London council adopts web-based approach to help eliminate racism and bullying within its schools

18 March 2008 - The London Borough of Bexley has adopted an innovative, internet-based approach to tackling racism and bullying, allowing the schools to monitor incidents in real-time and provide effective support for its pupils.

Announcing the launch of the racism and anti-bullying initiative at the 2008 Southern Anti-Bullying Conference, Bexley has joined a growing number of Local Authorities across London and England piloting Vantage Technologies’ Sentinel Anti-Bullying software to identify and tackle racism and bullying in their schools; around a third of all English Local Authorities are now on board.

By recording and monitoring incidents of harassment within schools, teaching staff and Local Authority officials will have a greater understanding of issues relating to racism and bullying.

Using Sentinel allows Bexley to fulfil its statutory obligation to record racial incidents and also monitor and target other forms of harassment, to focus on tackling bullying and ensuring that all children have access to a world-class education. 

Sentinel’s flexibility will enable Bexley to incorporate aspects of its former reporting system into the new web-based tool. This allows them to continue to offer a checklist to staff on how to deal with harassment incidents, whilst offering a system which automatically collates data and is easily interrogated, enabling staff to easily access the information.

As well as recording details of the perpetrator, Sentinel also allows details of the by-standers and their involvement in bullying incidents to be recorded. This is important to schools as it enables members of staff to identify all parties directly and indirectly involved in the bullying

Bexley initially adopted Sentinel to allow its schools to monitor and tackle instances of racism only, however the Borough intends to extend its use to all forms of bullying to eradicate harassment altogether.

Sentinel is currently being trialled at two secondary schools and two primary schools within Bexley and will be rolled out to its remaining 73 schools after the pilot has ended this summer. 

Following its deployment across all schools in the Borough, Bexley plan to roll out Sentinel to early learning and pre-school organisations and to youth centres in the area so that cases of bullying and harassment outside of the school environment can also be monitored and managed, allowing children of all ages to benefit from its information gathering facility.

To date, 51 Local Authorities across the country have signed up to Sentinel. Personal information about individuals involved in bullying is restricted to authorised members of school staff. However, as school management and Children’s Services professionals will have access to anonymous data on each incident, this will result in joint action to develop effective anti-bullying policies and to identify bullying hotspots, trends in behaviour and the success of anti-bullying initiatives.

Cllr. Simon Windle, the London Borough of Bexley’s Cabinet Member for Schools, Adult Education and Youth Services said “All of our youngsters and staff in schools and youth centres have a right and expectation to be free of harassment and bullying wherever they may be.  Bexley Council recognises this right and welcomes Sentinel’s new IT solution that may help further achieve that objective.  I am sure the positive results will be seen in the months and years to come.”