An Update on Olweus Bullying Prevention Program at WIS

Over the past several months, you may have heard mention in the Oryx and elsewhere of the introduction of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program here at WIS. We wanted to give a short update on where this is up to and to give you an idea of what you can expect over the coming period.

The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) is a comprehensive, multi-component, whole-school initiative that addresses bullying at school, classroom, individual and community levels. After an initial 3 day ‘coach’ training in October 2024, a 16 member steering committee, the Bullying Prevention Coordination Committee comprised of staff from across the school was set up. The committee has undergone over 12 hours of training and is currently in the phase of planning the implementation of the programme at WIS, meeting regularly to do so. 

The Olweus Bullying Questionnaire was completed by WIS students from grades 3-12 in March 2025 and we are using this data for the design and implementation of the programme for our school’s specific context and needs. The aim is to administer this annually around the same time to be able to gauge the impact of the programme. 

In August 2025, a staff-wide training will be delivered by the committee to prepare the wider team for the school-wide launch early in the new academic year. This official launch will see WIS introduce regular facilitated classroom meetings across grade levels that will provide students opportunities to discuss issues that matter to them and affect them at school, including specifically about bullying and classroom and school culture. A key ingredient of the program, which will be explored extensively in classroom meetings is the 4 rules about bullying, which you may already have seen around the school. 

The 4 bullying prevention rules are: 

• We will not bully others

• We will try to help students who are bullied

• We will try to include students who are left out

• If we know someone is being bullied, we will tell an adult at home and an adult at school

A focus of the program, illustrated in particular by the last 3 rules, is to empower students to be ‘upstanders’ rather than ‘bystanders’ and to develop the confidence to support anyone who is being bullied, to include others and to get help if they are aware of bullying happening. 

A current priority of the committee and something we will be working on over the coming period  is the revision of school related bullying prevention policy and procedure which will take the form of a handbook. 

The committee will also be considering in our planning how to actively involve students in the planning and implementation of the OBPP, such as in student advisory groups, with some students already having come forward and expressing interest in making the program part of their CAS projects.

A further schoolwide program component is regular staff discussion groups aimed to provide further professional development and to support staff in the ongoing carrying out of the program, which would begin after the staff-wide training. A further classroom level component is family meetings where families would be invited to engage in discussions on bullying and to learn more about what is happening at school so that these messages can be reinforced at home, amongst other things.

Once the staff-wide training is complete and at the point that we start to roll the program out more formally in classrooms and within the school community, we will hold an official kick-off event. (Further parent involvement will be a critical part of making the program a success at WIS and the committee will be working with the WIS Parent Network on this). 

For more about the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, this page from their website summarises why the program works and on this page you will find a more detailed breakdown of the different component as well as frequently asked questions. 

There will be a time for parent input on the evening of Tuesday May 6, so please set your calendars for this time together in the PLC Auditorium at 5:30pm. 

I appreciate your support, input, and patience in advance while we work to establish this OBPP framework and learn the tools at WIS which will surround our students with a common language for supporting and reinforcing norms of kindness. This is a long-term commitment that WIS is prioritising for our community with the aim of addressing bullying issues systematically and hopefully, in a way that brings lasting change.