The interviews
Steps to follow while interviewing a PI:
- Reassure her/him that you are not going to punish her/him.
Don’t try to make him/her to admit their acts. - Provoke her/his empathy for the victim even if the level of it seems insignificant.
- Ask her/him about what she/he can do to improve the victim’s situation.
Don’t use words such as “bullying”, “bully” or “victim”.
During the first interview, the interviewer explains that he is part of school team that works for the well-being of all the students (avoiding the word “bullying”). He states clearly that the student is not in trouble, and then expresses his concern for the victim.
- “I hear that X is having a bad time here at school…”.
Note that the interviewer is not to ask questions to establish the truth about the bullying and will certainly not assign blame.
The students will then (usually) acknowledge that the victim indeed is having a bad time without indicating who is responsible for that. If this is the case, the interviewer should then confirm the shared concern.
- “Ah, so you have also noticed the same thing…”
The interviewer then asks what the student can do to help the victim or change the situation. The student will propose one or more actions that he/she can carry out to help the victim: “I can talk with X” – “I can talk with the people who are bothering X” – “I can observe X to see what is wrong…”. Whatever the proposal(s), the interviewer reacts in a very positive manner.
- “Excellent! That is a great idea”, and then goes on to give the student an appointment in a few days’ time.
Occasionally, the student being interviewed does not acknowledge any problem with the victim. In that case the interview is immediately ended, but the interviewer reserves the right to call the student again soon.
- “I see. In that case you can go. I will see you again in a few days to see if you have noticed anything”.
The following interview should ideally be carried out after one or two days. For the second interview the student already knows what to expect, so the interviewer will hardly need to guide the student.
- “Hello again… Are there any developments with X?”.
The student will usually have respected the contract and answer “Yes, I spoke with X…” etc. The interviewer then asks if the victim is doing any better. The response to this will vary, depending on the degree of preoccupation of the student. Once again, the interviewer will give a further appointment with the student.
In the meantime, the other members of the team must be in parallel contact with the victim, to see if the situation is evolving.
If necessary, a couple more similar interviews are carried out.
When the bullying stops, the interviewer will congratulate the student on his role in this change, and add that he counts on the student to tell him/her about any change for the worse.
- “That is great! And I know that what you have been doing was a great help to change the situation! OK! As X is so much better, I will not call you to another meeting… Of course, if you notice anything bad, don’t hesitate to come to me!”.
Interviews with the witnesses
The procedure of receiving the students is the similar as for the PI – the team member inform the student that he is a member of a school team that works on a well-being of all students and that he is concerned about X.
The interviewer then asks whether the student has noticed something.
During this interview, the witness can give some other information about the state of the victim, can bring to light someone else’s involvement in the case, or give the name of some of the victim’s close friends who can give more information about him/her.
The communication with the members of the team and with the rest of the staff
The communication within the team is primordial. The new information gathered during the interviews must be shared and evaluated. In a case where the interviews are not successful, the team should decide together to stop the procedure and handle the case in a different manner.
It is best if the members meet in person as often as possible during an active case and it is recommended to have a written record of the interviews which can be consulted by all the members of the team.
