Pilots Offer Solution to Violence in Schools

Media Statement – for immediate release 29 July 2007

Pilots Offer Solution to Violence in Schools

Violence in schools could be reduced using a "settings approach" currently being trialled with youth organisations in four New Zealand sites.

The National Network of Stopping Violence is developing policies and practices which promote non-violent environments. Resources being developed will be transferable to other settings such as high schools.

The settings approach aims to influence the behaviour of young people by changing their environments rather than targeting the behaviour of individuals.

"This project is about deliberately making environments where non-violence is the expected norm for young people. This would be through staff promoting and modelling acceptable behaviour and the organisation integrating non-violence into its kaupapa," Project Manager Garth Baker said.

The project is funded by the Ministry of Health and is being piloted in four sites: Whangarei, South Auckland, Feilding and Nelson/Motueka.

Results from the pilots should start to show in the third quarter of the year.

"We will be producing some resources and developing models that other organisations will be able to use.

These include:
• staff training programmes
• a toolkit for organisations to promote non-violence.

"This is a very exciting opportunity. Rather than focusing on the problem of violence, we are looking at how to make the world a non-violent place.

"We have had a lot of interest from other sectors and organisations such as schools who are dealing with problems of violence on site.

"We see huge potential for the learnings from the project to be used across a range of organisations which work with young people," Mr Baker said.

ENDS

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