The Better Buddies Framework

_______________________________________________________

Author(s): Sandra Craig and Kelly Oakley
Date of Publication: 2008
Website: www.amf.org.au

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Aim(s):

The central goal of The Alannah and Madeline Foundation’s Better Buddies Framework is to create friendly and caring school communities by building strong buddy relationships between students in first year of school and their last year of school where bullying and their forms of negative behaviour are reduced.

The mascot for the Better Buddies Framework is Buddy Bear, a purple teddy bear that conveys the message ‘I’m special because I care about others’. Buddy Bear symbolically supports children in their transition and orientation to school, and enhances the Better Buddies values giving them special focus and meaning.

Target group:

The targets of the Better Buddies Framework are new students in primary school at the beginning of their school life, and older primary school students in years five and six.

Program content and components:

The content for the Better Buddies Framework consists of a teacher’s manual, a Better Buddies DVD, a Better Buddies PowerPoint Presentation and the Better Buddies Framework in PDF format. The Framework also contains a Buddy Bear, Little Buddy, a Buddy Bear Teacher Puppet and a Better Buddies Poster.

The Teacher’s Manual includes special student training sessions and activities and links to Federal and State educational initiatives. The manual also has detailed instructions for the Framework’s successful whole-school focus profiling Better Buddies in school policies and special Better Buddies key events, as well as a précis of the research into buddy systems conducted by the Foundation, a list of skills cross-referenced to Learning Frameworks, and a variety of support documents for use by schools in the implementation and running of Better Buddies.

The Manual provides teachers with a range of ideas and Better Buddies activities. The activities were designed by teachers for teachers and can be used in a variety of ways. Most activities are designed to be run either with the older and younger buddies working together one-to-one or in small cooperative groups. A few activities are for the students to work on individually. There are also activities that could be run during lunchtime, on wet days, and activities that are called Better Buddies Key Events that could benefit from the assistance of volunteers (i.e. parents, grandparents and community volunteers).

The training sessions for senior buddies usually commences in Term 4 in preparation for the following year. The sessions are entitled:

  • What is a Buddy? This provides a description of the role of a buddy, what is involved, and the skills gained.
  • How can I be a good buddy? This covers important social skills such as active listening, cooperating, being positive, accepting differences, being kind, together with behaviours to avoid.
  • What if? – This comprises question time, troubleshooting and role-plays.
  • Planning for next year, where children are involved in planning for the following year to give them involvement and ownership in the Framework.
  • A refresher session is provided to revisit concepts and skills at the beginning of the following year.

Older buddies are supported by an ‘understudy’ buddy group made up of four older buddies who work together to improve their peer support skills. This group also provides a pool of students who can take the place of an older buddy who may be away from school for a short period of time, or who has left the school.

A short session is also provided for younger buddies to cover what a buddy program involves.

PROGRAM EVALUATION

Identified theoretical framework:

The underlying theoretical framework of the Better Buddies Framework is based on several theories of education, including social and emotional learning, positive psychology, social learning theory, situated learning and multiple intelligences.

PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

Program structure:

The Better Buddies Framework is designed for the buddy concept to be embedded within a school’s overall program as part of its focus on wellbeing. The buddy session is held once a week or once a fortnight. It takes a unit of classroom time (45 minutes, approximately). During this session older and younger children share a classroom under the supervision of a teacher, and undertake meaningful, planned and cooperative activities.

At key points during the year, special activity days known as Better Buddies Key Events draw attention to the different foci of the Framework: Better Buddies Welcome, Better Buddies Games, Better Buddies Book Week and Better Buddies Celebration (transition of the older children to secondary school). These are the key points at which the program developers anticipate the involvement of parents and other family members and volunteers. These can also be used to encourage whole-school involvement, and an additional focus on the development of social skills and cooperation.

Staff professional learning (PL):

Staff professional development on The Better Buddies Framework has been developed to suit any meeting schedule.

The Better Buddies Framework has a short information DVD which includes a view of Better Buddies in many schools across States and Territories as well as the launch of Better Buddies (Fri for Mobberi) into Denmark by Save the Children and The Mary Foundation with HRH Crown Princess Mary. There is also a PowerPoint Presentation for use in Staff Meetings or Parent Information Nights.

Program costs:

The Better Buddies Framework Starter Kit $290 (plus p/h)

The Better Buddies Starter Kit includes a Teacher’s Manual, Better Budies DVD, Better Buddies Power Point, the Better Buddies Framework in PDF format, a Buddy Bear, a Little Buddy, a Buddy Bear Teacher Puppet and a Better Buddies Poster.

About the author(s):

Sandra Craig (B.A., Dip Ed, Post Grad Dip Education and Training (Curriculum), M. Ed. University of Melbourne, M.Ed Monash University) is research officer and writer at The Alannah and Madeline Foundation. She recently redeveloped and re-wrote The Better Buddies Framework, and collaborated with the writing of the Activities and Training Manual. She has taught at Deakin University, was involved in the Safe Schools are Effective Schools Research, and has worked with Dr Helen McGrath in an evaluation of the Department of Education’s It’s Not OK to be Away attendance strategy. Sandra was also a leading teacher in secondary schools for 30 years and is the Manager of the National Centre Against Bullying (NCAB), an initiative of The Alannah and Madeline Foundation.

Kelly Oakley (Grad Dip Health Education and Promotion; Diploma of Teaching – Primary) has worked as a Primary School teacher for 10 years. She also worked as a project manager for the CFA and currently runs her own business as an education consultant. Her clients include The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, Rigby Heinemann publishers and Australian Schools Education and Training.

Maree Stanley (Diploma of Teaching (Primary), Graduate Certificate of Education, Grad Dip Library and Information Technology, MEd.) is the General Manager, Prevention at The Alannah and Madeline Foundation. Maree is on the Advisory Council of NCAB. Maree was a practising teacher for more than 20 years and developed the original concept of Better Buddies. Maree co-ordinates across Australia and communities with her counterparts in Denmark.

Contact information:

The Alannah and Madeline Foundation
PO Box 5192
South Melbourne, VIC. 3205
Phone: (03) 9697 0666
Fax: (03) 9690 5644
Email: Betterbuddies@amf.org.au
Website: www.amf.org.au

Return to the Component 1 Categorisation Table 

It is important to note that inclusion of a program in this Guide does not constitute an endorsement by KidsMatter Primary. All program details were correct at time of publishing.