Swansea Public School

SWANSEA PUBLIC SCHOOL

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

2014

SWANSEA PUBLIC SCHOOL

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

At Swansea Public School bullying is taken seriously and is not tolerated in any form.

“Treat others the way you would like to be treated”

We aim for our school to be a bully-free zone. Every person has the right to feel safe and happy. Together students, parents and teachers can make it happen!

Everyone has the right to expect that they will spend the school day free from the fear of bullying, harassment and intimidation.

We believe that teachers, students, parents, caregivers and members of the wider school community have a responsibility to work together to address bullying.

Bullying:

·  Devalues, isolates and frightens;

·  Affects an individual’s ability to achieve; and

·  Has long-term effects on those engaging in bullying behaviour, those who are the subjects of bullying behaviour and the onlookers or bystanders.

This policy complements Swansea Public School’s Student Discipline Policy (2010) and ensures that our students’ are safe, happy and can operate confidently in a quality learning environment.

DEFINITION

Bullying can be defined as repeated behaviour by an individual or group of individuals intending to cause distress, hurt or undue pressure.

Bullying involves the abuse of power in relationships. Bullying can involve all forms of harassment (including sex, religion, race, disability, homosexuality or transgender), humiliation, domination and intimidation of others.

Bullying behaviour can be:

·  Verbal e.g. name calling, teasing, abuse, putdowns, sarcasm, insults, threats;

·  Physical e.g. hitting, punching, kicking, scratching, tripping, spitting, pinching, using a weapon against you;

·  Social e.g. ignoring, excluding, ostracising, alienating, making inappropriate gestures, coercion; or

·  Psychological e.g. spreading rumours, dirty looks, hiding and damaging or destroying possessions.

·  Cyber e.g. malicious SMS and email messages, cyber bullying,bullying messages via text messages on a mobile phone or through social media and the inappropriate use of camera phones.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

At our school students participate in quality education that will help them to become self-directed, lifelong learners who can create a positive future for themselves and the wider community.

Any inappropriate behaviour that gets in the way of teaching and learning and interferes with the wellbeing of all cannot be accepted.

Students, teachers, parents, caregivers and members of the wider school community have a shared responsibility to create a safe and happy environment, free from all forms of bullying.

BELIEFS

·  Bullying will always exist because it is part of the social development that humans counter as they learn about power relationships;

·  Bullying behaviour towards others helps some students to meet their own power needs;

·  Some students will be bullied more than others;

·  Victims of bullying are often selected as targets because they are different in some way, lack some social skills or demonstrate a lack of power through their body language;

·  Students will learn to cope with bullying at different rates;

·  Perpetrators of bullying can be assisted to meet their power needs in more socially acceptable ways;

·  Victims can be taught strategies to reduce the frequency of bullying that is directed at them and how to cope with instances of bullying that do occur; and

·  Bullying is unacceptable and everybody has the right to be free of bullying.

EXPECTATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Swansea Public School has a responsibility to:

·  Inform students, parents, caregivers and the community about the School Discipline Policy and Anti-Bullying Policy;

·  Provide students with strategies to respond positively to incidents of bullying; behaviour, including responsibilities as bystanders or observers;

·  Provide parents, caregivers and students with clear information on strategies that promote appropriate behaviour, and the consequences for inappropriate behaviour;

·  Communicate to parents and caregivers that they have an important role to play in resolving incidents of bullying behaviour involving children; and

·  Follow up complaints of bullying, harassment and intimidation.

Students can expect to:

·  Know that their concerns will be responded to by school staff;

·  Be provided with appropriate support ; and

·  Take part in learning experiences that address key understandings and skills relating to positive relationships, safety, gender equity, discrimination, bullying and harassment.

Students have a responsibility to:

·  Behave appropriately, respecting individual differences and diversity;

·  Follow the school Anti-Bullying Policy; and

·  Respond to incidents of bullying according to the school’s Anti-bullying Policy.

Parents and caregivers have a responsibility to:

·  Support their children in all aspects of their learning;

·  Contact the school and inform the class teacher or Principal of any bullying behaviours as soon as possible;

·  Be aware of the school’s Anti-Bullying Policy and assist their children in understanding bullying behaviour;

·  Support their children in developing responses to incidents of bullying consistent with the Anti-Bullying Policy; and

·  Support all students of the school to deal effectively with bullying through the strategies outlined in the school’s Anti-Bullying Policy.

Teachers at Swansea Public School have a responsibility to:

·  Respect and support students in all aspects of their learning;

·  Model appropriate behaviour; and

·  Investigate all alleged bullying incidences and follow school procedures if bullying is found to have taken place.

STRATEGIES TO PREVENT BULLYING BEHAVIOUR

“If someone bullies you it can make you feel scared, helpless and alone. But there are things kids can do to stop bullying.”

Swansea Public School implements specific programs that assist our students to develop skills that will reduce bullying in the school.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) is an innovative program that links many existing programs that focus on appropriate emotional and social behaviours. PBL is a whole school program that also helps students to have clear expectations of how to behave in the classroom and the playground. At Swansea Public School, there are three expectations that underpin all efforts to engage students in positive skills; be Safe, Be Responsible and Be Respectful.

Values Education is a state-wide focus that has had a significant impact on the culture at Swansea Public School. Teachers continue to refer to values such as Fairness and Cooperation.

Peer Support is a critical program at Swansea Public School that supports healthy relationships, provides opportunities for leadership development and allows students to engage in learning activities that focus on getting along with others and ways to resolve conflicts in a positive way.

You Can Do It is a program that is linked into the explicit teaching of the school’s PBL program as well as through the school’s mini-award system. The foundational skills of Organisation, Persistence, Resilience, Getting Along and Confidence provide students a framework to develop a healthy approach to relationships and emotional resilience.

Social skills programs such as PALS for Kindergarten students, cover a range of social skills such as Listening and How to join in. These strategies include facial expressions, body posture and appropriate words and phrases. Students are encouraged to use the social skills over a period of time and apply them to a variety of situations.

Child Protection is a program that supports our Anti-Bullying policy by “establishing and maintaining non-coercive relationships and strengthening attitudes and values related to equality, respect and responsibility”. The unit “Power in Relationships” gives particular attention to:

·  Building confidence in relationships which are positive and caring;

·  Building skills in establishing and maintaining their relationships;

·  Accepted cultural practices related to caring touch; and

·  Recognising misuse of power and strategies that can be used in threatening situations.

Interpersonal Relationships is a strand within the K-6 Personal Development, Health and Physical Education syllabus. This area of study enables students to:

·  Identify how individuals care for each other;

·  Identify the ways in which they communicate, co-operate and care for others;

·  Describe how relationships with a range of people enhance our wellbeing; and

·  Describe and identify the necessary roles and responsibilities required to develop and maintain positive relationships.

The school also has a number of other strategies that it uses to promote a safe and happy school. These include:

Parent Information

-  The school’s Anti-Bullying Policy is included in our Parent Information Booklet and is distributed to new families enrolling at Swansea Public School.

-  The school’s website is another place that parents can access the policy document.

-  The Department of Education and Communities (DEC) website SCHOOL A TO Z. There are numerous articles and helpful information for parents. Go to the Well Being page on http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au

-  The SCHOOL A TO Z free app for smartphones and tablets.

Student Representative Council (SRC) - A strong SRC operates with representatives from each class meeting weekly to discuss issues and ways to improve the culture and school environment. This provides opportunities for student leaders to enhance their capacity to become valuable school and community citizens.

Buddy Program - Kindergarten students are buddied with Year 6 so that the older children can offer support from day one at school.

School Awards Program - Recognition will be given to students who are third parties to instances of bullying and who act to stop the bullying by appealing to our school expectations. Mini awards will be presented to those students at school assemblies that are linked to the foundational skills from the You Can Do It program. The Aussie of the Month award also recognises good citizenship.

Playground Games - Classes are encouraged to take part in playground games or competitions for multiple players, in the hope that increased choice of activities will reduce the number of bullying instances. There are many options of games and activities to play at lunchtime.

PROCEDURES TO DEAL WITH BULLYING

Students who are found to be bullying may be sent to the Planning room if classroom teacher intervention proves ineffective. There the student/s will be counselled about:

·  Their behaviour;

·  Treating others as they like to be treated;

·  Try to deal with bad feelings in a good way e.g. going for a walk kicking a ball;

·  The effects that their behaviour was having on others;

·  Alternate ways of trying to meet those needs; and

·  A letter mentioning that they have attended the Planning Room for bullying will be sent home to parents. Further offences that indicate the student is not choosing better behaviours may result in a request for an interview with the student’s parents./caregivers.

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If the bullying is repeated then the school will coordinate an interview the student with actions such as:

·  Withdrawn from the playground for a specified number of days;

·  Banned from attending excursions;

·  Barred from representing the school;

·  Placed on an in-school suspension; and

·  Decisions made in line with Student Discipline Policy- use of green folder (playground), pink slips (classroom), blue slips (Planning Room), Principal Incident Decisions Register; and

·  If racially motivated, involve the school Anti Racism Contact Officer.

If the bullying is on-going or of a violent nature, the Principal will be involved immediately. This may result in the student/s being placed on suspension.

Students who are often the targets of bullying will be counselled about:

·  Understanding behaviours that may attract bullying;

·  Strategies that help them deal with bullying such as assertive behaviour and come back lines;

·  Strategies that help them confront and overcome bullying; and

·  Their right to be free of bullying at school.

Some students are bullied more than others. Although this bullying is not the fault of the victim there are sometimes behaviours or strategies that victims can change that will help them to become less of a target. (See Suggested Strategies for the Victims of Bullying) If it is felt that a particular student can be helped by such changes then his/her parents will be contacted. In this way parents can assist the child to make the suggested changes to his/her behaviour.

A useful strategy is the Pikas Model of Shared Concern. This strategy is a practical solution that may assist in the breakdown of dysfunctional patterns of behaviour. It has been described as a useful way of helping those students who have committed antisocial acts to come up with prosodical alternatives. It is particularly useful when with young children.

Bullies and victims of bullying will be closely monitored for a period of time and may be considered for visits to the School Counsellor. Restorative Justice Practices implemented through mediation may be used to support this intervention.

SUGGESTED STRATEGIES FOR THE VICTIMS OF BULLYING

Bullying is not a problem restricted to schools or children. It is found in all parts of the wider community. Therefore, it is important that students learn strategies to help them deal with such instances so that they do not become perpetual victims.

Some strategies include:

Four Ways to Stop Bullying Strategy

1.  Stand up for yourself

2.  Steer clear of trouble

3.  Put a safety cloud around yourself

4.  Tell a grown up. Ask for help.

Ignoring and Not Caring – Pretend not to hear the hurtful comments. Often if you show you are hurt the bullying can escalate. Try to develop a “thick skin” and shake off unkind comments. Don’t overreact. Look away, close your ears, and be quiet. This can be enough to break the cycle.

Using silent self-talk- This could include “that’s their problem, not mine.” “I’m okay” to reinforce self confidence.

Brave Voice - A brave voice is one that is slightly louder than a friendly one. It shows the listener that you feel in control, that you know what you want and that you are not prepared to accept anything less. Speak clearly and confidently. Control your fear if you are feeling scared.

Assertive Body Language - Face your bully with square-on shoulders, look them in the eyes and don’t drop eye contact till you have finished what you want to say, stand your ground or move slightly towards them, use a stern face. It is important to pretend you are not afraid of the situation.