Start with your situation
A few structured questions narrow down which information is relevant right now.
Clarity when the next step matters most
Standly helps parents navigate difficult peer experiences by understanding what may be happening, identifying the trusted information and pathways relevant to their situation, organising what they know, and preparing for constructive conversations with educators.
Currently for parents and carers of children in NSW public schools.
How it works
Standly does not decide what you should do. It helps make authoritative information easier to understand and easier to use in the situation you are actually in.
A few structured questions narrow down which information is relevant right now.
See the source guidance, policy and practical navigation help that may be relevant to that stage.
Standly shows where the information comes from so you can verify it for yourself.
The Standly approach
Standly is independent. We’re not part of or endorsed by the NSW Department of Education. When we refer to government or other trusted guidance, we show you where it comes from and link back to the original source. Standly helps you make sense of what may be relevant, organise what you know and prepare for constructive conversations. It supports shared understanding without assigning blame or deciding what either a parent or school should do. What you do with the information stays with you and your family.
Parent research
Standly is still being shaped by parent experiences. The current research survey asks what happened, what families tried, where they got stuck and what would have made navigating the situation easier.
Who’s behind Standly
Standly was created by Kristi after seeing how difficult it can be for families to understand what to do when their child is experiencing bullying.
The idea started from listening to parents who were overwhelmed, unsure where to turn and trying to support their children through difficult situations.
Standly has been shaped by conversations with parents, educators and specialists, alongside trusted information sources.
Learn more about Standly →Standly updates
This is for occasional Standly updates, new resources, and opportunities to help test what we are building.
Standly Navigator
For parents and carers of children in NSW public schools
First, a quick safety check
This could include being seriously injured, being at immediate risk of someone hurting them, saying they may hurt themselves or someone else, or a situation where you believe they cannot be kept safe right now.
Urgent help
You selected that your child may be in immediate danger or at risk of serious harm. Standly does not assess the level of risk.
If you think you or your child are at immediate risk of harm, call Triple Zero (000) or visit any hospital emergency department.
View official source ↗If you selected this by mistake, or the situation is not an immediate safety issue, you can go back and continue through the Navigator.
Where things are right now
You do not need certainty before you can listen to your child, notice what has changed and understand the language NSW public schools use.
Standly does not decide whether what is happening is bullying. This page is here to help you understand what you are noticing, what the official sources mean, and what may be useful to keep track of while you make sense of the situation.
NSW Department of Education guidance recommends:
Bullying No Way lists changes that can sometimes appear when a child is experiencing bullying, while also noting that these signs can have many other causes.
A sign on its own does not mean bullying is occurring.
The Department's definition includes four important elements:
A single disagreement or incident is not defined as bullying under this definition, but it can still be harmful and still matter.
This is organisation help, not a test for whether bullying has occurred.
It can help to keep apart what you or your child directly noticed, what someone else shared, and what you think may be happening. This does not make one less important. It makes the conversation clearer about what is known and what still needs to be understood.
Find signs to notice, ways to support your child and trusted Australian sources, alongside any school or bullying process.
These may also be relevant alongside your main result. Open only what is useful.
eSafety guidance covers preserving evidence, reporting content to the platform and, for serious cyberbullying involving a person under 18 in Australia, when an eSafety report may be available.
Not every online incident will meet eSafety's legal threshold. Standly does not make that determination.
View eSafety guidance ↗NSW Police guidance says threatening social media content can be retained as evidence, reported to the platform or service provider, and reported at a police station. Standly does not decide whether a specific message or behaviour is a criminal offence.
If your child is in immediate danger or cannot be kept safe, use urgent help instead.
View NSW Police guidance ↗Bullying No Way guidance includes maintaining family connection, safe friendships, enjoyable activities away from the bullying, healthy routines and making sure the child knows who they can go to if they feel unsafe or need support.
View original source ↗Current parent and carer guidance suggests focusing on what is within your control, staying connected to supportive people and asking for help when you need it.
Five quick questions help us understand what felt clear, useful or still needs work.
School contact
Okay. You know or strongly suspect your child is experiencing bullying or harmful behaviour. You do not need to know what to do about it yet.
Not every family is ready to involve the school at the same point. The aim here is to make the process less unknown, not to choose it for you.
You can see what school involvement may look like, what trusted guidance says about your child's wishes and what questions families can ask before deciding what you want to do.
NSW Department of Education guidance tells parents to ask what their child wants to do and what they want the parent to do. It also recognises that a child may be reluctant for a parent to speak with school staff. Bullying No Way guidance says students should be asked what they want to happen and kept involved in the process.
NSW guidance says to contact the school immediately where there is a concern about the child's safety. Immediate danger or current risk of serious harm belongs in the urgent help route.
Trusted guidance recognises that children and young people can hesitate to speak up or involve adults because they worry the situation could get worse, that someone may retaliate, or that other people may see them differently.
Bullying No Way guidance for schools describes responses that can include safety planning, follow-up, regular check-ins, monitoring whether a plan is working and checking whether the response has caused new problems or shifted the problem elsewhere.
Bullying No Way guidance suggests checking the school's process, preparing notes, asking what steps may be taken and when the family will be updated, keeping records and maintaining contact.
Some parts of the process may not be visible. A school may be observing patterns, speaking with staff, supporting students or putting strategies in place. It may not be able to share every detail because it also needs to protect other students' privacy. This does not tell you how well a particular situation is being handled; it explains why some activity may happen outside your view.
Questions the guidance can help you prepare:
Use this worksheet to notice patterns, organise information and prepare questions for a constructive conversation with educators.
It helps organise observations and questions. It does not assess what happened or determine responsibility.
Every NSW public school must publish a School Behaviour Support and Management Plan and review it annually. It should cover the school's approach to bullying and cyberbullying, reporting and planned responses.
Look for School Behaviour Support and Management Plan or SBSMP on the school website. Common locations include About us → Policies and reports, Policies or Student Wellbeing.
Find signs to notice, ways to support your child and trusted Australian sources, alongside any school or bullying process.
These may also be relevant alongside your main result. Open only what is useful.
eSafety guidance covers preserving evidence, reporting content to the platform and, for serious cyberbullying involving a person under 18 in Australia, when an eSafety report may be available.
Not every online incident will meet eSafety's legal threshold. Standly does not make that determination.
View eSafety guidance ↗NSW Police guidance says threatening social media content can be retained as evidence, reported to the platform or service provider, and reported at a police station. Standly does not decide whether a specific message or behaviour is a criminal offence.
If your child is in immediate danger or cannot be kept safe, use urgent help instead.
View NSW Police guidance ↗Bullying No Way guidance includes maintaining family connection, safe friendships, enjoyable activities away from the bullying, healthy routines and making sure the child knows who they can go to if they feel unsafe or need support.
View original source ↗Current parent and carer guidance suggests focusing on what is within your control, staying connected to supportive people and asking for help when you need it.
Five quick questions help us understand what felt clear, useful or still needs work.
What is happening now
Okay. You have already raised what is happening with the school.
You should not have to open several source pages just to understand the basic shape of the process. The main points are summarised below, with the original sources available for checking.
It brings together what NSW and national bullying guidance says a response may include, what questions the guidance supports asking, and what information you can reasonably look for in the process. It does not rate the school for you.
This describes recognised guidance. It is not a guarantee that every situation will follow an identical sequence.
When you raise a concern, a school may be observing patterns, speaking with staff, supporting students or putting strategies in place. It may not be able to share all details because it also needs to protect other students' privacy.
This does not imply that schools always respond well, or that these actions are happening in every situation. It explains why a family may not be able to see every part of the process.
NSW Department guidance notes that privacy laws can limit what a school can share about other students. This can mean you are told what the school is doing to support your child without being given details about another student's circumstances or consequences.
That privacy limit is different from asking about your own child's safety, the plan, follow-up, monitoring and what happens next. The sources above describe those as parts of the response process.
Both sources support keeping a simple record of school contact so everyone can return to the same information. This can include:
Use this worksheet to organise what you have noticed, what has already been discussed and what you would like to understand next.
It helps organise observations and questions. It does not assess what happened or determine responsibility.
If fear of consequences or your child’s wishes are affecting the decision, the key source position is visible here. Open a card only for fuller context and original sources.
Trusted guidance recognises that children and young people can hesitate to speak up or involve adults because they worry the situation could get worse, that someone may retaliate, or that other people may see them differently.
Bullying No Way guidance for schools describes responses that can include safety planning, follow-up, regular check-ins, monitoring whether a plan is working and checking whether the response has caused new problems or shifted the problem elsewhere.
This does not mean a particular action will or will not make things better or worse in your child’s situation. Standly cannot predict that.
NSW Department guidance tells parents to ask what their child wants to do and what they want the parent to do. Bullying No Way says students should be asked what they want to happen, kept involved and told what the next steps will be.
Standly does not decide whether you should follow or override your child’s wishes.
NSW public schools must publish their School Behaviour Support and Management Plan and review it annually. The plan includes approaches to bullying and cyberbullying, student support, reporting and recording.
Look for School Behaviour Support and Management Plan or SBSMP. Common locations include About us → Policies and reports, Policies or Student Wellbeing.
Bullying No Way suggests asking what steps may be taken and when the school will update the family. If a follow-up date was agreed, that date can be a useful reference point.
The National Framework expects school systems and schools to make reasonable efforts to initiate a response within two school days. Education sectors are due to reflect this expectation in their policies and procedures by Term 1 2027, so it should not be read as a universal current deadline at every school yet. It also concerns starting a response, not resolving the matter within two days.
Find signs to notice, ways to support your child and trusted Australian sources, alongside any school or bullying process.
These may also be relevant alongside your main result. Open only what is useful.
eSafety guidance covers preserving evidence, reporting content to the platform and, for serious cyberbullying involving a person under 18 in Australia, when an eSafety report may be available.
Not every online incident will meet eSafety's legal threshold. Standly does not make that determination.
View eSafety guidance ↗NSW Police guidance says threatening social media content can be retained as evidence, reported to the platform or service provider, and reported at a police station. Standly does not decide whether a specific message or behaviour is a criminal offence.
If your child is in immediate danger or cannot be kept safe, use urgent help instead.
View NSW Police guidance ↗Bullying No Way guidance includes maintaining family connection, safe friendships, enjoyable activities away from the bullying, healthy routines and making sure the child knows who they can go to if they feel unsafe or need support.
View original source ↗Current parent and carer guidance suggests focusing on what is within your control, staying connected to supportive people and asking for help when you need it.
Five quick questions help us understand what felt clear, useful or still needs work.
If you still have concerns after speaking with the school, these are the main formal process details the Department publishes.
It helps you understand the NSW Department complaint process and the difference between a student behaviour concern and a formal complaint. It does not decide that the school has failed or that a formal pathway is the right fit.
Concerns about student behaviour continue to sit within the school's behaviour processes. A formal complaint can relate to the service provided, a decision, a policy or procedure, or staff behaviour or conduct.
NSW Department guidance says concerns are generally raised with the school first. It identifies the student's teacher or relevant staff member for routine concerns, then the principal if concerns remain. If the concern is about the principal, the Department's local office can be contacted. The Department also provides an online complaint form.
Current Community complaint procedures say complaint managers must acknowledge a complaint within 3 business days and finalise a complaint within 20 business days, although individual circumstances can affect those timeframes.
These are complaint handling timeframes. They are not universal bullying response deadlines.
A complaint does not necessarily result in a formal investigation.
If fear of consequences or your child’s wishes are affecting the decision, the key source position is visible here. Open a card only for fuller context and original sources.
Trusted guidance recognises that children and young people can hesitate to speak up or involve adults because they worry the situation could get worse, that someone may retaliate, or that other people may see them differently.
Bullying No Way guidance for schools describes safety planning, follow-up, monitoring and checking whether a response causes new problems.
Standly cannot predict whether a particular action will make things better or worse.
NSW Department guidance tells parents to ask what their child wants to do and what they want the parent to do. Bullying No Way says students should be kept involved in the process and told what happens next.
Standly does not decide whether you should follow or override your child's wishes.
Current procedures provide an internal review option where a complainant says the outcome was incorrect or the complaint handling process was unfair. A review request generally needs to be made in writing within 10 business days of receiving the complaint outcome, unless special circumstances apply.
Find signs to notice, ways to support your child and trusted Australian sources, alongside any school or bullying process.
These may also be relevant alongside your main result. Open only what is useful.
eSafety guidance covers preserving evidence, reporting content to the platform and, for serious cyberbullying involving a person under 18 in Australia, when an eSafety report may be available.
Not every online incident will meet eSafety's legal threshold. Standly does not make that determination.
View eSafety guidance ↗NSW Police guidance says threatening social media content can be retained as evidence, reported to the platform or service provider, and reported at a police station. Standly does not decide whether a specific message or behaviour is a criminal offence.
If your child is in immediate danger or cannot be kept safe, use urgent help instead.
View NSW Police guidance ↗Bullying No Way guidance includes maintaining family connection, safe friendships, enjoyable activities away from the bullying, healthy routines and making sure the child knows who they can go to if they feel unsafe or need support.
View original source ↗Current parent and carer guidance suggests focusing on what is within your control, staying connected to supportive people and asking for help when you need it.
Five quick questions help us understand what felt clear, useful or still needs work.
You do not need to start from the beginning. What matters here is what has continued or changed, what the school already knows, what was agreed, and whether this is the first recurrence or part of repeated reporting over time.
One recent follow-up and several conversations over time are not the same situation. The information below helps keep that context visible while staying anchored in the same published sources.
If you raised this once recently and the behaviour has continued, the useful context is what happened next and what follow-up or plan was discussed. If you have raised it more than once, previous contacts, agreed actions, review dates and what has continued become important context too.
Standly uses the same official sources for both situations. Repeated contact does not by itself determine how the school has responded.
NSW Department guidance says parents can contact the school again if bullying continues or increases. Bullying No Way advises staying in contact with the teacher or wellbeing staff member, telling them if problems continue or something new happens, and keeping the child involved in what happens next. That makes previous contact, agreed actions and what has happened since relevant information to bring together.
Bullying No Way guidance describes:
This helps organise observations and prepare a clearer follow-up conversation. It is not a recommendation to take a particular action.
Use this worksheet to bring together what has changed, what support has been tried and what you would like to understand next.
It helps organise observations and questions. It does not assess what happened or determine responsibility.
If fear of consequences or your child’s wishes are affecting the decision, the key source position is visible here. Open a card only for fuller context and original sources.
Trusted guidance recognises that children and young people can hesitate to speak up or involve adults because they worry the situation could get worse, that someone may retaliate, or that other people may see them differently.
Bullying No Way guidance for schools describes safety planning, follow-up, monitoring and checking whether a response causes new problems.
Standly cannot predict whether a particular action will make things better or worse.
NSW Department guidance tells parents to ask what their child wants to do and what they want the parent to do. Bullying No Way says students should be kept involved in the process and told what happens next.
Standly does not decide whether you should follow or override your child's wishes.
NSW public schools are required to publish a School Behaviour Support and Management Plan and review it annually. The plan should include the school's approach to bullying and cyberbullying, reporting, recording and student support.
Look for School Behaviour Support and Management Plan or SBSMP on the school website. Check the document date or review date.
Continuing behaviour does not automatically mean a complaint is required. If your concern is also about the handling of the matter, you can view the formal NSW Department options separately.
Find signs to notice, ways to support your child and trusted Australian sources, alongside any school or bullying process.
These may also be relevant alongside your main result. Open only what is useful.
eSafety guidance covers preserving evidence, reporting content to the platform and, for serious cyberbullying involving a person under 18 in Australia, when an eSafety report may be available.
Not every online incident will meet eSafety's legal threshold. Standly does not make that determination.
View eSafety guidance ↗NSW Police guidance says threatening social media content can be retained as evidence, reported to the platform or service provider, and reported at a police station. Standly does not decide whether a specific message or behaviour is a criminal offence.
If your child is in immediate danger or cannot be kept safe, use urgent help instead.
View NSW Police guidance ↗Bullying No Way guidance includes maintaining family connection, safe friendships, enjoyable activities away from the bullying, healthy routines and making sure the child knows who they can go to if they feel unsafe or need support.
View original source ↗Current parent and carer guidance suggests focusing on what is within your control, staying connected to supportive people and asking for help when you need it.
Five quick questions help us understand what felt clear, useful or still needs work.