| Project title: | The James Busby High School Welfare Program |
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| Project type: | Developmental Crime Prevention |
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| Researchers/contact: | E. Doonan |
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| Commencement date: | 1991 |
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| Location: | NSW |
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| Funding body/institution: | Australian Crime Prevention Award 1993 ; James Busby High School |
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| Description of the study: | This program reflects James Busby High School's strong commitment to eliminating harassment from school life so that students can learn in a caring, safe and non-threatening environment. A strong stand is taken toward harassment of any kind at the school, especially violence and threats of violence. The ultimate sanction is suspension from school but alongside this threat, the school has developed other strategies to prevent violence. These include teaching students alternative non-violent responses such as conflict resolution and peer mediation as well as ongoing support for families to help develop solutions for students' problematic behaviour. |
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| Description of the outcomes: | This project has reduces violence because the school's anti-harassment Policy is embedded in the school's culture and students are well aware of what will happen if they act in a threatening or violent way. The training of staff and development of programs in conflict resolution and peer mediation ensures that students are taught the skills to resolve their differences in an assertive but non-violent way. The continual development of effective parenting programs supports the parents of at-risk students in the use of non-violent responses to conflict in the home. Between 1991 and mid-1993 the school reported a reduction of 18% in suspensions for acts of violence. There are plans to extend the program of peer mediation and conflict resolution into the feeder primary schools which will further help to target potentially violent students before their problems become insurmountable. |
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| Evaluation: | No evaluation of this program has taken place. |
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