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Young people's views on the application of policies and practices that seek to prevent and respond to bullying in Tasmanian schoolsAuthor and SpeakerMr. David K. Fanning, Commissioner for Children Tasmania
The effects of bullying are widely recognised. Bullying can contribute to increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, loneliness and social alienation, poor school attendance and retention as well as poor health outcomes in children. Measuring the true effectiveness of our efforts to prevent bullying requires consultation with children and young people who are directly affected by the policy decisions made in this area. However as with much of Government policy that seeks to address significant issues that affect the lives of young people, frequently there is a lack of consultation with young people themselves. The Commissioner for Children regularly meets with a Children and Young Persons Consultative Council to discuss issues of priority for children and young people in Tasmania. It comprises of a range of young people who are appointed under statute to advise the Commissioner on matters affecting their lives. In 2005, precedence was given to the consideration of the strategies to address bullying that operate in Tasmanian schools. Whilst emphasis was given to those policies that were in operation in Government schools, the policies and practices of non-Government schools were also discussed. These discussions offered valuable insight into the effectiveness of Government initiatives to reduce bullying in Tasmanian schools. The workshop paper sets out the main outcomes from the consultations; some are perhaps predictable and unsurprising, others were unexpected and challenge some of the conventional wisdom in the development around policies relating to bullying BiographyBrief Curriculum Vitae After completing a degree in social work in 1976, David worked as a social worker for 8 years in the areas of mental health services, public welfare and child protection including setting up welfare based child protection service in the southern part of Melbourne for the Children's Protection Society (CPS). At the time, CPS was the non government organisation responsible for child protection along with the police. In 1989, he went to the Victorian Bar and practised as a barrister until 2004 having taken up the post of Tasmanian Commissioner for Children on April 19, 2004. At the Victorian Bar he practised in a variety of areas but in the ten years immediately prior to becoming Tasmania's Commissioner for Children, he specialised and practiced extensively in areas relating to children and young people, including Family Law, Child Welfare Law, Juvenile Justice and Coronial Inquests relating to deceased children. He was also frequently engaged to appear in appeals relating to children. Whilst at the Victorian Bar, he conducted disciplinary proceedings for and on behalf of the Departmental Secretary for Victoria's largest government department. He advised government and non government organisations on policy, program and legal issues. David conducted training and staff development in the government and non-government sector especially for those professionals and staff attending court and giving evidence in court proceedings concerning children and young people. He was a regular lecturer at Melbourne universities in the schools of social work and law. David was a member of various boards in the non government sector, including the child care sector.
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