AN anti-bullying campaign was launched in schools on The Bluff in a bid to instil tolerance and mutual respect among learners.
The campaign is spearheaded by Captain Louise le Roux of the Brighton Beach SAPS. Le Roux launched the ‘Be My Buddy, Not a Bully’ road show campaign in schools on The Bluff recently.
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“The objective of the project is to instil tolerance and mutual respect while creating safer school spaces through pleasing behaviour. The programme will be presented to the foundation phase learners during phase one, of which 27 educational institutes will be engaged over a period of 12 weeks. The look, listen and learn principles are applied during the facilitation of the programme,” Le Roux said.
The programme also teaches learners about the dos and don’ts for classroom behaviour. Le Roux armed herself with newly created colourful foam presentation boards created by her that will assist visual learners while enhancing the learning experience.
“The Childline helpline is also promoted on the presentation boards and is available on the information guides distributed to parents. The correct use of the helpline will be facilitated to learners while they are cautioned on making false reports. Learners will be mentored on which actions constitute school bullying,” she said.
Learners will also be taught about action activity which includes punching, pushing, pulling, grabbing, slapping, kicking, tripping, teasing, name-calling, swearing and body-shaming.
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The theft of personal belongings from fellow learners will be facilitated, which includes stationery, monies, books, homework and clothing items, including the theft of educators’ property and property of the school. The programme also teaches learners to use words such as ‘thank you’, ‘please’ and ‘I am sorry’ when engaging with teachers and fellow learners.
Through the support of teachers, information guides created by Captain Louise le Roux will be available to parents, guardians and caregivers to be placed within homework books. This includes a school-bullying and child-protection information guide.
Le Roux added, “Through this safer school’s initiative, the strategic objectives of the SAPS will be attained. The presentations provide educational value while focusing on a prevailing ill within our schools that threatens the safety and wellness of learners daily.”
She thanked the school-governing bodies, principals and teachers for their participation in the programme and their continuous support of SAPS school-safety initiatives. According to the Children’s Institute, violence against children affects many children in South Africa.
A research report indicated that the first national prevalence study estimated that between 20–34% of children experienced some form of contact violence before the age of 18. The report suggested that ‘early intervention and effective service responses are critical to enable healing and recovery, and to prevent the negative long-term psychological and behavioural outcomes associated with violence exposure’.
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