The vision of The Alannah and Madeline Foundation is to keep children safe from violence and break the cycle of violence in children’s lives. The Foundation regards bullying as a form of violence. It also recognises that prevention is always better than cure, and ‘the earlier the better’, and decided to develop The Better Buddies Framework. Buddy programs are a common feature of Australian schools which recognise that pairing younger with older children as ‘buddies’ produces important benefits for individual students and for the school as a whole. Buddy systems provide important advantages for older and younger buddies. Older students gain increased self-confidence and an enhanced ability to see things from other people’s viewpoints, development of responsibility, self-esteem, confidence, leadership behaviours, and social skills; younger ones gain a supported and safe transition from home or kindergarten and the development of feelings of belonging to the school community. The Alannah and Madeline Foundation’s Better Buddies Framework
By Sandra Craig
Researcher and Writer
The Alannah and Madeline Foundation
The Alannah and Madeline Foundation was established in 1997 in memory of Alannah and Madeline Mikac who, with their mother Nanette and thirty-two others, lost their lives in a massacre at Port Arthur in 1996. Alannah’s drawing of herself and her sister, made shortly before her death at 6 years of age, is the emblem of the Foundation.
The Better Buddies Framework helps primary schools introduce or improve their buddy program. It was recently redeveloped based on recent research into buddy systems conducted at the Foundation.
Teachers know that programs put into schools to fix or improve things – usually don’t! Research also shows that short-term programs are ineffective and waste precious time and resources. We designed The Better Buddies Framework to last over years, not months or weeks, and to become a part of the fabric of school life.
Late in the year prior to children starting school, older children are given training about their role as a buddy. We developed this training because we discovered that children don’t naturally understand what being a buddy involves and think training older students is also important because being an older buddy is such a responsible leadership and modelling role.
Students are taught some of the skills they’ll need, such as how to deal with problems that might crop up and about where their role begins and ends. Younger buddies have a simple introductory session at the start of their year, to explain what they can expect from their buddy and a little of how the program will work.
Children are carefully selected to be buddies: sometimes children themselves have input into this, most often, though, the process is managed by teachers. Often the buddies are introduced to each other at Orientation, when the big buddies might show the younger children round the school. Sometimes this exciting moment takes place at the beginning of the new school year.
In the classroom, children have time together with a teacher(s) present. They are usually involved in a series of cooperative activities where older children help and guide the younger ones .We developed a wide range of activities requiring different levels of preparation and degrees of physical activity to help teachers with their preparation.
Children also have less formal, unstructured contact with their buddy in the playground. Schools often plan events for the whole community such as a Teddy Bears Picnic, or a ‘Buddy Day’, where parents and other community members can be involved.
What does The
Better Buddies Framework do?
The Better Buddies Framework assists with children’s transition to primary school by providing an older student in whom the child can confide and to whom they can turn for extra support. It also helps to create positive relationships by focusing directly on the systematic development of these relationships, not only between buddies but also between students and teachers within the whole school community.
Better Buddies directly teaches the most important pro-social skills and values which contribute to friendships and other social relationships.
This is more effective than just assuming that good social skills just ‘emerge’ indirectly from the ‘buddy’ experience. Older students are given opportunities to develop responsibility and leadership; younger students make a safe and happy start at primary school. Students look out for and take care of one another in the playground, and school culture is improved. Through the involvement of parents in activities like picnics and special events, a sense of community develops within and beyond the school.
Other special features of The Better Buddies Framework
The Foundation’s research into buddy systems showed that one problem with most buddy programs was the negative effect of an older buddy being absent from school. Better Buddies features a special structure called ‘understudy buddy group’, which helps to solve this problem by creating a pool of children who step into the role if a child is away, and so prevents the younger child from feeling abandoned.
This structure also provides a support group for older buddies where they can work collaboratively to support each other in being good buddies (e.g. by solving problems that arise in their buddying role such as when ‘little buddy’ is making excessive demands on their energy, emotions and time).
the mascot
The mascot of the Better Buddies program is Buddy Bear, a cute purple teddy bear to which all children can relate. Buddy Bear represents the core pro-social values of friendliness, respect, care, including others, valuing difference and responsibility.
In Western cultures, teddy bears are still a powerful symbol of childhood, and familiar playmates for most Australian children; in fact many adults are reluctant to part with these loved toys!
Teddy bears represent feelings of being safe and appeal equally to both girls and boys. Buddy Bear becomes a loved friend and a reminder for the children of the important social skills and values of The Better Buddies Framework.
Sponsorship from the National Australia Bank ensures that 150 schools registering to become Better Buddies schools in 2008 will receive the Framework resource for free, as well as volunteer support.
This sponsorship also supports four special Key Events throughout the year:
- Better Buddies Week at the beginning of the year
- Buddy Games in Second term
- Buddy Book Week in August and;
- Buddy Celebration, which might coincide with the graduation of the older child from Primary School at the end of the year.
In 2007, schools received equipment and support for each of these events, including sports equipment, a big A3 Buddy Book to create a shared writing experience and lasting memento, and a photo frame for each child at the end of the year.
Strong positive connections that develop between children through the experience of being buddies discourage antisocial behaviour like harassment abuse and bullying. Better Buddies aims to reduce these behaviours through developing empathy, teaching pro-social values and by building positive social relationships between children of different ages. In this way, the whole culture of the school becomes more compassionate, supportive and caring and it is much more difficult for bullying to get a foothold.
Some comments made by buddies …
· Yes being a buddy is important to me because I remember how important it was for me to have a buddy in Prep.
· Yes because you can help other students younger than you feel safe at school. Also you can help them make new friends.
· I think it helps people enjoy school because they have friends.
· I learnt that working with younger students can be fun but also hard.
· I learnt that working with younger students can just be a fun, exciting experience.
Researcher and Writer
The Alannah and Madeline Foundation
The Alannah and Madeline Foundation was established in 1997 in memory of Alannah and Madeline Mikac who, with their mother Nanette and thirty-two others, lost their lives in a massacre at Port Arthur in 1996. Alannah’s drawing of herself and her sister, made shortly before her death at 6 years of age, is the emblem of the Foundation.
The Better Buddies Framework helps primary schools introduce or improve their buddy program. It was recently redeveloped based on recent research into buddy systems conducted at the Foundation.
Teachers know that programs put into schools to fix or improve things – usually don’t! Research also shows that short-term programs are ineffective and waste precious time and resources. We designed The Better Buddies Framework to last over years, not months or weeks, and to become a part of the fabric of school life.
Late in the year prior to children starting school, older children are given training about their role as a buddy. We developed this training because we discovered that children don’t naturally understand what being a buddy involves and think training older students is also important because being an older buddy is such a responsible leadership and modelling role.
Students are taught some of the skills they’ll need, such as how to deal with problems that might crop up and about where their role begins and ends. Younger buddies have a simple introductory session at the start of their year, to explain what they can expect from their buddy and a little of how the program will work.
Children are carefully selected to be buddies: sometimes children themselves have input into this, most often, though, the process is managed by teachers. Often the buddies are introduced to each other at Orientation, when the big buddies might show the younger children round the school. Sometimes this exciting moment takes place at the beginning of the new school year.
In the classroom, children have time together with a teacher(s) present. They are usually involved in a series of cooperative activities where older children help and guide the younger ones .We developed a wide range of activities requiring different levels of preparation and degrees of physical activity to help teachers with their preparation.
Children also have less formal, unstructured contact with their buddy in the playground. Schools often plan events for the whole community such as a Teddy Bears Picnic, or a ‘Buddy Day’, where parents and other community members can be involved.
What does The
Better Buddies Framework do?
The Better Buddies Framework assists with children’s transition to primary school by providing an older student in whom the child can confide and to whom they can turn for extra support. It also helps to create positive relationships by focusing directly on the systematic development of these relationships, not only between buddies but also between students and teachers within the whole school community.
Better Buddies directly teaches the most important pro-social skills and values which contribute to friendships and other social relationships.
This is more effective than just assuming that good social skills just ‘emerge’ indirectly from the ‘buddy’ experience. Older students are given opportunities to develop responsibility and leadership; younger students make a safe and happy start at primary school. Students look out for and take care of one another in the playground, and school culture is improved. Through the involvement of parents in activities like picnics and special events, a sense of community develops within and beyond the school.
Other special features of The Better Buddies Framework
The Foundation’s research into buddy systems showed that one problem with most buddy programs was the negative effect of an older buddy being absent from school. Better Buddies features a special structure called ‘understudy buddy group’, which helps to solve this problem by creating a pool of children who step into the role if a child is away, and so prevents the younger child from feeling abandoned.
This structure also provides a support group for older buddies where they can work collaboratively to support each other in being good buddies (e.g. by solving problems that arise in their buddying role such as when ‘little buddy’ is making excessive demands on their energy, emotions and time).
the mascot
The mascot of the Better Buddies program is Buddy Bear, a cute purple teddy bear to which all children can relate. Buddy Bear represents the core pro-social values of friendliness, respect, care, including others, valuing difference and responsibility.
In Western cultures, teddy bears are still a powerful symbol of childhood, and familiar playmates for most Australian children; in fact many adults are reluctant to part with these loved toys!
Teddy bears represent feelings of being safe and appeal equally to both girls and boys. Buddy Bear becomes a loved friend and a reminder for the children of the important social skills and values of The Better Buddies Framework.
Sponsorship from the National Australia Bank ensures that 150 schools registering to become Better Buddies schools in 2008 will receive the Framework resource for free, as well as volunteer support.
This sponsorship also supports four special Key Events throughout the year:
- Better Buddies Week at the beginning of the year
- Buddy Games in Second term
- Buddy Book Week in August and;
- Buddy Celebration, which might coincide with the graduation of the older child from Primary School at the end of the year.
In 2007, schools received equipment and support for each of these events, including sports equipment, a big A3 Buddy Book to create a shared writing experience and lasting memento, and a photo frame for each child at the end of the year.
Strong positive connections that develop between children through the experience of being buddies discourage antisocial behaviour like harassment abuse and bullying. Better Buddies aims to reduce these behaviours through developing empathy, teaching pro-social values and by building positive social relationships between children of different ages. In this way, the whole culture of the school becomes more compassionate, supportive and caring and it is much more difficult for bullying to get a foothold.
Some comments made by buddies …
· Yes being a buddy is important to me because I remember how important it was for me to have a buddy in Prep.
· Yes because you can help other students younger than you feel safe at school. Also you can help them make new friends.
· I think it helps people enjoy school because they have friends.
· I learnt that working with younger students can be fun but also hard.
· I learnt that working with younger students can just be a fun, exciting experience.