There is no recipe for a positive group atmosphere… There are more than enough tips on how to combat bullying and when to use which interventions to create a positive group atmosphere. If those tips always worked in every situation, we would no longer need to talk about bullying today. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

I have worked extensively in schools over the past 25 years. Something I noticed, and encountered regularly, is that the students are very easily held solely responsible for the atmosphere. There are students who ‘ruin’ the atmosphere.

In every group there are students who test and try to push boundaries, who try all kinds of things. And yet, and yet, and yet… I have often experienced a teacher talking about a group like this: “What a difficult group: I have tried everything, but they really cannot be tamed; nothing seems to work,” or “How glad I am that I will have a new group next year.”

What subsequently struck me was that whenever these kinds of statements were made, there was always a colleague who responded: “Oh, I have never had any trouble with them; I actually thought they were a lovely group.” In fact, I discovered that some people referred to pleasant groups as ‘my group’, while problematic groups were called ‘the group’. I interpret these statements as follows: in the first case, the teacher feels part of the group, while in the second, the teacher distances themselves from the group.

Fortunately, I also have some wonderful examples.

I am thinking of a teacher who told her class about her own experience of being bullied. The class was deeply impressed. No one had imagined that their teacher had ever been bullied. The students then began sharing their own stories. From that moment on, the teacher became a trusted person to turn to when something went wrong. As a result, she was able to intervene quickly and de-escalate situations.

Another example: a teacher asked her class: “I have tried so many things with you, and I cannot manage anymore. You just keep going, whatever I do. Please help me! Imagine that you were the teacher of this class. What would you do?” This inviting question had a very positive effect on the conversation. They managed to agree on how everyone could share responsibility for everything that happened in the classroom.

A teacher’s response when we were talking about bullying: “Bullying? No. I simply do not accept it. I also do not accept any ‘Yes, but… he started it, I did nothing,’ or anything like that. I am very clear about this, and they know it.”

A teacher told me that every school year he starts with a class discussion about how they can have a good year together, without necessarily having to be friends with one another. The students were asked to think about what makes a class enjoyable and safe for everyone. They incorporated their ideas into agreements (a maximum of 10), wrote them down on an A4 sheet of paper and hung it on the classroom board. Every morning, the teacher took five minutes to review the agreements. When something happened in the classroom, he pointed to the board and asked the students: “Do we have an agreement about this?” He said: “The time I invest every morning in the agreements we have made together saves me a great deal of time that would otherwise be spent on arguments, explanations and restorative conversations.”

A positive group atmosphere

Based on the stories I have heard, I dare to compile a short list of ingredients that contribute, at the very least, to a positive group atmosphere. Students need trust, and you offer them this by:

  • working on the relationship. Give them your time and attention and show genuine interest (know their names!);
  • involving them in making the agreements that help create a positive group atmosphere. Regularly evaluate the agreements together: What is going well? What would we like to do differently? How are we going to do that?;
  • ensuring that there are clear boundaries for behaviour. Clearly state your expectations and indicate what you do and do not accept; be very clear that you do not tolerate bullying;
  • being consistent. This means saying what you will do and doing what you say, and adhering to agreements that have been made;
  • being a role model for them;
  • acknowledging mistakes and apologising for your mistakes;
  • encouraging positive behaviour. Think, for example, of students who help one another; students who notice that someone does not feel comfortable in the classroom; or students who assert their boundaries. When you show that you notice this and affirm that behaviour, the students and their classmates experience and learn how to interact with one another in a positive way;
  • creating room for making mistakes. Practising behaviour also involves making mistakes. You learn from those together as well;
  • giving feedback and asking for feedback.

This list is no guarantee of success. It does, however, contribute to positive group formation.

The more preventive and proactive you are in working with the group, the greater the chance of a positive group atmosphere.

It is worth trying!

Of course, it is important to talk to the children about this at the beginning of the week. But by also ending the week together (sitting in a circle with a cup of tea) and specifically mentioning the positive things the children themselves bring up, you make the students more attentive to them. The teacher ensures that it is not always the same children who are mentioned.
This reminds me of a school that worked with a social circle based on group-dynamic education. In addition to discussing what was going well, they also discussed what could be improved. Together, they formulated an improvement goal. And once they had achieved their goal, it went into the Golden Box.

Finally: we are talking about how you can influence a positive group atmosphere. Above all, be positive yourself! Be proactively positive towards every student. Everyone has something good that you can mention, and every child and every teacher does better when given compliments.