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supporters of the bully, the bystanders, the families and, at times, the wider community. In the next section we take this one step further by exploring ways in which the whole school can counteract bullying by working consistently to create positive, harmonious relationships.
Working relationally with smaller groups: the example of
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the fact that some children reach school age with every sign that their early attachment needs have not been sufficiently met. While NGs have many of the features of family life, such as soft furnishings, kitchen and dining facilities, the NG staff do not aim to usurp or challenge the parent–child relationship but to support it by creating an educational environment in which the children can learn how to engage in group activities in a constructive way and to learn group participation skills. The ultimate aim is to equip the child with the skills appropriate for reintegration back into mainstream education. At the heart of the NG concept is:
+ an understanding of the development needs of children;
+ a recognition of the interdependence of social, emotional and cognitive factors in the child’s development;
+ a commitment to the fostering of positive, healthy development.
(Cooper et al. 2001).
Each one of these aspects is consistent with the whole-school approach that we promote throughout this book. NGs usually consist of between six and eight pupils, supported by the staff and by their parents. There are always two members of staff present in a NG. The children typically spend a large part of the week in the NG, gradually joining in with mainstream activities as they become ready. The rationale that underpins NGs is that the children have, for a number of reasons, missed out on the early experiences in the home that promote positive, trusting relationships with peers and adults. Because they cannot relate well to others, such children find it very difficult to settle in school. The NG teachers’ role is to understand the gaps in these children’s development and to try to meet their particular needs. The children are given work that is adapted to their own level and which also takes account of their emotional needs. There is a great emphasis on language. The relationship with the NG teachers is supportive and these teachers provide a role model that the children observe and, over time, begin to incorporate into their own relationships. Two adults are always present in the NG in order to model positive social interaction and cooperation. The NG routine is structured and predictable. Mainstream curriculum is interspersed with programmed activities, such as free play and physical activity. A crucial feature of the NG is ‘breakfast’ which usually occurs mid-morning. Pupils and teachers share in a simple cooked meal (usually toast and jam) and interact socially as they eat it.
The social and developmental targets for each child are based on the psycho- metric assessment of their needs and functioning (derived from the Boxall profile) (Bennathan and Boxall 1998). The work of NGs can apply to children who are bullied as well as to children who bully.
Case study 4.2 Nurturing Shafida: an aggressive girl
Shafida at five years of age was out of control. She was unable to share anything with her classmates and her play mainly consisted of fighting. She bullied the 64 NEW PERSPECTIVES ON BULLYING
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others, especially smaller, younger children, by biting them and scratching them. Understandably, her classmates were wary of her and she had no friends.
In class she had frequent tantrums and her teacher had observed that, when thwarted, she would lash out, throwing toys and books around and running out of the class. She could never accept praise when her teacher offered it and was destructive of her own and others’ work. The school knew that there were family risk factors that contributed to her behaviour. She frequently saw and experienced violence at home. Her parents drank to excess and on those occasions would engage in physical and verbal violence towards one another. If she got in the way, they would hit her and her two younger brothers as well.
Her father often threatened to leave the family. When the children annoyed him, he would lock them in their bedroom. When they were not actually being disciplined, Shafida and her brothers were often out in the street until late.
Mealtimes were erratic and it was rare for the family to sit down all together.
When they did, usually a row erupted.
In the light of her disruptive behaviour and as a matter of urgency, Shafida was given a place in the school’s NG. Initially, she behaved as usual, with temper tantrums and erratic, violent activity. During the course of the first term in the NG, however, she gradually began to respond to the consistent, supportive care that her teachers offered her. Slowly she started to enjoy playing and even began to accept a little praise without destroying her work. She learned to enjoy the experience of eating in the group and began to form positive relationships with the others. Over a period of three terms, her behaviour improved, she demonstrated trust in her teachers and appeared happier. During this time, she showed, for example by her willingness to accept and give praise to others in the group, that she was beginning to trust other people. Her aggressive, bullying behaviour became much less frequent after she began attending the NG. A year later, her class teacher commented on her cooperative, helpful behaviour in class and her genuine interest in her school- work. Importantly, Shafida had made friends in the NG and had learned to play constructively with the others. Her new friendships endured over time so that she now had a supportive peer group at school.
Evaluations of the impact of NGs (e.g. Bennathan and Boxall 1998;. 1998; Cooper and Whitebread 2007) reveal statistically significant improvements in terms of children’s social and emotional development, social engagement and behaviours showing secure attachment. Pupils with global ESBD difficulties, antisocial and disruptive behaviours tend to generalize improvements that they gain in the NGs into main- stream education. Reynolds and Kearney (2007), studying 179 pupils with SEBDs aged between 5 and 7 of whom half were in schools with NGs and half in mainstream provision, found that the NG pupils made significant gains in self-esteem, self-image, emotional maturity and attainment in literacy when compared with those without NGs.
Cooper and Whitebread (2007) found that the presence of the NG in a school adds substantially to the work that the school as a whole is carrying out with SEBD WORKING WITH THE RELATIONSHIP TO CHANGE BULLYING BEHAVIOUR 65
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pupils. Having the NG on site appears to improve the effectiveness of the school’s work with all children with SEBDs, even those who do not actually participate in the NG itself, suggesting that the mainstream staff as a whole develop a more nurturing approach to all of their pupils through their interactions with the NG staff. The experience of NGs has an impact on the other children and their teachers in the school at large. Significantly, the experience of the NG also appears to have a positive influence on the ways in which parents interact with their children.
Cooper and Whitebread (2007) argue that their findings have implications for practice in the wider school environment. They discuss the fact that the social- emotional developments are on the whole maintained by SEBD children after they leave the NG but there is some deterioration in some areas. It may be difficult to maintain the intimacy of the small group interactions in a class of 30. Cooper and Whitebread (2007) argue that there are implications for reviewing current practice with regard to the structure and organization of the classroom if teachers are to facilitate positive relationships among their pupils.
There are important implications for intervention work with young people to change the quality of their peer relationships and to give them contexts in which to explore their own emotions and identities. A large body of research now confirms and gives added insight into what many educators know from their practice; that is, that good quality relationships are as integral to the child’s healthy development as academic attainment (Cowie et al. 2004; Cowie and Jennifer 2007; Goleman 1995;
Hartup 1996; Marini et al. 2006; Weare 2004).
Working with the relationship enhances positive mental health, helps young people deal with key social and emotional issues in their lives, creates a positive learning environment and increases academic performance (Weare 2004). There is great scope within these initiatives to embark on a variety of more thorough studies on the effectiveness of this kind of involvement and participation on the part of young people and to evaluate successes and failures in their implementation.
Learning points
+ The behaviour of children who bully can be changed by placing emphasis on the emotional aspects of their experience.
+ There are some evaluated strategies such as thesupport group methodand the method of shared concernthat have been shown to change the behaviour of bullies.
+ Educators can address the emotional needs of all children by creating nurturing communities in the classroom where relationships are valued and people are encouraged to care for one another.
+ Educators can learn how to remedy children’s relationship difficulties by understanding more about their origins in the family and the community.
Resources
Hazler, R. J. (1996) Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Interventions for Bullying and Victimization.Washington, DC: Accelerated Development/Taylor & Francis.
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Robinson, G. and Maines, B. (2007)Bullying. London: Sage Publications.
Sharp, S., Cowie, H. and Smith, P. K. (1996) How to respond to bullying behaviour, in S. Sharp and P. K. Smith (eds.)Tackling Bullying in Your School(pp. 79–101) London:
Routledge.
Sullivan, K. (2000)The Anti-bullying Handbook. pp. 184–192 Oxford: Oxford Univer- sity Press.
Web sites
Antidote (UK) (www.antidote.org.uk).
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) (www.casel.org/
home/index.php).
Committee for Children (www.cfchildren.org).
Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) (www.dcsf.gov.uk).
Materials including the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL), and Social, Emotional and Behaviour Skills (SEBS) materials (UK) (www.teachernet.gov.uk/
teachingandlearning/socialandpastoral/sebs1/seal/themes/).
UK Observatory for the Promotion of Non-Violence (www.ukobservatory.com/).
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