Week Against Bullying

From September 27 to October 1, 2021, the School & Safety Foundation is organizing the Week Against Bullying again. The motto this year is: Lock out? Excluded!

Exclusion, what is it anyway?

Exclusion is a form of bullying that occurs in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Ban, boycott, exclude, exclude, exclude, exclude, invite, deliberately choose, ignore, or discriminate against. In short, a large group turns against a person or a small group of people. You don't belong to us!

In my opinion, the motto is more topical than ever. In a society in which it is becoming easier and faster to judge the choices of others, you can honestly say; I don't exclude anyone? And what example am I myself to children? People are social by nature; it is a basic need to want to belong to a group, so why do we sometimes exclude others?

Bullying is always based on the feeling of insecurity. This is often caused by fear or tension within the group. It is not for nothing at SKO that we say that safety is the basis for children to learn and develop. We therefore devote a lot of time and attention to a positive group climate. The pedagogical staff do this by, among other things, looking at what the children need and matching this. In this way every child knows, I am welcome, I belong. To prevent exclusion or any other form of bullying, we make good agreements with each other. How do you talk to each other? How do you address each other about something? How do we deal with our environment and our (play) material? These agreements are also regularly repeated and adjusted where necessary.

As adults together, we naturally also have an exemplary role in this. How often are you ready to judge the neighbor who has such a messy garden or that one colleague who smells less fresh. How do you talk about this at home with your partner or a friend? The message is therefore: do we want to teach our children how things can be done differently? Then show yourself how it should be done and be kind to each other.

This topic is of course not only central during the anti-bullying week. A safe place for every child is important every day and that is why the motto does not only apply in the week of September 27, but always. Lock out? Excluded!