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Whole School Upstander Program: Student Voice, Agency and Leadership

The Stand-Up Project

The Whole School Upstander Program: Student Voice, Agency, and Leadership is a peer-led program aimed at reducing discrimination, harassment, and bullying in schools and communities.

  • Vic

Pricing: Paid

Origin: Developed in Australia for Australian schooling contexts

Product type: Program; Posters; Fact sheets; Activity sheets; Student activities; Presentation by an expert or speaker ; Whole school approach or initiative; Incursion, excursion or immersive experience; Learning modules; Class lesson plans

Contact details

The Stand-Up Project
ABN: 18 155 258 227

http://www.thestandupproject.com/school-upstander-program-student-voice-agency-and-leadership

info@thestandupproject.com

Focus areas

  • Positive relationships

  • Belonging and inclusion

  • Bullying and cyber-bullying

  • Mental health literacy and life skills

  • Self-regulation and engagement

  • Resilience and optimism

  • Respectful relationships and consent education

Curriculum alignment

  • Health and PE

  • Humanities and Social Science

Prospective users

Audience: Whole school universal (Tier 1)

Context: School or centre-based, Outside School Hours Care (OSHC), Home-schooling

Main beneficiaries: Foundation/Prep, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6, Year 7, Year 8, Year 9, Year 10, Year 11, Year 12

Delivery style: Delivered by program staff; Student, self-directed

Aims & approach

The Stand-Up Project (SUP) builds the knowledge and skills of students, parents/carers, and teachers on the drivers and impacts of poor behaviour, the bystander effect, and how to be an upstander.

SUP aims to reduce discrimination, harassment, and bullying by fostering a culture of upstanding among students.

Approach:

  • Typically, all Year 6 students, or all Years 11 and 12 students, are educated on the impacts and drivers of bullying, the bystander effect, and the Four D's (Distract, Delegate, Delay, Direct) approach to upstanding.
  • Students then volunteer to become SUP Student Leaders.
  • Depending on the school's size, 20-40 students are selected and trained to become SUP Student Leaders.
  • These leaders then develop plans and strategies for how they will teach their younger peers, teachers, and parents/carers about upstanding through training and co-facilitated workshops.

Sessions are tailored to the school's context, incorporating school-specific generalised bullying examples, issues and trends.

Objectives:

  • Increase understanding among students, parents/carers, and teachers of bullying and other hurtful behaviours (i.e., friendship fires, mean on purpose), the bystander effect, and upstanding.
  • Equip students, parents/carers, and teachers with skills to intervene as upstanders effectively and safely, focusing on addressing behaviours rather than individuals and supporting targets.
  • Empower students to identify and teach their own upstander strategies, boosting their self-efficacy.
  • Validate students' experiences, perspectives, and ideas to foster a sense of belonging and support.
  • Foster a positive school culture by supporting and promoting student-led initiatives, and student voice and choice, that enhance wellbeing and contribute to improving school culture.
  • Foster a positive school culture by encouraging student-driven programs that amplify student voice and choice.
  • Bolster wellbeing and contribute to a more enriching school environment.

There may be additional cost for travel expenses outside Melbourne metropolitan area.

Implementation support

  • Access to professional facilitator, instructor or mentor
  • Implementation training webinars or modules
  • Ongoing helpdesk, email or phone support
  • Regular webinars or access to community of professional practice

Evidence

The Stand-Up Project has been independently evaluated by Melbourne University with has ongoing support.

The program is informed by research on the value of upstander training and peer leadership, and its positive impact is supported by testimonials and program data that can be found at www.thestandupproject.com/evidence.