St David\u2019s Marist Inanda, a boys\u2019 school in Sandton, Johannesburg has joined a rapidly growing list of schools taking proactive steps to create mechanisms for pupils and staff to report abuse of any kind. After a short trial towards the end of last year, St David\u2019s has made the call to roll out the STOPit anonymous reporting system for the 2018 year as part of its broader human rights awareness programme.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur approach to working with children is to shape functional behaviour patterns and develop strong coping mechanisms to deal with current and future realities.<\/p>
\u201cFor us, the STOPit App is one tool which allows us to inform and shape these patterns and mechanisms in both the child who may be bullying and the child who may be bullied.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny intervention that gives pause for thought about the consequences of behaviour before inappropriate behaviour takes place, by its very nature alters the pattern of behaviour.<\/p>
\u201cThis process in itself is valuable,\u201d said the head psychologist at St David\u2019s, Lloyd Ripley-Evans.<\/p>\n
RELATED ARTICLE:<\/span><\/p>\n New app to help curb bullying and abuse<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cOn the flip side, a child who feels vulnerable but doesn\u2019t necessarily feel empowered to speak \u2018out loud\u2019, is given the ability to give voice to their experiences and emotions in a \u2018safe\u2019 way.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition to alerting the responsible adults in the school to the situation, being able to articulate their experience in an anonymous manner often is the first step to being able to speak out loud about it.<\/p>\n \u201cOur approach to working with children is primarily to remediate behaviour and restore relationships, not to act punitively as the first intervention.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, understanding the consequences of unacceptable behaviour is fundamental to this process.\u201d<\/p>\n STOPit allows pupils and staff to anonymously report any untoward behaviour in the school environment (and even in the home space for some pupils), by using a simple cell phone app or web page.<\/p>\n Reports are received and managed internally by an appointed administrator at the school.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is imperative that schools take proactive action before incidents happen.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the bullies and abusers can be reported by anyone, anytime and anywhere, they think twice before committing any acts,\u201d said Warren Hickinbotham, the MD of Blankpage Publishing, the local STOPit licence holder.<\/p>\n To become a STOPit protected school, contact Warren on warrenh@blankpage.co.za.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Have a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor)\u00a0<\/span>germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za <\/a><\/strong>or Leigh Hodgson (News Editor)\u00a0<\/span>leighh@caxton.co.za<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>or Kgotsofalang Mashilo (journalist)\u00a0kgotsofalangm@caxton.co.za<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Remember to visit the Germiston City News on the following social media platforms:<\/p>\n Facebook<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Twitter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Instagram<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n YouTube<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Or add the GCN on\u00a0<\/b><\/span>WhatsApp 079 406 1181<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0BBM (BBM Pin: 7F102137)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/b><\/span>today, to get all the latest news.<\/p>\n Catch-up on more local news with our sister newspapers\u00a0<\/span>Bedfordview Edenvale News<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span>Alberton Record<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Kempton Express<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n