blind, visually impaired, deaf, limited hearing.
• Examples of management strategies that may be helpful for various types of special needs.
• Examples of management strategies that are likely to be counterproductive to various types of special needs.
• Best tips for creating an inclusive community that looks after those needing greater support.
• Are some children hypersensitive to notions of “fairness”? How do you help children appreciate that treating people “fairly” does not always mean “equally”?
• How do you ensure that other children, especially the quieter ones, also receive your attention?

Two of Maisy’s friends have come to you and expressed concern that Maisy has taken to cutting herself.

Key Elements

• Self-harm is any behaviour that involves the deliberate causing of pain or injury to oneself without wanting to die. Examples include cutting, burning or hitting oneself; binge-eating or starvation; or repeatedly putting oneself in dangerous situations.
• Why do people self-harm? Is self-harm a predictor of suicide or accidental death?
• How can you help someone who is self-harming? How can a child’s friends help?
• What strategies may be counterproductive?
• What support is available?

https://www.lifeline.org.au/media/objjwbl5/draft_ll-2pp-fact-sheet_self-harm.pdf

Riley does not seem to care about any possible consequences his school could invoke. He is not bothered by low grades or the possibility of suspension or expulsion. Riley has occasionally, loosely used the expression, “Maybe I’ll just kill myself”. Riley’s parents are supportive, but do not know what to do.

Key Elements

• How common is it for children to not really care about consequences?
• What consequences tend to be more effective than others?
• Can consistency and fairness intersect with compassion and a desire to achieve positive outcomes?
• What impact can a child such as Riley have on the rest of the class?
• How do you respond to “Maybe I’ll just kill myself”? How do you determine if it is serious or not? What support is available?
• How does the school work with the parents?
• Is there ever a case where a fresh start at a new school would be the best course of action?

Ashley has always been an ultra high achiever. Anything other than full marks is a concern for Ashley and her family. Recently you have been challenging Ashley with appropriately more difficult learning experiences and she is not responding well to it.

Key Elements

• What is perfectionism and how does it differ from striving to be your best? What can be the negative impacts of perfectionism?
• What are the differences between self-critical perfectionism and socially-prescribed perfectionism?
• What are the causes of perfectionism?
• What are the domains of perfectionism?
• How do you best assist children with perfectionist tendencies? How important are opportunities to fail in a supportive environment?