Fight Management Protocol                                                                   

1.   Assess the situation.

• Is there an audience egging them on? Dismiss the audience.
• Do you have a good relationship with these students? If so, they will be more likely to cooperate with you.
• Who is fighting and how many? Get names and note discriminating physical features.
• Are there any weapons? Ask them to hand over any potential weapons.

2.   Call for help.
Teamwork is very important in this situation; work in pairs when called to break up a fight.

• Notify the office that a fight is occurring. Use a cell phone or ask a student to go and get help.
• Let other adults know where you are going and where the fight is occurring.
• If two adults are on the scene, work as a team and stand four to six metres apart from each other. This diverts attention by causing the students who are fighting to focus on more than one staff member. One staff member can give the verbal orders while the other staff member concentrates on visual cues.

3.   Dismiss the audience.

• Disrupt the fight by calling out the names of the students who are participating as an audience. This conveys the message that adults are present, will disperse the audience and may distract the students who are fighting.
• If necessary, remove the audience by starting at the perimeter and working your way closer to the fighting. Direct audience members to tasks; e.g., “Go and get another teacher.”
• Another effective strategy for dispersing an audience is for a number of school staff to converge on the area. Some schools have an “all code” indication that all school staff should converge on a certain area.

4.   Defuse the situation.                                                                                

• Identify yourself as a teacher. Make sounds by whistling or shouting exclamations such as, “Stop” or “Calm down” or “Move apart.”
• Act like a peacemaker, keep your hands up and approach the students from the front. Stay out of striking distance.
• Stop any type of taunting interchange. Prefight provocation commonly includes teasing, insults, bumping and staring.
• Deal with one individual at a time. Confront the one who is most likely to comply with your request, either the student you know best or the student who is getting the most hurt.
• Use the student’s name and ask him or her (Student A) to calm down and move away. Offer the student a way out. For example, “You don’t want to get into any more trouble. Let the principal deal with him (or her).”
• Repeat your requests again and again until you have the student’s attention.
• Use specific commands such as pointing and stating, “Walk over to the bench.” When Student A is disengaged from the fight, ask him or her to go to a specific location.
• Don’t ask questions; this can fuel bad feelings.
• Keep the other student (Student B) in your peripheral vision; that student will now be watching your interactions with Student A.
• When you have the attention of Student A, allow the student about five seconds to “save face” by moving away. Remind him or her “You don’t need this.”
• Deal with the remaining student.
• Isolate them to separate rooms.
• If at any time the students decide to stop fighting and leave, do not try to detain them. Allow them to exit and document the incident for formal follow-up.

If the above doesn’t work:

• Remind them of the school rules regarding fighting. “There is no fighting in this school.”
• If the fight continues, immediately inform them that the police will be called and remind them of the consequences if they continue by stating, “Fighting will get both of you suspended.”

5.   Resolution                                                                                                  

• Once the students have calmed down and are able to control their anger, help them find a solution. Conflict mediation can be helpful in solving the problem.
• Ensure established school consequences for fighting; e.g., three-day in-school suspension, include steps for the involved students to resolve the issue, make restitution and develop plans for coping with conflict more appropriately.

6.   Debriefing

• Be aware of your own emotional state after dealing with a fight. If possible, debrief with another school staff member and give yourself some time for recovery.
• Debrief the class or audience of peers who may be anxious or “hyped-up” about the encounter.

Supervise actively

• Interact with as many students as possible.
• Scan the playground systematically (like a lifeguard scans a pool).
• Systematically walk around the playground (e.g., completing a figure eight in a 10-minute block of time).

Engage successfully

Consider teaching a variety of outdoor games. Put together plastic tubs of play equipment and have individual students make sure materials are returned by matching items to a list of materials on the tub.

Acknowledge positively

Verbally reinforce individual students who demonstrate positive behaviours. Distribute “Caught you cooperating” slips that students can share with classroom teachers and parents.