Prevention of bullying or school harassment

Prevention as a Center Project (Systemic Approach)

Bullying prevention fails when it is treated as an isolated workshop or a one-day talk.

Effective prevention must be a comprehensive and systemic project that involves the entire educational community (teachers, students, families and non-teaching staff) and is integrated into the DNA of the center.

This is known as the "whole-school approach".

This implies, first, a clear diagnosis: the school must know (through anonymous surveys) what is the real incidence of bullying in its classrooms.

Second, there must be a coexistence committee and a clear protocol, known by all.

Third, prevention should be in the curriculum: tutorials and regular activities on empathy, social skills, assertiveness and emotional management should be carried out from the first grades.

Finally, adult supervision in unstructured spaces (playgrounds, hallways, bathrooms) should be active and constant.

Training and Empowerment of Observers

The backbone of the most successful prevention programs (such as the KiVa Method) is the work with observers.

Since bullying is a group phenomenon, the most effective way to stop it is to change the dynamics of the group.

The goal is to move from a passive majority (who acquiesce with their silence) to an active majority of advocates. This is achieved through specific training.

Students are taught to recognize subtle forms of bullying, made aware of the power of their silence, and equipped with safe intervention strategies: how to support the victim in private, how not to reinforce the bully (by not laughing), and how to report to an adult effectively and confidentially.

Programs such as "helper students" or "cyber-valiant" give a role of responsibility to the students themselves, making them the protagonists of prevention.

Family Involvement and School-Home Coherence

Prevention cannot remain at the school's door. The school must have an active policy of communication and involvement of families. This goes beyond the meeting at the beginning of the school year.

Training workshops should be held for parents to explain what bullying is, how to detect it (whether the child is a victim or an aggressor) and what the school's protocol is.

When the school and the family work in coordination, the message the child receives is coherent and powerful.

If tolerance and peaceful conflict resolution are taught at school, but aggression or prejudice is modeled at home, the preventive program loses effectiveness.

Parent schools" and fluid communication about the rules of coexistence are essential to create a common front against bullying.

Summary

Effective bullying prevention must be an integral project of the whole center, not an isolated lecture. It involves diagnosis, clear protocols and active adult supervision of hot spots.

The focus of prevention must be on the observers. Students must be trained to move from passivity to being advocates, giving them safe strategies to support the victim.

Finally, prevention requires a full partnership between the school and families. Parents must be trained in detection and the message of tolerance and respect must be consistent in both environments.