Bullying
WOOLACOMBE SCHOOL POLICY ON BULLYING
This policy is to be read in conjunction with our policy on Anti-Racism, Behaviour and Discipline Policy and our Thoughts on Anti-Social Behaviour in our School Prospectus.The definition of Bullying, is; ? a persistent act of cruelty to another person. It is deliberate, it can be aggressive, it is repeated often over a period of time, and it is difficult for the victim to defend themselves.?
Bullying can take many forms;
? VERBAL - name calling, insulting, offensive remarks, sarcasm, and teasing.
? PHYSICAL ? hitting, kicking, hiding, and taking belongings, punching, pinching, violent threats.
? INDIRECT BULLYING can include spreading stories about someone, exclusion from groups, malicious gossip and rumours, emails or text messages.
? RACIST BULLYING includes taunts, graffiti and gestures
? SEXUAL Bullying or HOMOPHOBIA will include unwanted physical contact and abusive comments.
We acknowledge that there are a number of levels to ?Bullying Behaviour? which can be both children and staff. However no matter how insignificant or low level it may be, our policy is to have ?Zero Tolerance?, and that we will look into all complaints and endeavour to eradicate this unacceptable behaviour.
RATIONALE
It is the responsibility of our whole school community to eradicate bullying and ensure that we have a caring and supportive ethos and that we live by the tenets in ?Every Child Matters?.
AIMS
? To work towards the outcomes in ?Every Child Matters? and promote them in all aspects of our work
? To promote self discipline
? To promote respect for others
? To promote acceptable behaviour within society and have a regard for authority e.g. police, teachers etc.
? To ensure that all staff promote our ethos and that they too have a safe work place
GUIDELINES
WE NEED TO:
Identify the problem
Always be aware that children do not always tell us - they may exhibit symptoms in other ways e.g. withdrawn and isolate themselves, unwilling to attend school, complain about missing things or being unwell, refuse to talk about problems and become easily distressed and show signs of unwilling to work or complete tasks and activities or join in PE etc.
To be alert to the above.
To enable children to tell - to promote the fact that we are a ?Telling School? and to define what Bullying is.
To give them regular opportunities - to use the ?Issue Boxes? and be anonymous to their peers.
BULLYING AMONGST STAFF
Sometimes bullies are in position of power or authority. They can behave like this due to a number of pressures or to hide their own inadequacies or envy. For example; overwork can lead to frustration and this may be taken out on others or colleagues.
Signs for this are; low morale, increased level of staff turnover, high rate of absenteeism, frequent disputes, complaints and grievances, isolated or not socially included and inefficient team working.
CREATING OUR SUPPORTIVE AND NURTURING ENVIRONMENT
Victims can think they deserve to be bullied. They feel powerless and vulnerable, may have low self-esteem and confidence.
We need to ensure that everyone knows that bullying will not be tolerated in our school.
All incidents will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly
The bully is to be helped to recognise their unsociable behaviour and offered support. There will be a ?no blame? approach.
We will need to ascertain why children are bullies and appropriate support provided.
Reporting of incidents and dealing with them should be clearly established for everyone;
? Children can tell anyone
? Children can write their issues and post it e.g. Issues Boxes
? Reports will be treated in the first instance as confidential and they must be investigated separately ?Bully and victim. There should be no rebound on a victim.
? Staff MUST report ALL incidents first to the class teacher, second to the Key Stage Leader and finally to the Head Teacher
? Parents to be contacted at an early stage on both sides
? All racial incidents are to be reported to the LEA
? Obtain witnesses and establish their version
? Keep a written record
? Inform and alert all staff
? Impose consequences fairly and consistently
? Take action to prevent further incidents
? Encourage the ?Bully? to accept responsibility and obtain an apology
? Provide counselling with Seretse Williams
? Encourage the use of the Buddy Bench
? Encourage our Peer Mentoring system
? Encourage a ?Circle of Friends? approach
? Encourage the children to use their W.I.T.S.
(Walk away - Ignore the bully - Tell Someone) Back to top
