Anti-Bullying Policy

Transcription

1 Start date: Autumn 2015 Review date: Autumn 2016 (reviewed annually) Anti-Bullying Policy Statement of Intent At St Bartholomew s our Christian ethos and core values of believe, achieve, respect, trust and succeed are embedded throughout our school. The children are taught the values, skills and attitudes which nurture mutual respect and caring towards others; creating an effective, safe and considerate school. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable. Everyone within our school has the right to feel safe, valued, protected and to be treated with respect and dignity. Aims and objectives of the Anti-Bullying Policy: All Governors, staff, parents and children should understand what bullying is; All Governors and staff should know what the schools Anti Bullying Policy is and follow the agreed procedures when bullying of any description is reported; All pupils and parents should be aware of the procedures to follow if bullying occurs; Pupils and parents know that they will be fully supported when bullying is reported; Bullying of any description will not be tolerated. It is our responsibility to ensure that when it occurs any incident of bullying is dealt with in accordance with this policy. What is bullying and what are its effects? Bullying is behaviour by an individual or group, repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally. Bullying can take many forms (for instance, cyber-bullying via text messages or the internet), and is often motivated by prejudice against particular groups, for example on grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or because a child is adopted or has caring responsibilities. It might be motivated by actual differences between children, or perceived differences. Preventing and Tackling Bullying document DfE March 2014 Many children and young people experience bullying because they are different' or because they are perceived to be different. Recognition of prejudice-based bullying underpins and informs all of our approaches to anti-bullying at St Barts. We will define and communicate within our school, that bullying is: The hurting (feelings or physical) of one person by another on purpose. Bullying is known through many prejudiced based forms* It often happens more than once or all the time, although some one off incidents can have a long lasting harmful effect on the victim. Pupils will be taught that bullying occurs when unacceptable behaviour is directed at an individual lots of times on purpose.

2 Definitions: Physical bullying Verbal bullying Silent/Emotional bullying Cyber bullying Racial bullying Sexual bullying Homophobic bullying Kicking, hitting, punching, pushing, biting or any deliberate use of physical force against another. Name calling, teasing someone, making nasty comments, making threats, use of derogatory or aggressive language. Consistently being left out of a group, being deliberately ignored and excluded from activities in a negative manner, being deliberately unfriendly, indirect tormenting (i.e. deliberate hiding of an individual s belongings), and threatening gestures. the use of written language over the internet using digital technology: use of texting, twitter, social media or to carry out name calling, teasing someone, making nasty comments, making threats, trolling. Pupils will be taught that they need to be 13 or older to use social networking sites. Misuse of all associated technology to access internet for such purposes: i.e. laptops, camera/video facilities, Ipads, Ipods, games consoles smartphones. Graffiti, gestures or taunting towards an individual with a racial bias. Unwanted physical contact or sexually abusive comments Because of or focussing on the issue of an individual s sexuality. Within our school we aim to provide pupils with: Respect: promote differences/diversity, be proud and strong. What s good about your difference? Differences can be through looks, culture, family, background, intelligence, strength, skin colour, religion, beliefs, disability, and wealth. PSHCE Ed lessons/circle times are used to discuss & explore these within a safe context and our Curriculum Drivers focus on embedding an understanding of diversity. Develop a supportive environment for all: children, victims, bullies, parents and staff. Communication should be friendly, trusting and open Records should be kept of incidents Support Teacher should be available for both victim and bully if required The School Council will create posters in each school appropriate language for age group Tell someone and have the opportunity for discussion: speak to a teacher, parent, friend, peer mentor, buddy. Do not be afraid to tell someone Make time for discussions Open, parent teacher communication PSHCE Ed lessons/circle times to be used to discuss and explore these in a safe context. Help bullies stop bullying: be a friend. PSHCE Ed lessons should teach positive relationship skills and emotions Older pupils buddy mentoring Support system between teacher /parents/ bullies. Home School Link Worker (HSLW)/Support Teacher for pupils to talk to about home life

3 Learning through PSHCE Ed. We understand that bullying is wrong and damages individual children. We therefore do all we can to prevent it by developing a school ethos in which bullying is regarded as unacceptable. PSHCE Ed. is the subject through which teachers can approach the signs and symptoms of bullying behaviour along with strategies for dealing with bullies in a safe and appropriate manner for the age and ability of the children involved. Class groundrules established for Circle time sessions ensure pupils understand values such as respect and confidentiality, creating a safe and secure environment. This policy should therefore be read in conjunction with the PSHCE Ed policy. The values and skills of Anti bullying are also reinforced at St Bartholomew s through whole school approaches such as the involvement with the National Anti-Bullying Week and/or Cyber Bullying Week and through whole school/phase assemblies. Linked Policies Due to the nature and importance placed on anti-bullying, the following polices are to be read in conjunction with this policy: the Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy (in particular sections 4 & 10), Behaviour code, PSHCE ed, E-Safety, ICT Code of Conduct, Confidentiality and Equality Policies. Statutory responsibilities Schools, academies and colleges have statutory responsibilities with regard to bullying. The Education Act 2002 gave schools a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils and this covers more than the contribution made to child protection and includes bullying. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 gave headteachers the responsibility for preventing all forms of bullying. It also empowered headteachers to regulate the behaviour of pupils when they are off the school site and for members of staff to impose disciplinary penalties for inappropriate offsite behaviour. DfE Advice 2011 states that the schools responsibility can relate to bullying anywhere off the school premises, specifically on school or public transport, outside local shops, or town or village centre and that if an incident of bullying is reported outside of school premises it should be investigated and acted on. This includes responding to cyber bullying. Signs and Symptoms of Bullying A victim of bullying may indicate outward signs or behaviour that they are being bullied. We believe that all staff at St Bart s and parents/carers should be aware of these possible signs: is frightened of walking to or from school begs to be driven to school is unwilling to go to school (school phobic) feels ill in the morning (with no previous signs of illness) begins to truant becomes withdrawn anxious, or lacking in confidence starts stammering attempts or threatens suicide or runs away cries themselves to sleep at night or has nightmares

4 changes their usual routine begins to do make less effort with school work than previously comes home with clothes torn or books damaged has possessions which are damaged or " go missing" asks for money or starts stealing money has dinner or other monies continually "lost" has unexplained cuts or bruises comes home hungry (money / lunch has been stolen) becomes aggressive, disruptive or unreasonable begins to bully other children or siblings eating habits dramatically change (stops altogether or binge eating) is frightened when approached to say what's wrong gives improbable excuses for any of the above is afraid to use the internet or mobile phone lack of eye contact becoming short tempered change in attitude to people at home These signs and behaviours could indicate other social, emotional and/or mental health problems, but bullying should be considered a possibility and should be investigated. Advice to Parents and Carers As the parent/carer of a child whom you suspect is being bullied- 1. Please report bullying incidents to the class teacher, teaching assistant or Headteacher as soon as possible. 2. All incidents will be recorded by staff and the Headteacher notified, the school will investigate further. 3. In serious cases parents will be asked to come in to discuss the problem. 4. If appropriate with the severity of the incident, police will be consulted. We would ask that Parents and Carers do not 1. Attempt to sort the problem out yourself by speaking to the child whom you think may be behaving inappropriately towards your child or by speaking to their parents. 2. Encourage your child to bully back. Both of these may escalate any bullying and may make the problem much harder to solve. If bullying incidents are reported If bullying of any description does occur, all pupils should feel empowered to report it and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively. It is our collective responsibility at St Bartholomew s to report bullying in order to protect the rights of others within our school community. To ignore or condone bullying in any form may lead to consideration under child protection procedures.

5 We ensure that all parents, staff and pupils have full access to this policy via the school website or school office and that the School Council are involved in the review/construction of this policy on an annual basis. A secure environment is provided in which incidents can be reported confidently; A central log is kept of bullying incidents (including the date of the incident/s); When reporting cyberbullying, a record will be kept of the date and time of the calls, s or texts; if possible any messages received should not be deleted before reporting. The pupil who has been bullied should be made to feel safe and treated respectfully; All pupils should be aware/shown that bullying is taken seriously; Consistency is of the upmost importance in the recording of incidents and the response; to bullying, in accordance with the school s behaviour code; The school should protect and support all parties involved; Any interventions should be closely monitored and followed up appropriately. Procedures: Reported bullying and cyberbullying incidents are logged in accordance with the school s behaviour code and E-safety reporting procedures; Incidents will be reported to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT); The bullying behaviour is investigated and the bullying will be stopped quickly; The bully/bullies will receive support to change their behaviour (e.g. peer buddies, HSLWs, teachers as necessary) All incidents will be followed up and monitored. In serious cases of bullying parents of all children involved should be informed and will be asked to come and have a meeting to discuss the incident. This may involve Teachers, Teaching assistants, Home School Link Workers (HSLWs), Senior Leadership Team (SLT) or Headteacher. Some forms of bullying are illegal and following Department of Education guidance should be reported to the police. These include: violence or assault, theft, repeated harassment or intimidation, e.g. threats and abusive phone calls, s or text messages, hate crimes.