College tackles bullying beyond the school gate

Adding to the 600 schools that Family Zone Education Solutions currently has, a recent article published in The Educator Online covered the roll-out in Coomera Anglican College on The Gold Coast in Queensland.

Coomera Anglican College will be one of the first schools on the Gold Coast to take a whole of College approach to online safety, making Family Zone available to all families from Preparatory to Year 12.

In 2018, a national survey by mental health organisation ReachOut Australia found that cyberbullying rates among 14-16-year-olds had doubled since the previous year.

While governments, schools and communities are working to address this issue, bullies almost always hide behind the convenience of online anonymity, rendering their victims and their families helpless to take action against them.

However, the new digital security tool can remove this luxury enjoyed by bullies through blocking the content they post from the devices of their victims.

For the schools to use the technology, they must first have permission from parents, but can then enact a tamper-proof app and a portal that allows schools – and the parents – to monitor what websites, messages and apps students use.

Coomera Anglican College principal, Dr Mark Sly, said the College is committed to keeping students safe in online environments, 24 hours a day.

“The safety of our students while navigating the rapidly advancing digital world is a top priority at the College,” Dr Sly said.

Dr Sly said the ability to keep students safe regardless of the device they are using or the source of internet they are connected to is one of the main differences that Family Zone offers.

“It will be available on College supplied devices as part of our eMind program, but will also allow families to provide protection on devices at home and personal devices when students are out and about,” he said.

9 News also covered the Coomera Anglican College roll-out.