Online bullying

What is online bullying?

While all young people can experience online bullying, often vulnerable communities experience it more. According to Netsafe(external link), online bullying can take many forms, including:

• name calling,
• repeated unwanted messages,
• spreading rumours or lies,
• fake accounts used to harass people,
• excluding people from social activities, and
• embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.

Websites

Bullying-Free NZ is a central hub for New Zealand schools and provides guidance, resources and tools for schools to review, plan, and implement bullying prevention approaches.

• Bullying-Free NZ(external link)

Life Education Trust have helpful resources designed to offer teachers additional support material to use with students before and after their Life Education visits.

• Life Education Trust resources(external link)

In-class activities

Game Chat is a classroom activity looking at how we treat others when playing online games. Students are encouraged to think about their own family values and relate this to the online world.

• Game Chat(external link)

Google's Be Internet Awesome is an online safety curriculum that helps children learn about digital safety and practice the skills they need to be a good digital citizen in an interactive and fun way. The 'It's Cool to Be Kind(external link) module helps teachers highlight the importance of online kindness and discourage online bullying.

• Google's Be Internet Awesome(external link)

Educational programmes

Netsafe's Kete Portal is a resource hub with a range of policy guides, school tools, classroom resources and other materials to support teachers, including lots of resources for teachers to understand cyberbullying and how to prevent it. The Keep Your Side of the Street Clean module gets tamariki thinking critically about their role in online communications to identify, prevent and respond to online bullying.

• Netsafe's Kete Portal(external link)

NZ Police Kia Kaha bullying programme is a school-based programme that aims to help schools create environments where all members of the community feel safe, respected and valued, and where bullying cannot flourish.

• New Zealand Police - Kia Kaha bullying programme(external link)

Webinars and workshops

Empowerment Trust offer resources, in-person interactive workshops and webinars with a specific focus on preventing online bullying.

• Empowerment Trust(external link) – online bullying resources

Books

Feel Brave books are stories that help young children tackle big feelings including bullying and dealing with change. The Wolf is not Invited helps children who are feeling a 'left out'. The Wolf's Colourful Coat teaches children the importance of talking to a trusted adult. All books are available for schools through Lioncrest Education.

• Lioncrest Education - Feel Brave books(external link)

Videos

If you are going to show videos in the classroom from YouTube, consider using YouTube kids. This restricts content depending on the age of users and ensures young people won't be exposed to inappropriate content.

• YouTube kids(external link)

Hector's World is an engaging animated series supported by lesson plans and worksheets, offering 4–8-year-old children practical guidance on identifying bullying behaviour, why it is hurtful and strategies to deal with bullying online.