Junior School Anti-Bullying Policy Statement This Policy includes girls in the Early Years Foundation Stage aged 3-5 years and also applies to the extended care in School. Background to the policy This policy has been drawn up in line with the recommendations in recent DCFS circulars, including DCFS 00656-2007 "Safe to Learn: embedding anti-bullying work in schools" and is implemented with regard to this guidance. Rationale Bullying in all its forms is unacceptable and is regarded as serious misconduct when it takes place both within School and outside of School. It is the right of all girls to have a safe and secure environment where bullying is not tolerated and where they are free to learn and enjoy the opportunities offered by NHSG. All incidents of bullying are dealt with and misconduct is addressed in accordance with the Anti-Bullying Procedure, the Code of Behaviour and other School policies such as the ICT Code of Conduct. Aims of the anti-bullying policy The aims of the anti-bullying policy are underpinned by the overall culture and ethos of NHSG. to ensure that all members of the School community treat each other with respect at all times to encourage good inter-personal relationships in an atmosphere in which tolerance and respect is the norm to foster a culture within which everyone can achieve their full potential academically, socially and personally and within which bullying is not tolerated and is challenged through this culture to prevent bullying incidents occurring, as far as is reasonably possible to encourage those who are bullied and those who witness or hear about bullying incidents to report them and not suffer in silence to tackle all reports of bullying robustly, consistently and thoroughly
Definition of Bullying The DCSF defines bullying as: "Behaviour by an individual or group, usually repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally" Bullying may take many forms. However, whatever its forms, it usually has certain characteristics: is deliberately hurtful and can include aggression causes feelings of distress/fear/loneliness in the victim is difficult for victims to defend themselves against (as there is an imbalance or perceived imbalance of power between the bully or victim) is usually repeated over a long period of time. However, it is important to remember that bullying may also be a one-off incident, as a one-off incident can have precisely the same impact as persistent behaviour. Types of bullying Pupils may be bullied for a variety of reasons. Specific types of bullying and specific bullying behaviours include: bullying related to race, religion or culture bullying related to special educational needs or disabilities bullying related to appearance or health conditions bullying related to sexual orientation, such as homophobic bullying sexist or sexual bullying cyber-bullying (e.g. through offensive text messaging, mobile phone calls, photographs and emails, inappropriate use of chat rooms, instant messaging (MSN) and websites (e.g. social networking sites, personal sites or posting comments on sites) verbal bullying (eg name calling, taunting, mocking, threatening, spreading rumours, teasing) physical bullying (e.g. pushing, kicking, hitting, damaging possessions) emotional bullying (e.g. deliberately isolating or excluding an individual, coercion, being made to feel uncomfortable because of religion, sexuality, disability, appearance (e.g. weight), health condition (e.g. eczema), ethnicity or race, hiding or stealing another's property) racial bullying (hurtful behaviour, both physical and emotional, which makes a person feel unwelcome, marginalised, excluded, powerless or worthless because of their colour, ethnicity, culture, faith community, national origin or national status
The seriousness of bullying Bullying can lead to low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, school avoidance and, in extreme cases, suicide. It is clear that many of the forms of bullying listed above are non-verbal and it is important to remember that non-verbal behaviours can be just as hurtful or intimidating and damaging to self esteem and well-being as more blatant or visible forms. There is no hierarchy in the types of bullying equally seriously. at NHSG all forms of bullying are taken The DCSF's definition above highlights the fact that bullying can be by an individual or a group against another individual or group. A common example of bullying by a group would be when a particular friendship group decides to isolate or exclude a former member of the group. Links to other School policies Our Code of Behaviour sets out clearly our expectations of how girls should treat each other and defines what constitutes acceptable behaviour. The Code of Behaviour also gives examples of unacceptable behaviour. It sets out our system of rewards for positive behaviour and the sanctions that might arise from unacceptable behaviour. Bullying is one type of misconduct, and the Code of Behaviour clearly states that in cases of severe and persistent bullying, strong sanctions up to and including permanent exclusion may be imposed. The School's ICT Code of Conduct sets out the expectations with regard to acceptable use of Information and Communication Technology. It states that use of ICT to harass or adversely affect other members of the School community or to incite others to do so is unacceptable. Misuse of the Internet or any other electronic communication device outside of School in a way which adversely affects others also constitutes a breach of the ICT Code of Conduct and therefore the School's Code of Behaviour as well as contravening the Anti-Bullying Policy. Prevention of Bullying The School seeks to prevent bullying by encouraging all members of the School community to have high expectations and model excellent treatment of one another expressing clearly what our ethos and expectations are in the Anti-bullying policy, and related documents such as the Code of Behaviour and the ICT Code of Conduct making sure that all members of the community are kept aware of these policies and this ethos including 'Anti-bullying' in information given to girls, parents and staff, including the Pupil Planner running assemblies on the theme of Anti-bullying, incorporating learning about bullying and "understanding and talking about" bullying into form-time, PSHE and other subjects
raising staff awareness through training and regular discussion in pastoral meetings and ensuring that staff are alert to situations or locations around the School where bullying incidents may occur and take action to prevent them raising awareness of and talking about cyber-bullying, raising awareness of the pupils' rights and responsibilities in their use of ICT and what the sanctions are for misuse encouraging pupils to develop responsibility for themselves and others; respect for themselves and others; a caring attitude to other members of the school community encouraging relationships which are based on mutual respect, rather than power and strength encouraging girls to report instances of what they perceive to be bullying Reporting Bullying Incidents; who to tell The School has procedures in place to respond to incidents of bullying. In most cases, staff rely on bullying incidents being reported to them rather than being directly observed. When reports are received the School responds robustly, consistently and thoroughly. To encourage girls to speak out with confidence and make the reporting of incidents as easy as possible, the School aims to provide as many initial contacts as possible for girls to report bullying incidents. A girl who feels she is the victim of bullying or has witnessed or heard about a bullying incident may choose to whom she reveals the problem in the first instance. The following list is for reference only and not in any particular order: Class Teacher, Teaching Assistants, Head of Junior School, Teachers, School Nurse, Admin and Support Staff, Friend. Girls should feel confident that all of the above will listen to their problem and will know to whom it should be referred for action. Confidentiality may not be guaranteed The member of staff to whom a girl reports an incident will in the great majority of cases need to pass it on for it to be investigated and dealt with appropriately. It is not possible for any person who receives a report of a bullying incident to promise that it will be kept confidential. However, the next steps and the action taken will be discussed with the victim of bullying at every stage. Informing Parents of the victim and bully/bullies Staff will contact parents of the victim of bullying as soon as possible to inform them that the report of bullying is being taken seriously and investigated. Parents of those reported to have been responsible for the bullying incident will be contacted as soon as possible after staff have investigated the complaint.
If you are the victim of bullying or if you witness or hear about a bullying incident or if you suspect someone is b you should talk to someone about it you can choose who you want to talk to in the first instance you need to offer what support you can to the victim you should try to persuade her to talk to someone about the incident you will need to decide whether you report the incident yourself the Head Teacher or the Deputy Head of Junior School you may contact staff in writing, by telephone or by email you should expect regular feedback from staff investigating the incident about the progress and outcome of the investigation He or she should make a written note of the incident and report it in the first instance to the Head of Junior School who will liaise with the Deputy Head of the whole School who will conduct an investigation. Investigating Bullying Incidents All reports of bullying are taken seriously and investigated. The School acknowledges that part of growing up is learning how to make friendships and how to close them down and this can be a hard and painful lesson for those involved and can lead to falling out and unhappiness. Most girls can cope with these situations but occasionally breakdowns in relationships can become serious and lead to bullying. Bullying of this sort, which appears to arise from a breakdown in the friendship group, is always investigated in the same way as any other form of bullying. Complaints of behaviour which on the surface may appear insignificant are also taken seriously and investigated. Incidents occurring outside of School are also carefully considered as in some cases it will be appropriate for the School to take action or the incident may indicate that there are issues occurring within School which themselves need investigation and action.
Examples where the School may wish to take action in relation to incidents occurring outside of school are: Bullying via text messaging/instant messaging/web blogs this is a breach of the ICT Code of Conduct Incidents occurring while waiting for or on transport to and from School Particularly severe incidents such as assaults occurring outside of School The School will take specific action with regard to other types of incidents which occur outside of School as follows: If the incident occurred on a bus speaking to the transport company If the incidents involved students at another school talking to the Head of the other school If the incident involves local youths seek advice from the local police and if necessary seek police assistance in problem locations How are bullying incidents investigated? Interviews In order to investigate the report of bullying, staff will interview the pupil who has made the report, the suspected bully or bullies and any other pupils that may have witnessed the behaviour complained of. Other pupils or staff who may know about the incident will also be interviewed. Those pupils involved will be interviewed separately and, as far as possible, will not be given the opportunity to confer. This may mean that they are kept in isolation for a period of time. Parents of any pupil who has been interviewed in such cases will be informed by telephone as soon as possible afterwards that the interview has taken place. Staff conducting the interviews will make and keep a detailed written note of these interviews. If more than one staff member is dealing with the issue, all relevant staff will be made aware of the outcome of the interviews. With incidents of cyber-bullying, staff will advise the victim to preserve the evidence, namely to keep a record of the message/blog, etc and details such as the date and time, the content of the message(s), and where possible the sender's ID (eg username, email address, mobile phone number) or the web address of the profile/content. Taking an accurate copy of the whole web-page address, for example, would help if we needed to contact a service provider to locate the relevant content. Keeping evidence will help in any investigation into cyberbullying by the service provider but is also helpful in showing staff, parents and, in some cases, the police what has happened.
Communication of the outcome of the investigation A member of staff (usually the Head of Junior School) will meet with parents of the victim after the investigation to discuss the findings and also strategies for dealing with the situation, including supporting their daughter. The strategies are outlined below. A meeting will also be held with the parents of the bully/bullies to discuss the appropriate response to her/their behaviour, including any sanctions which may be imposed. Regular review meetings/ contact with parents of both the victim and the bully will take place after the initial action has been taken/ strategies have been put in place (see below). Strategies for dealing with bullying incidents Following investigation, a decision will be taken on the next steps. A range of strategies may be used. These will be monitored very closely by the Class Teacher and Teaching Assistants and reviewed regularly to ensure they are working. Strategies may include: Close monitoring by staff One on one discussions with Class Teacher both victim / bully Counselling for the victim/bully A log/diary kept by the victim Intervention strategies such as games to extend friendship groupings, role play, deliberate pairings Finding a buddy for the victim Circle time discussion led by Class Teacher or School Nurse Disciplinary action (depending on the incident involved, see below) If it appears that the strategies which have been put in place have resolved the situation, staff will still continue to monitor the girls involved for a short period to ensure the behaviour does not recur. Staff will also organise a follow up meeting with parents to report back on the situation in School and ask them for their perspective. This will take place approximately two weeks after the strategy has been implemented and then again before the end of the half-term. If the situation has not improved, further strategies should be discussed with parents and followed up with a letter confirming the action already taken by the School and any other further action which the School is going to take. It is important to recognise that it may take some time for the situation to improve and the strategies and monitoring should continue until it is clear the situation has been resolved.
Support for the victim taken seriously, carefully considered and action will have been taken. The victim may be in need of emotional support. Key principles include reassuring her that she has done the right thing by telling someone; recognising that it must have been difficult for her to deal with; and reiterating that no one has a right to do that to her. The victim may need reminding of the existing pastoral support within the School and other sources of support available. In some cases it may be necessary to offer additional assistance. Dealing with and Disciplining the person(s) responsible for bullying incidents It is important that those found responsible after investigation are held to account and accept responsibility for the harm caused. Therefore, action will be taken which communicates unambiguous disapproval of her/their activities, and this will usually include sanctions. Sanctions help reassure the victim that the bullying will stop; they help those responsible recognise the harm caused by their behaviour and deter them from repeating it; they demonstrate to the School community that bullying is unacceptable and that the School has effective ways of dealing with it, so deterring others from behaving in a similar way. If sanctions are warranted, the person(s) responsible will receive a sanction in accordance with our Code of Behaviour (and the ICT Code of Conduct if cyber bullying is involved) and proportionate to the seriousness of their misconduct and whether this is repeated misconduct. In the most serious cases, the sanction may be permanent exclusion. In line with our Code of Behaviour, our aim is also to change the attitude of those responsible and encourage a return to responsible, caring behaviour. Action taken towards this aim will ey might need to achieve the return to acceptable behaviour. Staff will inform the parents of those responsible of the decisions taken with regard to sanctions. Staff will not normally discuss the details of the punishment with the parents of the bullied girl. Bystanders Staff will also speak to any pupils who may have observed the bullying behaviour. These pupils may need support or debriefing. They will also be encouraged to report incidents to members of staff in the future or, if appropriate, to encourage the victim in future to report the incident to staff. It will be pointed out, if appropriate, that remaining silent can encourage the bully or silence may be taken by the bully as support for her behaviour.
Complaints about staff All forms of bullying are unacceptable and all reports of bullying are investigated and dealt with irrespective of who the person responsible for the bullying incident might be. If a girl feels that the bullying behaviour is being done by a member of staff, she should follow the same procedures as with all other forms of bullying. Namely, she should report the bullying to a member of staff who she feels comfortable going to or leave a note in the secure drop-box. Those who receive reports of bullying by staff should pass these on immediately to the Head of Junior School. The Head of Junior School will inform the Deputy Head of Senior School who will conduct an investigation following similar procedures to those for girl to girl bullying and will keep the Headmistress fully informed. Once the investigation is concluded the Headmistress will decide appropriate action. One of the main aims of any action will be to support a return to normal pupil-teacher relationships as soon as possible. If the Head of the Junior School is the subject of the complaint, the member of staff who receives the report should pass it directly to the Headmistress. If the Headmistress is the subject of the complaint the Deputy Head of the School will inform the Chair of Governors/ GDST as appropriate. Monitoring bullying The Head of Junior School keeps a log of complaints about bullying to enable patterns to be identified. The log includes a short description of the incident and the outcome, including the strategies used and the success of those strategies in order to determine the best ways to deal with bullying in the future. Review of Anti-bullying Policy The policy is reviewed annually in the Summer Term. The review takes into account the information gained through monitoring incidents of bullying. Every two years the review will involve full consultation of pupils, parents and staff. Reviewed: August 2015 Review Date: August 20156