Scout Leadership Course Session Activity Notes

Session activity

Bullying Issues: Discussion

Time to allocate for this activity

30 minutes

Resources required

Ideas sheet.

Activity Notes

This short activity discusses about different forms of bullying, how we can prevent it and what to do if it happens.

Introduction (2 mins)

Brain storm bullying - what is it? What forms does it take? What are its effects? Write some brief notes on butcher's paper or a white board. Allow some short and relevant stories from the Scouts on their experiences as either a victim or a leader solving an issue. With each, encourage the teller to talk about their feelings - how did it make them feel when it happened? Some cue cards are provided to assist with this discussion if required.

Discussion (10 mins max)

The presenter facilitates a group discussion about the bullying seen by the Scouts before. The presenter should be familiar with the content of the handout, which has some strategies on it. The following leading questions could be used:

• Who actually had the problem? (Do the course identify the victim or the bully as the problem?!)
• Who should have dealt with the problem?
• When should they have dealt with it?
• Why didn't they deal with it?
• Who did deal with it and when?
• How could it be dealt with differently?
• What can be done there and then and what can be done later? In what fourm?

Conclusion (10 minutes)

The presenter opens up the discussion to broader issues other than bullying that might be troubling the Scouts on the course in their home Troops - "I really want to be a Patrol Leader but, I am not sure if I can ..." or "How do you handle someone who is ...?". Where possible, the presenter can encourage the group to share one or two strategies for handling this issue. The role of the adult leader in supporting the Scout should be emphasised throughout.