THE CASE FOR THE SUPPORT GROUP METHOD

The UK Government View
Comments which highlight why a non-punitive approach is helpful
The Current Evidence

The UK Government View

The UK Government view until very recently has been tolerant, if not supportive, of the Support Group Method.

In May 1999, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Employment, Charles Clarke, said:

“Our (the DfEE’s) role is to offer schools advice on tackling bullying. As their circumstances differ, we have no plans to recommend one single strategy for all schools; they need to decide which ones best meet their own pupils’ needs and circumstances.

I am aware of the benefits of the Support Group method in cases where bullying has occurred. In some circumstances, this strategy may be the answer to combating bullying, but in others a different approach may well be necessary and more effective. As you know, it is described in the Department’s anti-bullying pack and we have no plans to change this at present.”

“2nd Edition of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) – “don’t suffer in slience” – Anti-Bullying Pack”

This DfES support pack for schools in England was published in 1999 and evaluated in April 2003. The Approach was nearly not included in this second edition but at the insistence of Professor Peter Smith, Goldsmiths College, University of London, it was incorporated as the “Support Group” approach NOT as it had been known – the No Blame Approach. The then Minister for Education, David Blunkett had vetoed any mention of “No Blame”.

An evaluation of the Pack by Professor Smith found that:

Schools were using a range of strategies to tackle bullying and to encourage pro-social behaviour. The most highly rated strategies were: circle time; active listening/counselling approaches; working with parents; improving the school grounds and cooperative group work (a good example of the Support Group Method).
Schools generally felt that the problem of bullying had slightly decreased since getting the pack.
The Support Group Method gained a relatively high rating (5-point scale and a rating of 3.5). It was used more in secondary schools than in Infant and Primary Schools.

Acceptance of the Support Group Method appears to have started to change over the summer of 2005. The Education Secretary, Ruth Kelly said in an interview with The Independent newspaper on 19 June:

“We want a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour, from the low-level back chat and mobile phone texting in the classroom, to bullying or violence. Schools must have clear and consistent boundaries for what is acceptable behaviour. Pupils need to know where the limits are and what the consequences will be.”

This continued with a parliamentary question in the House of Commons on 23 November 2005:

Dan Norris (Wansdyke)| Hansard source
This Friday, as part of anti-bullying week, Lib-Dem controlled Bristol city council will call on its teachers not to punish or blame pupils who bully other pupils. What message does the Prime Minister have for those who adopt a no-blame approach, which, in my view, is dangerous and reckless, does nothing for the victims and does nothing to make bullies change their behaviour?

Tony Blair (Prime Minister) | Hansard source
If what my hon. Friend says is correct about the Liberal Democrats, then it is an extraordinary thing for even them to do and I am shocked by it. [Interruption.] To describe oneself as shocked by the Liberal Democrats is perhaps an oxymoron.

I profoundly disagree with the position taken by the council. Bullying should be punished. Children who bully must be made to understand the harm that they have been doing. New sanctions are available. I am pleased that in the schools White Paper we are giving teachers an unambiguous right to discipline. It is absolutely necessary, and I pay tribute to my hon. Friend's work on that serious problem.

A written question was tabled on 29 November:

Dan Norris (Wansdyke) | Hansard source

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills

(1) what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of different approaches to tackling bullying in schools; and if she will make a statement;

(2) what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the no blame approach to tackling school bullying; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith (Minister of State (Schools and 14-19 Learners), Department for Education and Skills) | Hansard source

Our guidance to schools on tackling bullying "Don't Suffer in Silence" has been externally evaluated by researchers at Goldsmith's college, University of London. The results, though based on a fairly low response rate from schools, show that the schools found that the pack met their expectations and helped in drawing up their anti-bullying policies.

This evaluation included research into the perceived success of the anti-bullying strategies and interventions recommended in the guidance. Schools generally reported a high level of satisfaction with the interventions they had used. I have placed a copy of the research brief for this project in the Library.

The key feature of the 'No Blame' approach, is that it adopts an explicit stance of discouraging punishment as a response to bullying. The Department does not support this stance and neither does the Anti-Bullying Alliance. Our guidance is clear that support and mediation strategies to change behaviour can, and should, be used in tandem with sanctions where appropriate. We are reviewing the guidance to make this even more explicit.

As we do not promote the 'No Blame' approach for use in schools, we have not undertaken any assessment of its effectiveness.

Comments which highlight why a non-punitive approach is helpful …

Cherie Booth QC
In her summary at a ChildLine conference in November 2001, Cherie Booth supported the need to involve young people in the solution to bullying. She said:

“Bullying is something that isn’t going to go away but which does need to be managed in a holistic way, which recognises both the development of children and the empowerment of children to take control of their lives, in order to build a better school community.

”And if we can do that in a school and turn out citizens who really do have skills of coping and managing conflict, then what better society could we build?”

David Bell, HM Chief Inspector
“Schools that motivate and involve pupils so that their behaviour does not get in the way of their learning have common characteristics … They also respond to pupils’ concerns about bullying, and involve pupils in supporting each other through mentoring, buddy and prefect systems,”

(Source: The Independent, 19 June 2005)

Sir Alan Steer, headteacher of Seven Kings High School in Ilford, East London and chairman of the Government’s new task force on school discipline.
“We shouldn’t demonise pupils. If we start giving the message that we hate our young, what message are we going to get back from them?”

(Source: The Independent, 19 June 2005)

The Current Evidence

There is increasing evidence that putting children at the heart of finding the solutions to bullying is one of the most successful ways to stopping it.

Tackling Bullying: Listening to the views of children and young people
By Christine Oliver and Mano Candappa
Thomas Coram Research Unit
Institute of Education 2003

In conclusion, the report finds that it is important:

To develop anti-bullying strategies that start with pupils’ experiences of bullying, and which take into account the consequences of ‘telling’ for children and young people;
To provide accessible sources of confidential advice and support;
To adopt a sustained and multi-modal approach to bullying in recognition of children’s perceptions that some courses of action work some of the time, and that there are no sure or single solutions to the problem of bullying.

S. Young (1998)
The (No Blame) Support Group Method to bullying in schools,
Educational Psychology in Practice, 14, 32-39.

This was an independent evaluation carried out in the Kingston upon Hull Special Educational Needs Support Service (SENSS). Over a two-year period, in 80% of primary school cases treated through the modified No Blame Approach there was an immediate success.

In 14% of cases there was a delay, but after 3 to 5 weekly reviews, the bullying stopped or the victims reported that they no longer needed the support group.

In only 6% of cases did the victim report that the bullying continued, or that he/she was bullied by different pupils. There was a similar outcome in secondary school referrals.

S. Young & G. Holdorf (2003)
Using solution-focused brief therapy in individual referrals for bullying.
Educational Psychology in Practice, 19, 271-282.

This was a study of solution based brief therapy as an intervention with individual Pupils - these being 118 pupil referrals from both primary and secondary schools. The authors found this procedure more effective in certain cases, but they did use the Support Group Method in 12 cases. 11 of them were successful.

Professor Peter Smith
Head, Unit for School and Family Studies
Department of Psychology
Goldsmiths College, University of London
and independent evaluator of the Department of Education and Skills Anti-Bullying Pack says:

“These reports suggest a high success rate. The quality of the reports is on a par with most of the better research literature available on anti-bullying work. My main reservation is the very high success rates achieved (around 90%).

Given the persistence of bullying in our schools, it is clear there is no 'magic wand' – not yet, anyway. Claims for success rates above 80% - whether for Support Group or for bully courts, or whatever – leave me suspecting either that the research is flawed in some way (e.g. social desirability affected responses), or, that the findings are not generalisable because this was a special sample group in some
way.

If we had truly generalisable success rates of over 80%, then our problems really would be nearly over – but I doubt we are out of a job yet.

In summary, what evidence there is, is supportive of the Support Group method – but, there is definitely a need for more research, carried out
independently in 'normal' schools that are using the approach.”

Bullying in Secondary Schools
What it looks like and how to manage it
By Keith Sullivan, Mark Cleary and Ginny Sullivan

(First published in 2004)

A whole chapter is dedicated to the success of the Support Group Method.

See Chapter 15: Changing the Social Dynamic: The No Blame Approach

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