Who is this step-by-step plan for?
The step-by-step plan was developed for anyone with authority or decision-making powers within a school in primary, secondary, special and vocational education. This ranges from the director of a primary school and the student support coordinator in secondary education to the policy officer in vocational education. Whether you are dealing with a specific incident or want to improve your school’s social media policy, this step-by-step plan will help you take action based on a robust framework.
Two ways to use this step-by-step plan
- In acute online incidents: address situations involving social media immediately, and restore the standard and safety at school as quickly as possible. (Do not: identify the instigators.)
- As a guideline for preventive policy: use the guidelines to strengthen existing policy or an action plan and prepare for possible online incidents in the future.
Which online incidents should you use this step-by-step plan for?
Incidents involving social media can have major consequences for safety and well-being within the school. This step-by-step plan is intended for situations in which:
- the boundaries of acceptable online behavior are crossed and
- the incident jeopardizes the safety or perceived safety of students at school.
Examples of such online incidents:
- an unsolicited nude photo or other sensitive visual material of a student has been shared;
- a ‘banga list’ is being circulated;
- students have been publicly humiliated or excluded in group chats or on social media;
- online threats or hateful messages have been disseminated;
- fake accounts are used to bully, provoke or manipulate others;
- social media challenges or trends encourage dangerous behavior.
Please note: social media are constantly evolving, which means that new forms of online boundary-crossing behavior may emerge. A ‘list’ of possible incidents can therefore never be complete.
Online incidents between students
The step-by-step plan focuses specifically on online incidents between students (which also includes vocational education students). Situations in which parents or teachers are directly involved fall outside the scope of this step-by-step plan. The emphasis is on establishing online standards and restoring safety at school, even if the instigator cannot be identified. When social media play a role in an incident, the roles often become blurred: a victim can quickly become an instigator and vice versa. And by sharing or liking content, bystanders may also participate in the boundary-crossing behavior. That is why this step-by-step plan involves all ‘students involved’ and emphasizes the importance of responsibility on the part of and for all those involved.
- Instigators – These are the students who initiate the online boundary-crossing behavior. Sometimes this is a student from the school, but it may also be someone from outside the school.
- Victims – They suffer direct harm as a result of the incident. For example, a student whose nude photo has been distributed or who is excluded from a group chat.
- Bystanders – Bystanders play a major role in online incidents: they contribute by sharing, liking or encouraging a message, but also by remaining passive while knowing what is happening.
- Students involved – These are all students involved in the incident: instigators, victims and bystanders.
How do you apply the step-by-step plan?
With every online incident, it is crucial that you, as the person primarily responsible, determine whom to involve at each step. The step-by-step plan provides step-by-step guidance for this, offering support in both complex and less complex situations. This enables the incident to be addressed as effectively as possible and to lead to positive adjustments in policy and prevention.
All the steps in the step-by-step plan are explained in more detail on the School & Safety website.