All pupils are expected to be well behaved at all times with their class mates and all members of the school community.
It is essential that home and school work together to ensure a learning environment where all can learn and teach in safety and with mutual respect. We aim to reward positive behaviour and encourage an ethos of pride and achievement in our school by giving praise, rewards, certificates etc.
Minor misdemeanours are normally dealt with by the class teachers or support staff as they occur. Serious cases of indiscipline e.g. bullying, vandalism or behaviour likely to endanger the pupil or others are reported to the senior management team. Actions could include verbal reprimands; discipline exercises; deprivation of privileges, referral to parents and in extreme cases will involve exclusion from school for a period of time.
ANTI-BULLYING
Our Lady and St. Joseph’s Policy on minimising bullying.
Rationale
Bullying in school can only be effectively dealt with if parents, teachers and pupils work together to find a solution. It is necessary to acknowledge that bullying does exist and is a problem common to all schools. It should therefore consistently be given a high profile within the school, where an open, caring and responsive climate should be created.
At Our Lady & St. Joseph’s we are very aware of the distress that can be caused not only to the children involved but also to the parents who feel anxious about the situation. We are all too aware that children who bully are often in need of help and support. We make every effort through religious, moral and social development programmes to prevent bullying from taking place in our school.
Aims
To develop awareness that bullying is unacceptable.
To develop a shared view of bullying.
To work in partnership with parents to minimise bullying.
To encourage a climate of openness and a listening culture.
To develop a range of strategies to deal with bullying.
To engender a sense of shared responsibility among pupils.
Identifying Bullying
Bullying is a persistent, intentional abuse of power to hurt. It is not always purely physical. The more serious bullying is usually verbal, social or emotional in nature. It can manifest itself in any of the following ways:
· Tripping
· Name calling
· Ignoring
· Pushing
· Kicking
· Talking about
· Hitting
The class teacher should involve the silent majority by making pupils aware that there are no innocent bystanders.
