The second step in addressing bullying involves consulting your child’s teacher/s.

To successfully combat bullying behaviour teachers need to be involved. If your child is in primary school you should meet with his/her teacher, however if your child is in high school it is better to meet with the Home Room Teacher. When you meet with the teacher it is important to keep a calm, problem-solving approach. Blaming others or demanding that the bullying needs to stop is not the first impression you want to make.

Before you meet, take some time to write down the main point you need to tell the teacher. Do not be surprised if the information you provide the teacher is the first they have heard of the issue. Remember if you did not know that your child was being bullied, then it is a likelihood that the teacher doesn’t either. After giving an overview of the bullying behaviour you should be asking the following questions:

  1. What can the school do to assist my child?
  2. Have similar situations been occurring to other children?
  3. What advice should I recommend to my child to report bullying in the future?
  4. Does the school have a ‘Bullying Policy’?

The school will need time to investigate and talk to teachers and, perhaps, other students. However you should make a plan with the teacher that either you will contact them or they will contact you. Be sure to agree on a time frame for further consultation. It is important to document what was discussed in the meeting. You may need this further down the track, if the outcomes of this meeting are not what you expected.

The following information — or Initial Meeting sheet, should be completed after the meeting. Include as much information as you can, regardless how trivial, as you may need to recall this at a later date. Also ensure that you write down the date by which you or the teacher will be making further contact.

Initial meeting

Date:
Teachers Name:
Details of discussion:
Who will make the follow up contact?
By which date?