Responding to Students who are Witnesses

When responding to students who are witnesses:

  • assess the student’s role as a bystander. Some strategies for achieving this can be found here;
  • support and encourage the student who wanted to or did help the bullied student in finding ways of making it better for the student who was bullied. Closely involve the student in developing an action plan aimed at supporting the student who was bullied, by using a problem solving process;
  • encourage the student bystander to make choices, to find solutions, and to make as many decisions as possible, within appropriate limits, with the goal of supporting the student who was bullied;
  • recognize, affirm and reinforce the courage it took for the student bystander to stand up to a bullying situation.

2 teachers coaching a student infront of classmates