THE ABBEY SENIOR SCHOOL ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

Transcription

1 THE ABBEY SENIOR SCHOOL ANTI-BULLYING POLICY Title of person responsible for latest revision: Acting Head Senior School - Pastoral Policy ratified and effective from: January 2015 Governing Committee responsible and Leadership in Girls Education Committee reference number: LGE41S Proposed review date: January 2016 Useful Websites at Date of Ratification Safe to Learn: Embedding anti-bullying work in Schools 1

2 At The Abbey School it is our aim that each pupil should reach her potential in all aspects of school life and that pupils and staff are able to work in a comfortable, unthreatening atmosphere. For this to be achieved, the school promotes a positive and safe working environment where all may develop and flourish, free from threat or fear. To this end no form of bullying will be tolerated. There is no single sign of bullying. Changes in behaviour that may indicate that a pupil is being bullied include unwillingness to return to school, anxiety, failure to produce work or producing unusually bad work, diminished self-confidence etc. All staff are made aware of these and other indications during Safeguarding training. What is bullying behaviour? This is any behaviour which seeks to intimidate or humiliate and which is repeated, intentional, unprovoked, malicious such as to cause distress, unhappiness or insecurity. It may include Verbal - teasing, insulting, spreading rumours, making comments that are racist, sexist or homophobic, mocking disabilities or religious or cultural differences. Emotional - excluding, blanking, unfriendly looks, gestures, hiding belongings. Cyber bullying - using texts, postings on social websites, MSN messaging, forwarding on private s without consent. This is a particularly powerful and invasive form of bullying which is being used by young people, usually out of school, but the effects are ongoing and can affect school life. Physical - pushing, kicking, hitting or any other use of violence. Sexual - making unwanted physical contact or comments of a sexual nature. Encouraging other people to engage in bullying behaviour. Knowing that bullying behaviour is happening and not reporting it to an adult. The effects of bullying All bullying is damaging to all who are involved, whether victims or perpetrators. The consequences of long term bullying can last into adulthood, can undermine self-confidence, lead to lasting psychological damage and even suicide. There are criminal laws which apply to harassment and threatening behaviour. What is not bullying behaviour? Children between the ages of years old can be very unkind and behave in unacceptable ways towards others. During these pre-adolescent years the use of verbal and emotional abusive behaviour is not uncommon. Most children will deal with it and grow in selfconfidence, being able to laugh at or ignore any nonsense because that is all it is. For other children, who are less confident, we must always remain vigilant and help them to develop coping strategies. Perception is subjective and as teachers and parents we must try to understand and discover how our pupils are affected by their interactions with the rest of the group before we label unkind behaviour as bullying. 2

3 Our Obligations At The Abbey School we are committed to providing a secure, caring and supportive learning environment. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable. The school has an overriding duty of care to its pupils and appropriate action must be taken to protect them. Whenever it occurs pupils should feel that they are able to tell a member of staff and know that incidents will be investigated promptly and effectively. Pupils who bully should be made aware that their behaviour will not be tolerated and they will be offered help to change their behaviour. Good practice in the prevention of bullying requires vigilance and co-operation from all members of the school community. In very serious cases we may refer cases to the police. General Principles This policy forms an integral part of the school s Pastoral Care Policy. All staff, parents and pupils must be informed of the policy. It is on the web site and is available as hard copy from the school office on request. Pupils are encouraged to see the school as a safe place to make disclosures about bullying and these disclosures will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly. All members of staff must remain vigilant at all times and be aware of the school s procedures for dealing with friendship issues. This includes break times, during before and after school clubs and in off-site activities. There is a dedicated Pastoral team to whom all incidents of bullying should be reported. These include the Form tutors, Heads of Year, the Nurse, the Chaplain and the Assistant Head. All aspects of this policy and the related procedures will be reviewed every year. Further guidance is available from the Safe to Learn: Embedding Anti-bullying Work in Schools document, which is available in the staff shared area of the network. Procedures What to do if you witness or suspect that bullying is taking place Pupils If you are the victim of bullying, you should not keep quiet about it. Speak to your parents, the Pastoral Prefects, the Nurse, the Chaplain, your Form Tutor, Head of Year or any subject teacher who will be able to help you. If you are not a victim but know or suspect that it is happening to others, you have a duty to report it to a teacher or another adult. Standing by and letting the bullying continue is almost as bad as taking an active part in it. If you are guilty of bullying and realise what you have been doing is wrong, you should speak to a teacher and ask them to help you deal with the situation. If you continue to bully, you will be caught and the punishment will be severe; it may result in exclusion from the school. 3

4 Parents If you know or suspect that your daughter may be a victim of bullying, please report the matter to the school by contacting her Form Tutor or Head of Year. If you know or suspect that another pupil known to your daughter may be a victim of bullying, please report the matter to the school. Staff If you know or suspect that there is bullying behaviour taking place in school please inform the form tutor or Head of Year. Appropriate Pastoral forms should be completed and passed on immediately. The victim or informer should be reassured that all reasonable steps will be taken to protect them from any retaliation that may be feared or unnecessary stress after a disclosure of alleged bullying has been made. Staff members should never give absolute guarantees of confidentiality to pupils wishing to tell them something serious; they should guarantee that they will only pass on information to the minimum number of people who must be told in order to ensure that the proper action is taken. Written accounts of the incident should be made by all involved. These are best written as soon after the incident as possible and preferably before those involved can communicate with each other. The Head of Year and/or the Assistant Head should then interview all concerned and decide on next steps. Any girl who has been found to be bullying will be given a verbal warning when she will be reminded of the school s policy on bullying and that any further offence will involve parents and the Head and may result in exclusion from the school. The Head will be kept informed by the Pastoral team of any serious allegations of bullying. If the bullying is not admitted the accused pupil should be informed that the incident has been recorded and will remain on file for future reference and parents may be informed. Sanctions against those who bully will include written or spoken apologies as appropriate also, other measures including detentions, suspensions, or exclusion. Bullying can be a Safeguarding issue. In this case cross reference should be made to the school Safeguarding Children and Young People policy and the Safeguarding officer should be informed. 4

5 Prevention of Bullying We will seek to prevent bullying by:- Promoting an open environment where it is safe to tell. Being vigilant at all times and in all areas of the school, sensitive to any unhappiness or change of character in pupils. Assemblies focused on the way we deal with bullying at this school so that all girls are aware. Reminding pupils frequently about the expected standards of behaviour, the Positive Behaviour code is displayed in every classroom and in every girl s School Planner. Building self-confidence in pupils by valuing and rewarding their work. Curriculum time and assemblies to promote values, differences, beliefs and friendship amongst the whole community. Lessons in Skills for Life under the Relationships concept, eg UIII Bullying, to explore the issue of bullying using poetry as a stimulus; LIV Managing bullying; LIV Cyberbullying Let s fight it together, film and powerpoint. PC Lesley, Safer School s Officer [Reading] visits the school regularly to talk to the girls and deliver S4L sessions, Cyberbullying and the Law. Teachers providing positive role models to pupils. Induction of all new staff includes reference to the Pastoral Policies and Safeguarding Children and Young People training. Ensuring clear communication between staff regarding the behaviour of pupils. Supportive procedures for dealing effectively with concerns raised by parents including follow up at appropriate time after the incident has been resolved. Recording all incidents clearly, using the appropriate Pastoral forms and passing them on promptly. Providing Inset training for relevant staff on dealing with bullying and the whole teaching staff to be aware of the Anti-bullying policy and how it should be implemented. Our extensive and effective Pastoral system and its structures are able to deal effectively with all allegations. Our peer mentoring system, the Pastoral Prefects, operate a listening service to their year group every lunchtime and they develop supportive friendships with the younger girls who get to know them during the year. All girls are aware of the Mobile Device policy and any misuse of phones to send unpleasant messages etc will not be tolerated. All pupils are bound by the [ICT] Acceptable Use Policy. 5