Year 4: The Stand Up Workshop - SUP

Year 4 Student Workshop

Earlier this fortnight, the Year 5 SUP Leaders presented their Stand Up Project workshop to the Year 4s. A central focus of the workshop was HOW to be an upstander, as it can be tricky to know how to support a peer in the moment and not everyone feels confident to say something directly to call out the behaviour. The great thing about the 4 Ds is that there are multiple strategies that can be chosen, depending on the situation.

The 4 Ds to Being an Upstander

Direct- Say something directly to the person who is being mean, remember to address the behaviour, not the person. It isn’t helpful to counter mean behaviour with more mean behaviour. You can say something like “Hey, that isn’t nice”.

Delay- This is about supporting that target of the mean behaviour. You might not be able to do something in the moment, but you can check in on the target of the behaviour by seeing if they are ok, letting them know that they have your support as the impact of feeling like others don't support you can have just as much impact as the poor behaviour itself.

Delegate- Seek help from a trusted peer, or a grown up when you see mean on purpose behaviour. If the situation is serious or there are safety factors (such as if a physical fight is occurring), this is the MUST do strategy. Don’t put yourself in harms way, it’s not about being a “hero”. 

Distract- Try redirecting, “Hey did you see that new game? I’m on level 10.” 

This can be especially helpful in a friendship fire situation, when you see the beginnings of a problem. If humour is your strength, you might tell a joke or share something funny.

Being an upstander helps support a culture of respect across the school community which aims to prevent bullying.