Tackling online bullying in secondary schools

Geelong Football club has been proudly offering the Cyber Cats cyber safety program to year 7's in Geelong for the past eight years in collaboration with Headspace. Dr Bianca Klettke from Deakin University is working with staff to review and expand the program in light of the rapidly evolving way young people view and use the internet to create and evaluate an evidenced program with follow up drama based activities to further develop student resilience and an online parent resource that can provide a framework for managing internet use in the family.

Current research indicates that being an observer of cyber bullying increases the risk of becoming a bully or being bullied over time. Thoughts about the program logic of Cyber Cats centre around helping young people to identify their behaviour and develop strategies and the confidence to break this cycle therefore reducing the incidence of bullying and associated anxieties. Performance based follow up sessions will build confidence in students to respond in a positive, helpful manner. Data from parent surveys indicate that there is benefit in a resource to support parents to develop a plan for internet use within the family.