Anti bullying policy
Agreed January 2012
At St Mary’s Junior School we believe that pupils will learn best in a safe and calm community that is free from disruption and in which education is the primary focus. Children who regularly behave in a friendly and respectful manner rarely show bullying behaviour– and our main anti-bullying strategy is to promote friendship.
Aim:
All members of St Mary’s School community will show respect for each other and tolerance towards each other. The school environment is a place where everyone is valued and safe.
Objectives:
1) Every one should be treated and respected as an individual.
2) All governors, teaching and non-teaching staff, pupils and parents should have an understanding of what bullying is. See definitions below plus appendix A ‘Signs and Symptoms
3) All governors and teaching and non-teaching staff should know what the school policy and procedures are on bullying, and follow it when bullying is reported. See Appendix B ‘Procedures
4) All pupils and parents should know what the school policy on bullying says, and what they should do if bullying arises.
Bullying – A Definition
Bullying occurs as when someone is deliberately being hurtful to another person and where the power is all on one side (i.e. with the bully). It should not be confused with ‘relation conflict’ whereby two or more children get into conflict but the dispute is equally provoked and each side has been hurtful to the other. These instances are always taken seriously and are dealt with in line with our behaviour policy. Bullying is usually persistent.
Bullying can take many forms and is often motivated by prejudice against particular groups, for example on grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or because a child has been adopted or has caring responsibilities. It may be motivated by actual differences between children or perceived differences.
Bullying can take a number of forms:
· Physical bullying: physical assault (hit, punch, push), spitting at, pulling hair, taking or damaging property or belongings.
· Verbal bullying: name calling, taunting, mocking, making offensive comments, threatening or made to feel bad.
· Social bullying: left out of games, deliberately ignored, has rumours spread about him/her, is stalked or intimidated
· Cyber bullying: via chat rooms, Skype, on line, instant messaging, on a mobile phone or within e-mails
· Emotional: being unfriendly, excluding, tormenting e.g. hiding books, threatening gestures.
· Racist: Racial taunts, gestures and graffiti
· Sexual: unwanted physical contact or sexually abusive comments
· Homophobic: because of , or focusing on the issue of sexuality
Bullying may occur due to:
· Actual differences or perceived differences: special educational needs or disabilities, e.g. dyslexia; appearance e.g. particularly in girls who mature at different times; work ethic/behaviour e.g. children being called ‘Geeks’; situation e.g. young carers or children in care or otherwise related to home circumstances; gender, e.g. sexist comments; homophobic e.g. towards gay individuals who may be gay, lesbian or bisexual; transgender, e.g. when an individual is undergoing the process of gender re-assignment.
· Race e.g. differences in race, religion or culture
Although bullying can occur between individuals it can often take place in the presence (virtually or physically) of others who become the ‘bystanders’ or ‘accessories’.
All forms of bullying should be taken equally seriously and dealt with appropriately.
Bullying can take place between:
· Pupils
· Pupils and staff
· Between staff
· Individuals or groups
Why is it important to respond to bullying?
Bullying hurts. No one deserves to be a victim of bullying. Everyone has the right to be treated with respect. Pupils who are bullying need to learn to behave in a different way. Everyone in our school community has a responsibility to respond promptly and effectively to issues of bullying.
Recording and monitoring
Issues of bullying will be recorded and monitored to identify: repeat perpetrators/victims/bystanders; support offered; types of bullying; ethnicity and hot spots.
Sanctions
Whilst we would aim to resolve bullying issues in a restorative manner, in certain cases sanctions may be applied, in line with those detailed in our behaviour policy, depending on the severity and frequency of events
To help us achieve these objectives we will:
· Use the restorative approach to tackle incidents. ( see appendix C)
· Review our anti-bullying policy with staff and governors annually
· Consult with parents and pupils regularly to gain an understanding of their views
· Use displays to encourage all members of our school community to report any instances of bullying
· Help prevent bullying by educating the children in how to deal with conflict
This policy is supported by our:
· Behaviour policy
· Child protection policy
· PSHCE policy
· Curriculum Policy
· Inclusion policy
· Complaints procedure
Time will be allocated annually during a staff meeting to review procedures.
Review Date: Spring Term 2013.
Appendix A: Signs and Symptoms
A child may indicate by signs or behaviour that he or she is being bullied. Adults should be aware of these possible signs and that they should investigate if a child:
· is frightened of walking to or from school
· doesn't want to go on the school / public bus
· begs to be driven to school
· changes his/her usual routine
· is unwilling to go to school (school phobic)
· begins to truant
· becomes withdrawn anxious, or lacking in confidence
· starts stammering
· attempts or threatens suicide or runs away
· cries him/herself to sleep at night or has nightmares
· feels ill in the morning
· begins to do poorly in school work
· comes home with clothes torn or books damaged
· has possessions which are damaged or " go missing"
· asks for money or starts stealing money (to pay bully)
· has dinner or other monies continually "lost"
· has unexplained cuts or bruises
· comes home starving (money / lunch has been stolen)
· becomes aggressive, disruptive or unreasonable
· is bullying other children or siblings
· stops eating
· is frightened to say what's wrong
· gives improbable excuses for any of the above
· is afraid to use the internet or mobile phone
· is nervous & jumpy when a cyber message is received
These signs and behaviours could indicate other problems, but bullying should be considered a possibility and should be investigated.
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Appendix B
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Appendix C-Restorative Approach to Incidents
Restorative Justice (RJ) is a recognised approach to behaviour and relationship management in schools. The idea is based on ancient tribal practices as a form of repairing harm caused by inappropriate behaviours that damage the communities that we live in, by bringing together those involved to discuss and talk through the issues that lead to their conflict.
Through the principles of Restorative Justice, people take responsibility for the impact of their behaviour on other people, by providing a forum that allows a fair process of communication. This process can be through structured questions about the incident and the impact caused leading on to an opportunity for choices to be made to repair the harm and allow closure, providing resolution to conflict.
Restorative Justice has been used in schools to reduce offending, victimisation, bullying and truancy from school. The ethos of RJ is about:
· Building and nurturing relationships by listening to unmet needs
· Repairing harm done to relationships through inappropriate behaviours
· Considering everybody's needs in the process
· Recognising responsibility for behaviours
· Encouraging accountability for those behaviours (actions)
· Developing emotional literacy by providing a safe forum for people to express difficult emotions
· Promoting active citizenship in our school communities
The Restorative Questions
The following questions allow a restorative process to take place and can occur anywhere from the classroom to the playground.
· What happened?
· How did it happen?
· What part did you play in it?
· How were you affected/who was affected?
· What do you need to make it right?
· How can we repair the harm?
Obviously these are not set in stone and more child friendly speech can be used, but these will start the process and get results.
Why does it work?
· Repairs harm
· Holds wrong-doers accountable, preventing denial
· Empowers victims by seeing the wrong doer accept the impact of their behaviour
· Allows closure
· Allows agreement
· Allows ownership of behaviours
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