KINGS LANGLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL
Policy Statement The NSW DEC rejects all forms of bullying. No student, employee, parent, caregiver or community member should experience bullying within the learning or working environments of the department. Our school community is committed to providing a safe and secure environment promoting personal growth and excellence by developing confidence and self-esteem. The policy applies to all student bullying, including cyberbullying in and outside school hours where there is a clear and close relationship between the school and the conduct of the student. https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies/student_serv/discipline/bullying/pd20100415.shtml What is bullying Bullying is repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological behaviour that is harmful and involves the misuse of power by an individual or group towards one or more persons. Cyberbullying refers to bullying through information and communication technologies. Bullying can involve humiliation, domination, intimidation, victimisation and all forms of harassment including that based on sex, race, disability, homosexuality or transgender. Bullying of any form or for any reason can have long term effects on those involved including bystanders. Conflicts or fights between equals or single incidents are not defined as bullying. Types of bullying Bullying takes on many forms and can include any combination of the following. Verbal such as rude remarks, teasing, ridicule, insults, name calling, threats or abusive phone calls Physical such as hitting, pushing, punching, spitting, kicking or property damage Social such as exclusion, ignoring, cruel or rude gestures Psychological such as spreading rumours intentionally, making degrading comments about another s culture or social background, inappropriate notes or hiding or damaging possessions or malicious SMS and email messages and inappropriate use of social Networking sites and camera phones. Everyone has a responsibility to reduce aggression in our society. No-one likes it No-one deserves it No-one needs it So always report it Students, teachers, parents, caregivers and members of the wider community can expect That students will be safe at school, free from fear of bullying, harassment, intimidation and victimisation To be involved in the collaborative development of the school Anti-bullying Plan To know what is expected of them and others in relation to the Anti-bullying Plan That all students will be provided with appropriate support when bullying occurs
Students, teachers, parents, caregivers and members of the wider community have responsibility to: promote positive relationships that respect and accept individual differences and diversity within the whole school community contribute to the development of the Anti-bullying Plan and support it through words and actions actively work together to resolve incidents of bullying behaviour when they occur Each group within the school community has a specific role in preventing and dealing with bullying. The Principal must ensure that the school implements an Anti-bullying Plan which: develops a shared understanding of bullying behaviour that captures all forms of bullying including cyberbullying develops a shared statement of purpose which outlines shared responsibilities for preventing and responding to bullying behaviour maintains a positive climate of respectful relationships where bullying is less likely to occur develops and implements programs for bullying prevention embeds anti-bullying messages into each curriculum area develops and implements early intervention support for students who are at risk of developing long term difficulties with social relationships develops and implements early intervention support for those students identified at or after enrolment as having previously experienced bullying or engaged in bullying behaviour develops and publicises clear procedures for reporting incidents of bullying to the school empowers the whole school community to recognise and respond appropriately to bullying and behave as responsible bystanders respond to incidents of bullying which have been reported to the school in a quick and effective manner provide support to a student who has been affected by, engaged in or witnessed bullying behaviour provide regular updates to parents/caregivers about the management of the incident within the bounds of privacy legislation identify patterns of bullying behaviour and respond to such patterns monitor and value the effectiveness of the Anti-bullying Plan report annually to the school community on the effectiveness of the Plan Includes procedures consistent with DN10/00225-reporting incidents involving assaults, threats, intimidation or harassment and the Incident Reporting Policy.(School Safety and Response hotline: 1300 363 778.)
Includes procedures for contacting the Child Wellbeing Unit where appropriate Includes contact details for the Police Youth Liaison Officer(YLO) and the School Liaison Police Officer(SLP) where appropriate. Includes information for appropriate support services such as Kids Helpline. Includes information on departmental appeals procedures and the Complaints Handling Policy is promoted and widely available within the school community and published on the school website. Is reviewed with the school community every three years. Teachers have a responsibility to: respect and support all students in all aspects of their learning model appropriate behaviour respond in an appropriate and timely manner to incidents of misbehaviour and/or bullying according to the school Anti-bullying Plan embed anti-bullying messages into each curriculum area provide students with strategies to deal with cyber bullying and social networking etiquette Parents and caregivers have a responsibility to: model appropriate behaviour support their children in all aspects of their learning be aware of the school Anti-bullying Plan help their children understand bullying behaviour report incidents of school related bullying to the school support all students of the school to deal effectively with bullying through the strategies of the Anti-bullying Plan support their children in developing positive responses to incidents of bullying consistent with the school Anti-bullying Plan. Students have a responsibility to: behave appropriately, respecting individual differences and diversity follow the school Anti-bullying Plan behave as responsible bystanders be fair in the playground sharing games and playground space be kind to others even if they are not special friends take responsibility for their actions and not blame others report incidents of bullying according to KLPS Anti-bullying Plan
Students can expect to: know that their concerns will be responded to by school staff be provided with appropriate support take part in learning experiences that address understanding of positive relationships and antibullying STRATEGIES TO PREVENT BULLYING 1. Implement an Anti-bullying Plan which clearly identifies both the behaviours that are unacceptable and the strategies for dealing with bullying in the classroom and the playground 2. Strategies to effectively teach the skills and understandings that will lead to the elimination of bullying behaviours will be in place across KLAs. These strategies will be consistently reinforced 3. Provide parents, caregivers and students with clear information on strategies that promote appropriate behaviour and the consequences for inappropriate behaviour 4. Provide students with strategies to respond positively to incidents of bullying behaviour, including responsibilities as bystanders or observers 5. Communicate to parents and caregivers that they have an important role to play in resolving incidents of bullying behaviour involving their children 6. Follow up complaints of bullying Provide students with strategies to deal with cyber bullying and social networking etiquette STRATEGIES TO DEAL WITH BULLYING School Create a safe, stimulating and enjoyable school environment for all students Extend control over areas where bullying is likely to occur Support and protect the victim and provide counselling in order to ensure that he/she will not be bullied in the future The school will assist the bully to change his/her behaviour Interview with Principal and/or Deputy Principal (using Pikas Method of Shared Concern) students concerned and parents The Pikas method calls on student s sense of fairness and aims to ensure that a sense of shared concern develops and that all those involved work to solve the problem and make things better for the student being bullied. 1. Interview with bully/ies- this is done alone, one by one, starting with the student seen as the leader. This interview is designed to emphasise the concern of the person who is being hurt and elicit some empathy and to agree on what the person might do to help the victim. The teacher remains calm during this meeting and respect is shown for the bully as a person.
2. Interview with the victim-this is done in a supportive manner with emphasis on ways the victim can behave to minimise the chances of the bullying being repeated. 3. Follow-up with bullies and victims-it is essential that daily follow-up takes place. This involves speaking to the bullies about how they have followed through on ways they agreed to help the victim and asking the victim how they are progressing and if there have been any further incidents. The daily follow-up can taper off if all is progressing well. 4. Repeated instances of bullying are seen as persistent disobedience and must be dealt with using the school s Student Welfare and Discipline Policy. A building resilience/assertiveness program may be employed for the victim of the bullying behaviour with the assistance of the Learning Support Team. A self control program or anger management program may also be deemed appropriate for the bully/ies. Referral to LST/School Counsellor Resistance to behaviour change and repeat offending will lead to short suspension Severe emotional bullying or physical bullying involving violence may lead to instant short suspension Teacher Encourage students to inform staff when bullying is occurring Listen and acknowledge the seriousness of the matter Maintain active playground supervision and deal quickly and effectively with incidents Record all incidents on the playground registers. Discuss the issues of bullying with students through specific programs in the classroom Students Take a deep breath and be firm and strong even if you don t feel like it Look the bully straight in the eye and stand up tall. Speak in a firm, clear voice and say loudly, Stop that, I don t like it or Leave me alone Walk away, ask your friends for support and join a game with other students in a safe place Talk to your teacher and your parents Don t fight back physically. Remember the bully has the problem, you are not the problem Leave valuable items at home Be confident and believe in yourself as you do not deserve to be bullied.
Parents Listen and talk to your child and find out what the child has done to deal with the bully Reassure your child that everyone is different and that s what makes us special Talk to the classroom teacher and/or an Executive teacher but don t deal with the bullies yourself Calmly discuss the information your child has given you Work with the school to address the problem Arrange a follow up meeting IMPLEMENTATION Outcomes Students will engage in responsible reporting and will take safe and sensible action as a bystander Students will demonstrate a repertoire of self- management strategies and build resilience so as to free oneself of thinking like a victim Teachers will acknowledge that reducing bullying is a shared responsibility within and across the school Teachers will empower students to deal with conflict in constructive ways and to develop a social conscience Teachers will implement prevention and intervention strategies that involve the whole school Parents, students and teachers have a shared responsibility in dealing with bullying MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PLAN The school Welfare/Discipline Committee will analyse trends in student behaviour each Term and implement strategies to address any identifiable patterns. Ongoing monitoring of the Plan will drive the need for review, but an annual review will take place as a matter of course. This will involve students, staff and parents. Parents will be invited to a P&C meeting towards the end of each year to discuss the effectiveness of the Plan and this will be reported in the school newsletter. The Anti-bullying Plan review will take place in 2014 with surveys conducted for students, staff and parents and data made available to the school community. These results will determine any changes needed. Date of writing: October 2011 Date of Review: October 2014