Solid Kids, Solid Schools for primary and secondary
schools
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander KidsMatter Primary Program
OVERVIEW
Age of child:
6-15 years
Type of program:
Universal (for all students)
Health promotion (for all students to promote wellbeing and build resilience)
Prevention (for all students with the aim of trying to stop difficulties from developing)
Topics:
Social and emotional skills
Bullying prevention and management
Context:
Child
Family
Community/society
School
Life events/situations
KidsMatter Components:
Component 1: A positive school community
Component 2: Social and emotional learning for students
Component 3: Working with parents and carers
Aims to support:
Students
Parents and carers
Families
Educators
Date published and edition: First uploaded in 2011
IMPLEMENTATION: DELIVERY
Available:
Solid Kids, Solid Schools is available to primary and secondary schools nationwide.
Facilitated by:
Primary and secondary teachers and staff
Health workers
About the program:
 Aims
Solid Kids, Solid Schools aims to help schools with a significant enrolment of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to understand the prevention,
reduction and management of bullying and aggression in an Aboriginal and
Torres Strait context. The program also aims to help schools develop and
implement culturally safe guidelines and practices to prevent, reduce and
manage bullying in the school.
 Program structure
Solid Kids, Solid Schools approaches the prevention and management of bullying
in schools in three ways:
1. Support for students:
 This resource focuses on helping students understand what bullying is; how
to identify it; and guides students through what they can do if they or their
friends encounter or experience bullying.
 The information is provided online to enable students to work through at
their own pace (as needed).
 The information is presented in the form of fact and tip sheets, games and
comics, and is specially designed by the Yamaji community to be culturally
safe resources.
2. Support for families and other carers:
 This resource provides culturally safe information to families and other
carers about what bullying is; how they can talk about it with their child and
their child’s school is also provided online for families and other carers.
 These resources consist of a series of information sheets that families and
other
carers
can
use
on
a
needs
basis.
3. Support for schools:
 Solid Kids, Solid Schools provides a framework for schools to set up and
run culturally safe bullying prevention and management programs. Within
this framework, resources focus on providing information for school staff
about bullying in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander context, for
instance, how to manage it, raise awareness of cultural security and create
a school environment that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students.
Review tools are also provided that schools can use to provide a snapshot
of how effectively they are currently supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students who are involved in or experiencing bullying and identify
areas for improvement that can become the basis for a bullying
management and prevention plan
 Methods of delivery
All of the materials and resources needed to implement Solid Kids, Solid Schools
are available on the website: www.solidkids.net.au
Key principles and model:
Solid Kids, Solid Schools draws on Social Ecological Theory and Social Cognitive
Theory to help schools set up and run culturally safe bullying prevention and
management programs. Social Ecological Theory recognises that bullying does not
just happen, but that it is encouraged or prevented by complicated relationships
between an individual, family, friends, school, community and culture. Based on this
understanding, Solid Kids, Solid Schools helps schools focus on four areas that can
manage and prevent bullying:
1. The school setting;
2. External characteristics of students who experience bullying and those who
bully others;
3. Behavioural characteristics of students who experience bullying and those
who bully others; and
4. Home conditions and child rearing.
Social Cognitive Theory explains how bullying can start and spread at a school.
When students observe and model their friends’ aggressive and antisocial
behaviours, bullying can spread. Solid Kids Solid Schools uses Social Cognitive
Theory to design strategies that enhance students’ social support, their self efficacy
and ability to empathise with others.
Training required: NO
No training is required to facilitate Solid Kids, Solid Schools.
Materials needed:
Computers with an Internet connection to access program materials.
Costs:
Program
Solid Kids, Solid Schools is available free of charge to all schools
EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS
Summary of effectiveness:
Initially, Solid Kids, Solid Schools started out as a project that aimed to:


collect cultural understandings of bullying among Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander children and communities; and
work with Yamaji school communities to develop locally relevant and culturally
safe bullying prevention and management strategies.
As a result, a framework for schools and a website was developed in 2011. The
program is still running in Yamaji country in Western Australia.
Corroborating evidence:
 Research based evidence
None available at this time.
 Practice based evidence
Feedback from Aboriginal students
Feedback from Aboriginal parents
Feedback from Elders
Feedback from Aboriginal school staff
Feedback from principals
AUTHORS/CONTACTS
Author(s):
Dr Donna Cross
Dr Juli Coffin
About the Author(s):
Dr Donna Cross is the Professor of Child and Adolescent Health in the School of
Exercise and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University and the Founding Director of
the Child Health Promotion Research Centre. Since 1993 Donna and her research
team has secured over A$15m in research funding, to conduct primary prevention,
applied school and family-based research to improve children and young people’s
health and wellbeing by reducing bullying including cyber bullying behaviours, road
injuries, obesity and drug use behaviours targeting children. While most of her
research has been conducted in Australia, she has also been involved in schoolbased research throughout the USA as well as Europe, South Africa, Canada, and
Japan. She was the 2012 Western Australian, Australian of the Year. Publication list
can be provided on request.
Dr Juli Coffin is an Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia and
Regional Tobacco Coordinator GRAMS Wanggajimanha and senior member of the
Centre for Research Excellence in Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing. Juli has worked
in health promotion, cultural safety and security, education and research for 25 years,
securing grants to address the health needs of Aboriginal children and their families
especially in the areas of tobacco control, aggression, violence and bullying
prevention. Publication list can be provided on request.
Contact information:
Address:
Child Health Promotion Research Centre
School of Exercise and Health Sciences
Edith Cowan University, 2 Bradford Street
Mt Lawley, Western Australia 6050
Phone: 08 9370 6634
Fax: 08 9370 6511
Website:
www.solidkids.net.au
Copyright © Commonwealth of Australia 2013. This work is copyright. You may use this work in accordance with the terms of licence available at www.kidsmatter.edu.au