After several reports of school bullying hit the media last week, all school boards of trustees are to be told to review their anti-bullying policies.
Br Patrick Lynch, the CEO of the New Zealand Catholic Education Office thinks that “bullying behaviours in schools are always unacceptable given the law and more importantly the emphasis modern society gives to the human rights of individuals.
He believes, however that in schools where there is a strong culture of respect for others and respect for differences, along with high expectations for positive behaviour put before students, bullying is less of an issue”
“Unfortunately, students see too much violence in the media, which does affect their perception of what is acceptable and what is not.” said Brother Pat ” Nevertheless, trustees, principals and teachers all have a duty of care responsibility when students are at school.”
He agrees that “there needs to be robust policies and practices in place to ensure students are safe, within the bounds of reasonableness.”
Source
The New Zealand Herald
Photo
Dato