Community News

BOARD'S BULLYING PREVENTION POLICY GETS VAB'S NOD

JULIA LOVETT-SQUIRES jlovett@flamboroughreview.com

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) has updated its bullying prevention and intervention policy, and Flamborough-based advocacy group Voices Against Bullying (VAB) is feeling encouraged.

"All in all, it's an eight-page policy, which is amazing that goes into great detail," said VAB found

er Julie Schaafsma.

The policy, in response to recommendations made by an expert panel following the 2019 stabbing death of a 14-year-old high school student, Devan Selvey, is now available on the board's website and includes commitments to "a clear and accessible process" when bullying occurs, better communication on bullying incidents and school responses and daily bullying-awareness practices, among others.

Schaafsma finds comfort in knowing that the board's comprehensive plan was developed and bolstered thanks to feedback from a number of partners.

"They have built all of these different teams from the community so that there's a lot of different voices that are actually giving their opinions, wording, experiences, feedback," she said.

The policy lays out its strategy for prevention, intervention and response in a clear manner and offers a "student-centred" approach. In addition to addressing physical, emotional and mental bullying, it also focuses on cyberbullying, something Schaafsma is happy to see.

"It's very, very thorough and it's very well-rounded," she said of the plan.

HWDSB trustee Maria Felix Miller, chair of the board's policy committee, said at a recent board meeting that she's pleased with the clarity around expectations and communication when bullying occurs because it's often distressing for families, whether their child is a victim or perpetrator.

The policy's commitment to daily awarenessraising practices is key because students don't always realize they are bullying, Miller said.

"We need to get better at recognizing those behaviours, supporting them in an appropriate way, but then also starting to build out some more community," she said.

The policy also allows the student voice to have a key position and, according to Kathleen Hilchey, an anti-bullying specialist, that is important.

"A lot of the work that I do centres (on) the child or teen's voice as a problemsolver and there's room for that in this policy," she said.

"It's a space that was really missing before. Most policies talk about adults swooping in and solving the problem and then they're not really all that effective, and I love that this has been opened up to allow the students advocacy and choice

and voice."

Added Hilchey: "Ultimately they're the ones we want to be problem-solving in a different way."

The policy lays out strategies, including working with community groups that will "support bullying prevention and awareness raising."

"It's all positive in what we're doing," said Schaafsma of VAB's work in the community, which includes helping bullied students navigate a new advocacy pilot program developed with support from the YMCA.

More than 10 fully

trained advocates have been selected for the pilot program and are hoping to start soon.

"We are kind of in the stage now of getting into some schools to work with the staff to get the advocates going," Schaafsma said, explaining that VAB continues to meet and work with school principals and other officials to answer additional questions and roll out the program.

"We're getting the word out there in these schools that we're there to help," she said.

VAB will also host parent information sessions to raise awareness of the pilot program and the support available to families in the community.

"Our role is to support them," said Hilchey of local youth and their families.

Although participating schools haven't identified, one may be in Flamborough as part of a cross section of schools across the HWDSB. The VAB team hopes to roll out the initiative sometime later this month.

For more on VAB and how it can support Flamborough families, www.voicesagainstbullying.ca. For more on the school board's updated policy, visit hwdbs.on.ca.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: After the public school board approved changes to beef up its bullying prevention and intervention policy, we wanted to get feedback about the changes from local stakeholders.

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2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

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