Our Commitment to You
For almost two years now, young people have been chatting to Syd and reporting bullying, whilst teachers have been working hard to resolve their issues. We have also been working hard to improve the whole experience for everyone.
We always promised that we would provide a platform for young people to report bullying that is both easy to use and accessible from anywhere, at any time. We also made a promise to teachers that we would make their job easier when it comes to dealing with bullying.
So, as CyberSyd’s first live academic year drew to an end in June 2022, we asked our schools about their experiences of using CyberSyd. One Magherafelt school also kindly did a survey of their students, with 107 of them completing an anonymous online questionnaire. Teachers across all schools have also provided us with their feedback.
This post is longer than usual, however, we are committed to openness and transparency and so we are providing the full details below. You can of course skip to the section that most interests you!
What did the students say?
Out of the students surveyed who had used CyberSyd to report bullying (5.6%), all of them found it either easy (16.7%) or very easy (83.3%) to use. Most (83.3%) felt comfortable using it, with the remainder neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. All students reported that CyberSyd resolved their issue and 83.3% stated that they would use it again to report bullying.
Many students who had not used CyberSyd to report bullying stated that they had logged-in to the app (42.6%) and that if they were bullied they would use it to report it (64.4%).
Those that said that they wouldn’t gave reasons such as they don’t get bullied, or that if they did, they would speak to a teacher or parent.
The things that students said they liked about CyberSyd include:
I felt safe reporting my worries
It allows you to report an issue without the other person knowing that it was you
I liked how you weren’t directly having a conversation with your teacher/form teacher
Nobody knows what you talk about
You don’t have to tell a teacher in front of everyone
Good if you’re scared to come forward and report bullying
It’s good if you don’t know how to report bullying
Good if you’ve no-one to talk to
Useful for someone with anxiety socially and couldn’t interact with their teacher or someone at home
It’s easy
It might make more people report bullying
Good/very good (49)
The things that they said they didn’t like:
It’s quicker to tell someone
I didn’t like how it wasn’t as direct and specific about problems
Not good
Nothing
What did the teachers say?
The feedback provided by teachers across all schools was overwhelmingly positive both in terms of the student and teacher experience for reporting and dealing with bullying. The consensus was that it made dealing with bullying cases easier and it saved them time. Some also reported that parents had shown a greater understanding of their children’s experiences in school through their interactions with CyberSyd, even when reports weren’t submitted. However, there were elements of the set-up process at the start of each academic year that were considered too complicated for students and quite time-consuming for teachers.
When students logged-in to CyberSyd for the first time, they were required to enter a unique Account ID and a randomly generated password, which they then changed to their own password. Both were considered too long and complicated, with the Account ID difficult to remember for subsequent log-ins. Some young people in particular found this process very challenging. It was suggested that we use their school email address and a shorter initial password.
The process that a teacher needed to follow to set-up CyberSyd and then for renewal each academic year was reported as too time-consuming. A long list of Account IDs and passwords had to be issued to students every year and a list maintained of these for reporting purposes. It was asked if there was another way to do this.
What did we do?
CyberSyd was viewed by students as both easy and comfortable to use and an effective means of resolving the issues that they reported. Most said that they would use it again. A significant number of students who had not reported bullying had logged-in; it is unclear whether this was out of curiosity, or if they chatted with Syd and decided not to submit their report. Most students said that they would use CyberSyd if they needed to report bullying. Those that wouldn’t gave reasons which would suggest that they already knew how to report bullying and had the confidence to do so, which would not be the target audience for CyberSyd.
The students who made positive comments about CyberSyd cited its confidentiality and a preference for using a chatbot to report bullying over approaching a teacher. CyberSyd was also seen as an easy way for those who don’t know how to report bullying to do so. Less favourable comments included the fact that telling someone is quicker, which would suggest a more confident student who would not need this means of reporting bullying.
It was concluded that the CyberSyd chat experience and reporting process remained appropriate, however, the log-in and set-up/renewal processes required improvement. The necessary improvements required specialist software development and took some time, but we are delighted to say that we will be ready to go live with this in September 2023!
The student log-in process now uses their school email, which is easy to remember, and a short code to log-in for the first time. There is now also a brand-new School Portal for teachers to use with a three-stage sign-up process that takes minutes to complete. Accounts can be added and removed in seconds. There is no formal renewal process; teachers simply refresh the account list at the start of the new academic year and are issued with a new student log-in code.
We’re keen to both innovate and to improve and so we welcome your feedback. If you want to see if CyberSyd is right for your school, then register your interest for our free 3-month trial.
Go to www.cybersyd.net to find out more.
Bullying: You Report It, Syd Stops It.
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