It is worth mentioning that children in our school learn a lot of practical subjects like arts and crafts, home economics and carpentry from the youngest age. They are being encouraged to take responsibility and do things for themselves from the earliest grades.
We do practice PLC methods at our school, where teachers meet every week, within their groups of colleagues teaching grades of the same age group. During the meetings, they discuss, share ideas, look for solutions of recurring problems, prepare projects and communicate.
The importance of reflection in our daily work helps us to learn from our teaching strategies and exchanging methods and sharing ideas. Teachers at our schools have regular meetings focusing on continuing education where we get lectures on different approaches and subjects connected to teaching and methodology.
Since 2002, we have been implementing an OLWEUS project focusing on eliminating bullying. In this prevention project, we focus on working with children and educating them in an informative way, according to an Olweus methodology.
This project has been a successful way to prevent bullying that we continue working on. At the beginning of each school year each class has discussions and gets a presentation about bullying.
This continuous throughout the school year. We have educational posters that we introduce and discuss in our classes where the bullying circle is introduced and we discuss what role we want to play in life and as students at our school. We also discuss how we can be courageous and step in when we see something happening. The children tell their minds, the group finds solutions and guide each other.
We have staff members outside during every recess. They are there to solve any problems that might occur and help the children. The children at our school are very aware of the importance of telling an adult when something is going on that is causing them worries or they cannot solve themselves. For example when they see somebody being bullied or teased or excluded.
The teachers and staff also have meetings throughout the school year where this program is discussed.
We have a survey among the older children yearly that gives us a lot of information on bullying. The questions in that survey are designed so that it is possible to find out how many students are being bullied so that we can work on that.
Last school year, we started working with our pupils in a program called ‘Friendship Leaders’ (in Icelandic: Vinalidar). The main idea is about older pupils playing together with younger ones during recess time. Multiple games ready to play are available in the playground area, organised by the teachers in charge and the Friendship Leaders, who are pupils themselves.
The Friendship Leaders are responsible for their designated playing area during recess; they make sure everyone interested can be a part of the play group and keep an eye if the play is fair, as well as to notify the teachers or other staff members if a pupil is not fair or bullying other kids.
This program along with the OLWEUS project focuses on eliminating bullying. The Friendship Leaders programme encourages the pupils to play together during recess - younger ones with the older ones; during which they learn new games, they participate, they learn to be active and to be familiar with other pupils at school.
