Opposition pledges $15.3m for school bullying crackdown

SERIAL school bullies would be forced to front formal disciplinary hearings with the parents of their victims under a new “zero tolerance” approach promised by the state Opposition.

SERIAL school bullies would be forced to front formal disciplinary hearings with the parents of their victims under a new “zero tolerance” approach promised by the state Opposition.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy will on Wednesday launch a four-point plan to tackle bullying and replace the controversial Safe Schools program, if the Coalition is elected in November.

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The $15.3 million scheme would include:

A ROLLOUT of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation’s anti-bullying program in all public schools, with independent schools able to opt in;

A THREE-strike system of disciplinary hearings where serial bullies face their school principal, parents and the parents of their victims;

A BAN on the state Education Department overturning principals’ decision to expel serious bullies, and;

A REWARD system for students who are nominated by their schools for standing up to bullies as “up-standers and not bystanders”.

Opposition education spokesman Tim Smith and Opposition Leader Matthew Guy will announce the policy. Picture: AAP

Mr Guy said Victoria could not afford to keep school bullying in the “too hard basket”.

“Everyone deserves to be treated with equal respect regardless of age, gender, sexuality, religion, ethnicity or appearance and I think that’s a really important value to teach kids,” he said.

“If kids learn from an early age about respect and equality, they will carry these values throughout their life.”

Alannah & Madeline Foundation chief executive Lesley Podesta said every child should feel safe at school.

“We want to continue to grow the support that eSmart offers Victorian schools to reduce bullying and cyber bullying,” she said.

A PwC analysis, commissioned by the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, found that almost a quarter of Victorian students were bullied at some point during their school life.

The foundation’s eSmart anti-bullying program is available to Victorian public schools but is not mandatory.

Alannah & Madeline Foundation CEO Lesley Podesta has backed the rollout of the eSmart program. Picture: Mark Stewart

If the Coalition is elected, the program will become compulsory and the foundation will run 18 professional development sessions to help school leaders identify and stamp out bullying.

A new School Safety Unit will manage the rollout, and keep a register tracking the disciplinary hearings serial bullies face.

Each year, six pupils identified as “up-standers” by their schools will be honoured for their bravery in an anti-bullying ceremony.

The Opposition’s anti-bullying policy follows its long-running campaign to scrap the government’s anti-bullying program, Safe Schools.

Opposition Education spokesman Tim Smith said unlike Safe Schools, his party’s program would train teachers, parents and students to tackle bullying with hands-on strategies.

“More importantly, we will back school principals when they decide to expel trouble makers to deter further bullying behaviour,” he said.

“We back principals who have a zero tolerance approach.”

Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said school bullies become workplace bullies. Picture: AAP

The Herald Sun revealed earlier this year that the Education Department had overturned expulsions in two serious cases.

One case related to a schoolgirl involved in a plot to kill a classmate by spiking her drink bottle with stolen chemicals.

The other involved a 14-year-old girl who held a knife to another pupil’s throat.

Psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg said involving parents whose children had been bullied in disciplinary hearings was important.

“At the moment they (parents) are feeling disenfranchised,” he said.

“Also rewarding students who are standing up, acting and saying something is sensational.”

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