Qld students’ shock admissions as violence prevention program launched

Thousands of Queensland students have pledged to tackle bullying in the classroom as the extent of violence faced by children at school is revealed.

Thousands of Queensland schoolchildren have made heartbreaking pledges to not “kick” and to “be kind” to each other, after a shocking new survey revealed the extent of violence in the classroom.

The survey of more than 500 students, conducted by children’s charity Life Ed Queensland,

found more than half had been physically hurt by another student, while about one in five said they were being physically hurt regularly – at least two or three times a month.

Queensland school students make pledges as part of violence prevention program. Photo: supplied

The bad behaviour is also following kids out of the classroom with almost 30 per cent of kids reporting that they had been bullied online, with one in eight children saying it’s happening regularly.

The results comes amid the News Corp Australia Let Them Be Kids campaign, which is calling for children under 16 to be restricted from having social media accounts.

Life ED Queensland has been encouraging schoolchildren to stand up to bulling and as part of that have asked kids to hand write heartfelt messages about kindness, respect and inclusion on hundreds of colourful human cutouts being displayed in classrooms across the state.

The pledges range from “to be nice to people and let them play” and to “help my friends during tough times”, while others say they “ pledge to not kick people” and “pledge to not hit people”.

The survey found boys are twice as likely to be perpetrators, with one-third of boys admitting to physically hurting another student this year, compared to just 16 per cent of girls.

Queensland school students make pledges as part of violence prevention program. Photo: supplied

Ella Marshall from Miami State School said she would love to see an end to bullying.

“I’d love to see less bullying, because bullying really does have a strong impact on others, people lose family members to bullying and that's not right,” she said.

Life Ed Queensland chief executive Michael Fawsitt said every message was a call for positive change.

“In the past few weeks, our Life Ed head office has been inundated with pledges from

children all over Queensland,” he said.

“To see the next generation collectively standing up for respect, kindness, inclusivity and bullying prevention to make their school and communities safer and more respectful, has been truly inspirational.”

Charlotte Ford, Francesca Novak, Kisty Glen, Ella Marshall and Sam Loncar writing pledges as part of Life Ed Queensland's new campaign to help tackle bullying. Photo: Supplied.

Mr Fawsitt said there is a link between bullying and violence in children and the

potential for that to escalate as young people grow up, which is why prevention at an

early age is critical.

Mr Fawsitt said evidence shows that school-based intervention programs which focus on social and emotional learning reduce school bullying perpetration and victimisation.

“The Stand Up for Respect program supports students in those crucial upper primary years when bullying rates often rise,” he said.

Miami state school student Sam Loncar Charlotte Ford said she hoped bullying would be stamped out in schools and that all kids would be made to feel part of their school community.

“To make everyone feel respected and included, there is no need to be rude to people,” she said.