Why Connection Is the Heart of Effective Upstander Training
You’d expect November and December to be quieter months for an anti-bullying program. But for The Stand-Up Project (SUP), they’re some of our busiest – and most meaningful – weeks of the year.
End-of-year assemblies start rolling in, and with them comes one of the most important elements of our upstander training and leadership model: connection.
Because while our evidence-based bullying prevention content matters – and while our student-led approach is what makes SUP unique – it’s the relationships our facilitators build with students that create the real, long-term change in school culture.
The power of connection in bullying prevention
Our facilitators, like Liam O’Connell and Maria Antonia Robles, spend so much time in schools that students recognise them instantly.
It’s not unusual for SUP Leaders to run across the yard to greet us, or for younger students to call out our names when we arrive. This familiarity, warmth and trust is what allows genuine student voice and leadership to flourish.
And it’s why assemblies have become such a significant part of our work.
Recognising student leadership – properly
We’re regularly invited to school assemblies to present SUP Leadership Certificates and Letters of Commendation in person. This isn’t a token gesture. It’s a deliberate choice that reinforces a key message:
Their leadership matters. Their voice matters. Their contribution to school culture matters.
Yesterday at Peninsula Grammar, we presented certificates to their SUP Leaders. The excitement leading up to it, the nerves of standing in front of hundreds of peers, and the pride on their faces made it clear why student-led anti-bullying programs work.
Moments like these give students a sense of prestige, achievement and belonging. They show families and staff that the program is more than content – it’s a whole-school commitment to empowering young people to lead cultural change.
Why this matters for school culture
In bullying prevention, connection is not a “nice extra”. It’s foundational.
Students remember the facilitator who believed in them long after they’ve forgotten the slideshow or activity.
Those relationships make it easier for them to:
engage in meaningful upstander training
speak honestly about the issues affecting their cohort
design solutions that feel authentic
step confidently into leadership roles
shift norms around bullying, racism, and disrespect
This is how you build a respectful school culture from the inside out.
A lot of kilometres – but worth every one
Yes, it’s a lot of time on the road. But we wouldn’t change a thing.
Because when we stand on a stage at assembly and see a group of young people beaming with pride – knowing they made their school kinder, safer and more inclusive – that’s the moment everything clicks.
This is what they’ll remember years from now.
And it’s why The Stand-Up Project exists.
