Teachers call for national action to address bullying

New Zealand’s Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) wants a national strategy to tackle bullying in schools.

The call follows a report that indicates Aotearoa has the highest levels of school bullying in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with 15 per cent of students bullied frequently and 43 per cent weekly.

Chris Abercrombie, the president of PTTA, says there is inconsistency in school policies, adding that while schools are required to have bullying plans, there is no standardised approach to what these plans should entail.

“I think the key issue here is that there’s two and half thousand schools that come up with two and a half thousand bullying policies, way to respond,” Abercrombie told Pacific Mornings host William Terite.

"There’s no real national approach to this. The Ministry [of Education] requires schools to have a plan, but there’s no requirement to say what their plan has to have, so there’s a huge range of responses to bullying and so it would make it a national sort of database hard to manage.”

He highlights the broader issues that contribute to bullying, particularly for Māori and Pacific communities, and calls for a culturally responsive approach to address the problem rooted in racism.

He says schools often mirror the issues present in their communities, including discrimination and social inequality.

“Schools reflect the communities … and sometimes they reflect some of the bad things in our communities, and we know bullying exists in our communities, in our workplaces, and so it’s going to exist in our schools.”

He says this reality does not excuse bullying but rather underscores the necessity for a consistent, community-wide approach to tackle the issue.

Listen to Chris Abercrombie's full interview below.

According to a 2021 Pacific youth report, “Like all young people in Aotearoa New Zealand, Pacific young people faced wellbeing challenges requiring further support and attention.”

The report highlights that Pacific youth are more likely to encounter discrimination because of their ethnicity compared to non-Māori, non-Pacific ethnic groups.

Pacific Learners believe that “school should be an environment that fosters creativity, fun, offers great learning experiences and prepares the child for the journey ahead”.

Abercrombie calls for a culturally responsive approach, particularly for Pacific students who may experience bullying due to racism or cultural differences.

“We have some really successful programmes. There’s a programme called Positive Behaviour for Learning.

New Zealand has the highest levels of school bullying in the OECD. Photo/file.

“It’s not in every school. It was a funding that’s sort of been haphazard for that programme, and if we were going to do something nationally, then it has to be a nationally supported programme.”

Abercrombie says there’s a need for proper resourcing to address bullying, highlighting that this issue requires a united effort from the entire community.

“There’s huge benefit for it. If we put money now, we benefit in better mental health, better educational outcomes, and better societal outcomes.

“Some of these young people have really complex things going on in their lives, way more complex than when I was at school.

“This sits squarely with the Ministry of Education … but I’ll make it clear, it’s all of us. All of us have to deal with this issue in our communities, in our schools, in our workplaces, everywhere.”