Bullying can threaten students’ physical and emotional safety at school and affect their ability to learn and concentrate in class. It’s crucial that educators and the school culture itself focus on providing the right information to both students and their care givers in an effort to prevent bullying. Check out these three ways your school can help to prevent bulling from occurring during recess.
3 Ways Schools Can Decrease Bullying at Recess
Recess is the time when students get a break in their day to connect with their friends, participate in unstructured physical activity and get some sunshine and fresh air. Students look forward to recess and are excited to get outside and play, but it is not a positive experience for everybody. With a large number of kids and a limited number of adults, recess provides many opportunities for bullying to occur. Here are some strategies to help prevent bullying at recess and allow all students to enjoy their free time.
Provide Age-appropriate Activities and Equipment
- Students should feel comfortable participating and have access to developmentally appropriate games, equipment and facilities.
- Need some ideas? Ask your PE teacher for activities. Otherwise visit the Group Games & Activities tag page to find lots of great ways to get students moving.
Provide a Variety of Activities
- Teach students a variety of activities to play during recess. Because they spend so much less time outdoors, they haven’t learned the types of activities to do during unstructured times.
- Set up activities for students to encourage them to participate in a new game – if everyone is learning something new, the chances of being bullied based on performance are lowered.
Prioritize Active Supervision
- Encourage supervisors to be mobile: constantly moving around the playground area so they are visible and kids know that they have support nearby.
- Teach students how to identify bullying and negative social interactions. Go over the process for communicating issues with recess supervisors.
- Also be sure to minimize play areas that are out of sight or hearing range by arranging supervisors to cover the all the space.
By keeping students engaged and active you can help to stop bullying before it starts. Students who feel safe enjoy more success being physically active, learning, and interacting with others.
More Bullying Prevention & Intervention Ideas
If you’re looking for more ways to inspire fellow educators and community members to make bullying prevention a priority, be sure to stop by the Bullying Prevention tag page. You’ll find more ideas for educating parents, teachers, and fellow students to recognize, prevent, and intervene in bullying situations.
Read More: Bullying Prevention
