Moor Allerton Hall Primary School

MOOR ALLERTON HALL PRIMARY SCHOOL

Anti-Bullying Policy

STATEMENT OF INTENT

We are fully committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all our pupils so they can learn and achieve in a relaxed and secure atmosphere. As bullying behaviour, of any kind, is unacceptable we have implemented a range of whole school strategies to help our pupils and staff to play an active role in the prevention of bullying behaviour. In addition we have developed a range of programmes to support children who are thought to be “vulnerable” and more likely to be the subject of bullying or of bullying behaviour towards other pupils.

DEFINITION OF BULLYING

Bullying is behaviour that intentionally hurts someone and is repeated over time. It is when a relationship involves an imbalance of power.

It can be:

Ø  Social– being unfriendly, excluding, tormenting (e.g. hiding belongings, whispering, threatening gestures

Ø  Physical– pushing, kicking, hitting, slapping, punching, nipping or any use of violence

Ø  Verbal - name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, teasing including Language which is targeted at children with special educational needs or disabilities or use of abusive language in relation to disabilities

Ø  Cyber- All areas of internet such as email & internet chat room misuse
Mobile threats by text messaging & calls
Misuse of associated technology , i.e. camera &video facilities

All bullying behaviours have an emotional impact on the victim

All of these forms of bullying behaviour can also be used as a way of expressing racist or homophobic behaviour (e.g. using ‘gay’ as a negative term, picking on children as they are not perceived to be behaving like a ‘typical’ boy/girl) such cases should be dealt with according to the relevant policies as well as being treated as bullying behaviour.

At Moor Allerton Hall we consider bystanding as actively supporting bullying behaviour. We encourage all children who witness bullying behaviour to take steps to support the victim and prevent incidents from happening.

STATEMENT OF RIGHTS

Ø  pupils and staff have the right to be treated with respect

Ø  pupils and staff have the right to be safe from any form of bullying behaviour

Ø  “vulnerable” pupils (i.e. those with special educational needs or disabilities who are more likely to be the subject of bullying or of bullying behaviour) and the parents of such children have the right to access a range of different support strategies in partnership with our school.

AIMS OF THE POLICY

Ø  all governors, teaching and non-teaching staff, pupils and parents should have a clear and agreed understanding of what bullying behaviour is and who is most vulnerable to bullying behaviour

Ø  all governors, teaching and non-teaching staff should know what the school policy is on bullying behaviour and follow it when bullying behaviour is reported

Ø  all pupils and parents should know what the school policy is on bullying behaviour and what they should do if they suspect bullying behaviour has arisen

Ø  the school should implement a range of whole school strategies to help pupils and staff to play an active role in the prevention of bullying behaviour

Ø  the school should implement a range of support strategies for the victims of bullying behaviour

Ø  As a school we take bullying behaviour seriously. Pupils and parents should be assured that they will be supported when bullying behaviour is reported.

Ø  the school should actively educate all members about disabilities and special educational needs through the use of positive role models and information

Ø  Language used in school should be inclusive and not offensive to any party.

Ø  To empower all children to speak out about bullying incidents

Ø  School staff will monitor the impact of this policy and review procedures in line with National guidelines.

Ø  Over time the effectiveness of how incidents are handled should increase so pupils feel safer and parents feel more reassured.

PREVENTION

Moor Allerton Hall Primary School has a highly structured PSHCE curriculum. Development of the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning is a strength of our school as we see these as essential skills to enable the children to learn, function effectively and contribute positively to the community as a whole. As part of the PSHCE curriculum there is a unit specifically focused on anti bullying behaviour and developing emotional resilience. In addition we take opportunities to teach children about the impact of bullying behaviour, and strategies to deal with incidents using:

·  Active teaching in the wider curriculum- e.g. through story, September Launch Weeks and units of e-safety

·  key messages in assembly

·  School ethos and values

·  Clear policies for positive behaviour

·  Development of social skills

·  Appropriate levels of supervision

·  Playground behaviour expectations

·  School Council

·  Support for new pupils

·  Support for at risk pupils

·  Parental involvement

·  Celebrations of diversity

·  Easy access to staff (worry boxes, ST in playground, TAs quiet talks)

·  Approachable friendly staff

·  Questionnaires/surveys

·  Staff training (including lunchtime supervisors)

·  Regular monitoring of local and national developments

SIGNS AND INDICATORS

Pupil who is bullied

·  Physical signs e,g, injuries, illness, anxiety, appearance, speech

·  Emotional signs e.g. avoidance, uncharacteristic behaviour, attention seeking, mood changes, reluctance to discuss

·  School signs e.g. attendance, punctuality, drop in work standard, lingering behind, change/loss of friends, changes in travel to school, exclusion

Pupil who is bullying

·  Physical signs e.g. aggression, picking on others who are often weaker, robust behaviour, possessions/money,

·  Emotional signs e.g. abusive language, temper, domination, disrespectful, intolerance, lack of genuine friendships, unwilling to share or include

·  School signs e.g. disruptive behaviour, gang, complaints, unpopular/falsely popular, repeated behaviour incident sheets for similar behaviours to vulnerable individuals

Nb the signs are not definitive; all pupils behave differently and bullying is often ‘secretive’

DEALING WITH INCIDENTS OF BULLYING

All incidents will be assessed immediately. The priority is to protect and provide support for the victim and then to resolve the conflict. The issues to be considered are:

-  the nature of the action – thoughtless or deliberate/intended

-  the degree of hurt inflicted

-  the frequency

-  the duration

-  whether there was a power imbalance

-  was there provocation which might explain but not excuse the incident

Reported incidents of bullying behavior will be assessed according to the procedures in appendix 1 to determine whether reported the incident/s is high, medium or low risk. All incidents at in the medium and high levels must be recorded in the Bullying Behaviour Incident file to allow for monitoring.

CONSEQUENCES / PROVISION FOLLOWING ASSESSMENT

For the perpetrator these could include

·  Anti Bullying Contract compiled by both parties & a copy sent home (appendix 2)

·  Regular Contract reviews between both parties

·  Restorative discussion with victim

·  Loss of privileges

·  Set up system to monitor perpetrators behaviours in school & with parents

·  Attendance at the Behaviour Learning Centre

·  Support from Learning Mentors to understand consequences of their behaviour

·  Set up social/emotional intervention to meet child’s needs (this could culminate in a CAF or TAMHS support)

·  Temporary exclusion from the playground or class

·  Review current IBP & amend

·  Draw up IBP

·  Details recorded on the Racist Incident form if incidents are racist they are recorded on RH1 form

·  Temporary managed move to a local school

·  Referral to rainbow or gold provision

·  Exclusion

For the victim these could include

·  Anti Bullying Contract compiled by both parties & a copy sent home (appendix 2)

·  Regular Contract reviews between both parties

·  Restorative discussion with perpetrator

·  Buddying partners selected to support

·  Support from Learning Mentors

·  Review any current care plans

·  Set up social/emotional intervention to meet child’s needs (this could culminate in a CAF or TAMHS support)

All staff made aware of children involved & action to be taken.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

·  Senior Leadership Team- implementing policy for identified cases

·  SMSC team- monitor policy and its impact on number of cases and effectiveness of handling

·  All staff to be aware of bullying behaviour and respond to reported cases appropriately

RELATED POLICIES

·  Behaviour policy

·  Child Protection

·  Equalities

·  Complaints

·  E safety

MONITORING, REVIEWING AND EVALUATION OF THIS POLICY

This policy will be monitored, reviewed and evaluation on a regular basis and every effort will be taken to involve the whole of the school community in the process.

This will include a governor rep from the ECM subcommittee meeting with the head to review the numbers of cases at high, medium, low risk and reviewing how each was handled.

Policy last updated 28th January 2013

Bullying Contract

Aims of bullying contract:

·  To support the victim and build resilience

·  To change the behaviour of the perpetrator

Incident assessed at risk level: (circle one) HIGH MEDIUM LOW

Child 1

Child experiencing bullying behaviour: ______

Actions
Child’s responsibilities

Child 2

Child/children displaying bullying behaviour ______

Actions
Child’s responsibilities

School’s responsibilities

·  Communicate contract to all staff directly responsible for children
·  Keep parents informed
·  Ensure all actions followed
·  Monitor regularly, how often………………………………………
·  Follow up any further incidents with appropriate consequences

Child 1______Parents/ carers ______

Child 2 ______Parents/ carers ______

Member of staff ______Date ______

A copy goes to each set of parents for signature

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Appendix 1 Procedures- Dealing with Bullying Incidents in School

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