CHURCHDOWN SCHOOL

Winston Road

Churchdown

Gloucester

GL3 2RB

Tel: 01452 713340 Fax: 01452 857367

Email:

ANTI-BULLYING
POLICY
Date of Policy / School Year 2013 - 2014
Date of Next Review
Staff Responsible
Reference

Anti-Bullying Policy

This policy is in addition to, and complementary to the school behaviour policy, attendance policy, child protection policy, equal opportunities policy and Every Child Matters guidelines. The policy is reviewed annually and is compiled in consultation with staff, students, parents and governors of the school and is in line with national guidelines

Aims and Objectives of anti-bullying work at Churchdown School

  • To reduce the frequency of bullying incidents
  • To help and support the victims of bullying
  • To understand the reasons why people bully and work to change their behaviour
  • To work with parents and the wider community to develop an holistic approach to tackling bullying and conflict between students
  • To educate, support or punish as appropriate, students guilty of bullying and conflict to enable them to change their behaviour.

Definition

Bullying

Bullying is contrary to the values held at Churchdown, particularly courtesy and integrity, and should not be tolerated in any form. Every member of the Churchdown community has the right to stay and feel safe and bullying prevents this.* Bullying isthe intentional hurting of one person by another, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It is usually repetitive or persistent, although some one-off attacks can have a continuing harmful effect on the victim. It can be actions taken by one person against another or by a group against another person or persons. It can happen at any time in and out of school. Bullying can be physical, verbal, mental, religious, racist, sexist and homophobic. Bullying is harmful to all those involved and can affect not only young people, but also adults who can be subjected to threatening or intimidating behaviour. It is unacceptable in whatever form it takes and will be assertively challenged at ChurchdownSchool.

*Anti-bullying Alliance Statement of Purpose

At the outset of this policy it should be noted that our initial research within the school has shown that pupils and parents both feel that there is little bullying in Churchdown and what there is, is dealt with very effectively – ‘…bullying was handled very well and effectively’ -Feedback from ‘Parliament’ 25.3.09; 73% of pupils did not see bullying as being a major problem in the school and 76% felt that it was generally dealt with well when it did happen.- Result of pupil IT survey;‘Students and their parents are pleased with the speedy response to any incidents of bullying, which are rare’ - OFSTED parental questionnaire 2008.

Types of Bullying mayinclude

  • Name calling/taunting/mocking
  • Pushing/shoving/hitting/kicking/biting
  • Spreading malicious gossip or rumours
  • Harassment (including following people and displaying intimidating body language)
  • Writing insulting graffiti about another person on property, furniture or buildings
  • Exclusion from social groups
  • Verbal pressure to conform
  • Using personal knowledge of another person to provoke a reaction
  • Making unpleasant comments about another person’s family or friends
  • Taking belongings/defacing the property of others
  • Extortion
  • Intimidation
  • Incitement
  • Homophobic
  • Cyberbullying (see below)

Vulnerable Groups.

It is recognised that certain groups of pupils within the school community, will be more vulnerable to bullying than others and staff should be vigilant regarding this in their dealings with pupils. Such groups are likely to include:

Homosexual and bi-sexual students, Looked after children, Travellers, Members of ethnic minorities, Students from a religion that is a minority within the school context, Students with disabilities, Students with Special Educational Needs.

Cyberbullying

This is an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or an individual involving the sending or posting of harmful or cruel text or images using the internet or other digital communication devices against a person who cannot easily defend him/herself. Cyberbullying has been defined by the Anti-Bullying Association as taking the following forms:

  • Text messages: unwelcome texts that are threatening or cause discomfort
  • Pictures or video clips taken using camera phones or digital cameras and sent to others via phone or over the internet to make the victim feel threatened or embarrassed.
  • Mobile phone calls which are silent or contain abusive messages or statements. This could also take the form of stealing another person’s phone and using it to harass others to make them believe the victim is responsible
  • Threatening e-mails often sent using a false name or somebody else’s name
  • Chatroom bullying: menacing or upsetting responses to another person in a web-based chatroom
  • Instant messaging (i.e. MSN): unpleasant messages sent as children conduct real time conversations online
  • Bullying via websites: use of defamatory blogs, personal websites, community based websites (i.e. Bebo, My Space, Facebook) and online personal polling sites

Roles and responsibilities

Mr Martyn Thomas (Assistant Headteacher) is the named member of the Leadership Team responsible for co-ordinating anti-bullying work at ChurchdownSchool. However, every member of the school community has the responsibility to treat bullying seriously.

Governors

  • Bullying and anti-bullying work should be included on the governor’s agenda and discussed at least once a year
  • Mr Simon Ireland (Governor) will work with the named member of staff responsible for anti-bullying work including attendance at meetings of the Anti-Bullying Steering Group.

Named Member of Staff (Martyn Thomas)

  • Will co-ordinate all aspects of anti-bullying work across the school
  • Will provide training for all staff on strategies to deal with issues of bullying
  • Will chair meetings of the Anti-Bullying Steering Group once a term (or his representative)
  • Will liaise with the named governor and members of teaching staff to develop anti-bullying work as and when appropriate
  • Has overall responsibility for ensuring that parents and students are aware of anti-bullying procedures

LT

  • Will discuss anti-bullying work as and when appropriate
  • Will ensure that the named member of staff is supported in co-ordinating anti-bullying work across the school

Teaching and Support Staff

  • Staff should always listen to and deal with any bullying that they become aware of using the range of procedures outlined below using their professional judgement about the best course of action in each individual case. They should use the resources available on the school intranet as and when appropriate.
  • Once an incident of bullying is reported, staff should aim to initiate an investigation within a 48 hour period
  • Staff have a responsibility to pass on details of bullying incidents to Year Team Leaders, a member of LT or any other member of staff as appropriate
  • The Head of Year will normally liaise with Parents over incidents of bullying. This liaison may however, be delegated to other members of staff at the discretion of the Head of Year
  • Staff have a responsibility to teach about bullying, its effects and strategies for dealing with it via the PSHE curriculum.

Students

  • Victims of bullying should always report bullying to their parents or a member of staff or someone else who will report it for them.
  • Students should always report any bullying that they know about or have witnessed to a member of staff
  • Students should encourage the victim to tell someone
  • Students should show their disapproval of bullying and tell the bully to stop if it is safe to do so.
  • Students, supported by a member of staff, may form a friendship group for the person being bullied to make sure they are not isolated if appropriate.

To support younger students and encourage them to talk about any bullying issues, we have now implemented a ‘peer mentoring system’ whereby older pupils are trained in peer mentoring techniques and are attached to each tutor group in Years 7 & 8, going in at least once per week to be available to any students who wishes to discuss any issues.

Parents

  • Parents have a responsibility to report any incidents of concern and to work co-operatively and supportively with the school to resolve issues between students accepting the use of both punitive and preventative measures against bullying to achieve a long term solution to the problem
  • Parents of students who are bullied on the way into or on the way home from school should either refer the matter to the school or to the local police.
  • Parents should understand that the school may pass on information obtained concerning bullying or violent situations to the police if requested but that it is the victim that must make any report to the police.
  • In the case of electronic ‘Cyberbullying’ Parents are encouraged to keep copies of any text from a computer or phone texts and inform the Police. They should also inform the school so that any continuation of the situation within school can be dealt with effectively.

Strategies and Procedures

Strategies for dealing with issues of bullying and conflict at ChurchdownSchool are outlined below. Strategies combine punitive and preventative approaches. These strategies and procedures are guidelines for staff who are asked to use their professional judgement and decide on the best action for each case individually.

  1. Prevention of Bullying.

The school attaches a lot ofimportance to being pro-active as well as reactive in dealing with bullying and the following procedures are in place with this in mind:

  • Training of staff and raising awareness by including ‘anti- bullying in staff induction procedures.
  • Maintenance of an anti-bullying notice-board with regularly updated information displayed prominently in the main, school corridor.
  • Inclusion at several different stages of the PSHCE syllabus.
  • Assemblies focussing on the issue of bullying
  • Focussed input during ‘Anti-bullying Week’ each November.

2. Restorative Justice (RJ)

RJ is recommended for dealing with nearly all incidents of bullying and conflict. This strategy allows all those involved to think about the choices they have made, the impact these choices have had on themselves and others and how better choices can be made in the future. RJ is an important tool in allowing a productive and proactive discussion to take place surrounding behaviour of all kinds including bullying and conflict. RJ involves a member of staff discussing the incident with both the victim(s) and perpetrator(s). Key questions which should be addressed by RJ include:

  • What happened?
  • What were you thinking?
  • What were you feeling?
  • Who has been harmed?
  • What can you do now to repair the harm that has been done?
  1. Mutual Respect Contracts

The Mutual Respect Contract is a set of promises made between two students or a group of students who have been involved in bullying or conflict. The contract is signed in the presence of a member of staff and a copy is held by the school. An example of a Mutual Respect Contract can be found in the appendices.

  1. BFL consequences

Sanctions such as C3 or C4 isolation or exclusion are used by the school to punish bullying.Students who choose to break the terms of their Mutual Respect Contracts will be issued with appropriate consequences. Persistent bullies put themselves at risk of permanent exclusion?

  1. Circle of Friends

This can be used by a member of staff to help develop a friendship group for a student who feels isolated and is in need of peer support?

  1. Work within the curriculum and during the annual National Anti-Bullying Week
  • Staff will raise awareness of bullying and strategies to prevent it during anti-bullying week, through theTutorial system and in PSHCE. Work is also done on relationships across the curriculum through the inclusion of SEAL outcomes and during the annual National Anti-Bullying Week.
  1. Work with the local police

For certain incidents the local police will be informed and/or involved in the process. This collaborative work enables Churchdown to deal effectively with issues within school which have arisen due to matters outside. Our work with the police is an integral part of our extended school service and this policy has been fully endorsed by our community liaison officer?

8.Work with the Bullies

It is recognised that most bullies, bully for some reason. With this in mind work is done through our Support Department to break-down the problem and develop strategies to help the bully deal with problems in different ways. Such action may include working on anger management techniques, the use of outside councillors or mentors within school.

Communication

Communication about anti-bullying work occurs through the following:

  • Termly meetings of the Anti-Bullying Steering Group which consists of representatives of all members of the school community
  • The school newsletter
  • The school website
  • Assemblies
  • Induction Evening for Year 6 students and parents
  • Parents Evenings
  • Twilight Insets

Martyn Thomas

Assistant Headteacher

June 2010

1

  1. Mutual Respect Contract Proforma
  2. Guide to safe use of the internet and cyberbullying for parents
  3. Bullying Record Sheet
  4. Flow diagram for Bullying Action Guidelines

Churchdown School Mutual respect Contract

I understand that bullying is contrary to the values held at

Churchdown school and should not be tolerated in any form

I promise to show……………………. respect at all times

I promise to leave ……………………………….. alone

I promise not to:

  • Call …………………… names, taunt him/her of mock him/her in any way
  • Physically assault ……………………………………
  • Spread malicious gossip or rumours about ……………….…..
  • Send ……………………..…malicious or threatening text messages/MSN messages or emails
  • Interfere with ……………………………belongings and property
  • Involve other people in disagreements I have with others

I understand that if I choose to break any of the promises above, I am choosing serious consequences for my behaviour.

I also agree to report any further problems with ………………….

…………to either my tutor or Head of Year without responding.

I understand that by signing below I am agreeing to keep these promises for the rest of my time as a member of Churchdown School.

Name:Tutor Group:

Signed:Date:

Staff Witness:Signed:

ChurchdownSchool Mutual respect Contract

I have now had an opportunity to meet with ……………………. and discuss his/her victimisation of me. I understand that we must now move on. In order to allow this to happen I promise not to seek revenge in any way, especially as ………………………………. has undertaken to respect me and leave me alone.

I also understand that if I choose to break this promise I am choosing serious consequences for my actions.

I agree to report any further problems with …………………………. to my Tutor or Year Head without responding.

Name:Tutor Group:

Signed:Date:

Staff WitnessSigned

Safe use of the Internet

Using the internet has become part of everyday life for most people in the 21st century and, for young people, it has quickly become part of their culture. Many young people use the internet safely every day to find out information, get in touch with their friends, play online games and shop.

However, there are risks in allowing young people to use the internet unsupervised. One of the main causes of concern for parents and schools as well as young people is the rise of cyberbullying (information and advice on which is offered below). However, there are other risks such as:

  1. People misrepresenting themselves

Because you cannot see people you contact or chat to online unless they use a webcam, there is a risk that paedophiles and sex offenders may use chat rooms and internet forums to strike up friendships with young people and even to groom them. Young people should NEVER give out personal information such as addresses, phone numbers or personal e-mails to anyone they do not know personally. Posting photos online is also dangerous as it can encourage inappropriate attention. Young people should also be warned NEVER to meet up with anyone they meet online. Supervised or moderated chat rooms are much safer than those which are unregulated.

  1. Access to inappropriate internet content

The vast majority of information on the internet is legal, decent and honest, but it is easy to find or even accidentally stumble across information or images that are unsuitable for young people including pornography or material that is violent, racist, inaccurate or harmful in some way. The best thing to do is to have a “nanny” service built into your home access which monitors the content of websites and will block unsuitable material. Ask your internet provider about this. You must also be aware that some apparently “innocent” sites can also contain unsuitable material – this is where close monitoring is vital. offers valuable advice on filtering unsuitable material.

  1. Viruses and Hackers

A virus transmitted via a website or e-mail or a hacker gaining access to your personal details online can cause serious damage. To help prevent these situations, it is vital to have good anti-virus software and a good firewall installed on your computer. offers a comprehensive list of protection software available.

What is cyberbullying?

Although the risks outlined above might seem sinister and scary, the biggest threat to young people online is the possibility of cyberbullying. Recent research by the Anti-Bullying Alliance together with teams from various UK universities showed that 49% of young people have experienced cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can take many different forms:

  • Text messages: unwelcome texts that are threatening or cause discomfort
  • Pictures or video clips taken using camera phones or digital cameras and sent to others via phone or over the internet to make the victim feel threatened or embarrassed.
  • Mobile phone calls which are silent or contain abusive messages or statements. This could also take the form of stealing another person’s phone and using it to harass others to make them believe the victim is responsible
  • Threatening e-mails often sent using a false name or somebody else’s name
  • Chatroom bullying: menacing or upsetting responses to another person in a web-based chatroom
  • Instant messaging (i.e. MSN): unpleasant messages sent as children conduct real time conversations online
  • Bullying via websites: use of defamatory blogs, personal websites, community based websites (i.e. Bebo, My Space, Facebook) and online personal polling sites

What can schools do about cyberbullying?