QHow does the app STOP kids from reporting anything and everything to schools?
A The app reporting system should be used as an early warning system and whilst there might be a few young people who report incidents that turn out to be nothing of concern, the objective of the reports are to support those genuine incidents at an early stage before they get out of hand. Once a report has been submitted a teacher can then ask a couple of questions to ascertain some clarity and will be in a position to either act on or dismiss the report. For the sake of a couple of minutes asking questions, teachers could save themselves and more importantly young people huge problems if the incidents are genuine and get worse.
Q Can the video tutorials be used by parents and teachers to teach young people?
A YES,the videos are produced to be a teaching resource for both parents and teachers, however young people watching them will be able to absorb the information easily and learn some key life skills.
Q Will teachers get the time to spend reading hundreds of reports and following them up?
A Teachers that have to read hundreds of reports in their school clearly have a few problems to investigate. The time spent dealing with angry parents and distraught young people once an incident has developed into a proper case of bullying far exceeds the few minutes required to follow up on a report, gather the evidence and deal with it at the earliest point.
Q What if parents use the reporting system within the app to apply pressure to their childrens school ?
A It is true that the reports will provide a written account of any incident which can be used as evidence to ask for an investigation but surely that is in the interest of the school as well as the parent. Schools should see this as a positive way to engage with parents and build a positive rapport not a way of providing parents with mud to throw
Q Why do we have to pay 99p to download the tutorial videos?
A 42p covers the administration and marketing costs controlled by the app stores and the remainder is put towards the production of new content for Version 2 of the Stay Safe Bully & Schools app.