Frequently Asked Questions

The Support Group Method

Q: What is Bullying?

A: Bullying is the repeated and harmful behaviour used by a single bully or a group to establish dominance over one or more victim/target s. It is common and different from random acts of aggression because it is based on a continuing relationship between bully and victim/target. It can include physical, verbal, emotional and social behaviours and increasingly arrives by text and email.

Q: What is the Support Group Method?

A: It is a practical, solution-focused method for resolving the problem of bullying in our schools, by encouraging kind and supportive behaviours from a group of peers.

Q: Who created it?

A: George Robinson and Barbara Maines started to work together in 1984 when George was the head of a special school in Bristol and Barbara was the educational psychologist to the school. The Support Group Approach was created in 1991 and published in Educational Psychology in Practice. It was then published again in 1992 as a distance learning pack.

Q: How widely is it used?

A: Barbara and George have been developing and training colleagues in the method since 1991 in the UK, the rest of Europe and North America. It is also very popular in Australia and New Zealand.

Q: Why was it created?

George and Barbara’s shared belief in the importance of self-esteem and their rejection of traditional methods of behaviour management inspired them to develop the support group method.
The young people they had worked with had already experienced detentions, suspensions and other punitive interventions intended to change behaviour. The result, more often than not, was that they now believed themselves to be 'bad kids'. To change this George and Barbara introduced a programme of initiatives that included:
• celebrating success
• teaching appropriate behaviours
• differentiating expectations
• replacing punishments with restorative justice methods

Q: Wasn’t the approach known as the “No Blame Approach”?

A: Yes. We regret using a name that describes what the method does not do. The name is far too open to mis-interpretation and has caused a misunderstanding of how the method actually works. It has now been re-named the Support Group Method.

Q: How does it work?

A: The seven-step process addresses bullying by forming a support group which includes the bully, friends of the victim, peers and/or bystanders, usually about eight young people. It does not include the victim who has already had an opportunity to talk about the problem with a trusted adult who will act as an advocate in the group meeting. Without apportioning blame, the facilitator encourages a problem-solving approach, giving responsibility to the group to solve the problem and to report back at a subsequent review meeting.
The method is a simple, structured process, which can be used by a teacher or other facilitator. The steps are written up in more detail and available at www.luckyduck.co.uk/approach/bullying.

Q: The process involves the victim of the bullying by expecting him/her to take part by producing a piece of writing or a picture to illustrate his/her unhappiness. He/she is not invited to take part in the open group discussion. Does the victim not feel penalised or excluded? Is the victim not frightened of opening up in this way?

Sometimes s/he is anxious that things might get worse but when it is explained that the group will include some popular and friendly people and that they will not be punished the victim usually gains confidence. At all times the facilitator offers a contact point so that s/he can be reached if things get worse.

Q: The approach assumes that the bully is prepared to be involved in the process. It also assumes that he/she already recognises that he/she has caused a problem AND is prepared to rectify it. Surely this is not the case in reality?

All the participants know that they are behaving in a way that is hurtful, the bullies, colluders, observers. Often they are shocked to discover the extent of the suffering they have caused because the victim has tried to hide his/her pain. The strength of this moment in the meeting lies in understanding the way the group works – leaders function with consent of the followers and that consent is withdrawn by the majority in the group. Usually the lead bully is also capable of empathy – often they were victims in another situation. Even if they do not change the friendship group is established around the victim to protect him/her in the future.

Q: In a survey which listened to the views of children and young people about tackling bullying, 36% of pupils in Year 8 said they would like to be involved in deciding what to do about bullying that involved them personally*. This still leaves over 60% of pupils who would be reluctant to be involved.

What does this mean for the Support Group Approach which assumes that other will be prepared to engage willingly in the process?

*DfES/ChildLine Summary Report: Tackling Bullying: Listening to the views of children and young people, by Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education, 2003.

All schools teach a citizenship curriculum and require young people to learn to take responsibility for the safety and well-being of the whole community. If young people were asked whether they wanted to learn maths, some might say that they did not!

Once involved in the real process the young people recognise their empathic responses and the sense of justice they feel in putting things right. It has all the benefits of restorative justice programmes which also have a coercive element.

Q: Action is ultimately left in the hands of the Group. “No written record is made – it is left as a matter of trust”. What happens if the Group – with the best intentions or not – take no action?

It is recorded that these people took part in a group meeting and it is carefully followed up with the victim and with each individual to ensure that things are better.

Q: What training does the teacher or facilitator have to run this approach? Is there any support for them during and after conducting such a process?

The method works best when it is part of a whole school policy, where the school has taken part in a training programme and where certain staff are identified as having experience to share. Like any method, if the exact process is not followed it may lead to unexpected and less successful outcomes.

Q: Is there any research evidence to support this strategy?

We know that there is little evidence world-wide which properly evaluates the effectiveness of any anti-bullying strategies. It is interesting however that there is some good research evidence which supports the Support Group work.

View the full article.

Q: Is the Support Group method a “soft” approach?

A: We strongly refute that the requirement to change behaviour and act in an empathic, pro-social way is at all “soft”. All restorative methods require a significant emotional response in order to achieve the solution. Young people participating are required to act as responsible citizens and they are accountable at the follow-up meeting for the success of their actions.

Q: What is your response to these common objections to the approach?

We cannot use it because it will take too much time
Evidence shows that this way of working takes less time than other investigative and sanction-based responses.

Parents won’t accept the approach!
Teachers and parents both want the same thing – they want the bullying to stop. At parent workshops, we have found that they are just as receptive as professional audiences.

Q: What methods do our critics recommend?

A: There are some people who are critical of our work but, apart from training the victims/targets to protect themselves, or even suggesting that it is alright for victims to hit the bullies (Michele Elliot 2005, Teachers TV), they do not seem to offer any advice on how to change the behaviour of the bullies – surely that is what we need in order to promote a safe and caring ethos.

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