Anti-Bullying

ANTI BULLYING POLICY (see previous entry: SCHOOL DISCIPLINE)

Introduction: Bullying is a common and widespread problem throughout society. All pupils have the right to Education in a safe secure environment which is free from bullying. It is the responsibility of all providers and users of the Education service to ensure that this right is granted at all times.

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.

Aims:

to foster agreement that bullying is unacceptable
to develop a range of strategies to deal with bullying
to work with parents to minimise bullying in school and give reassurance that incidents, when they do arise, will be dealt with fairly
to promote a caring responsive climate where customers
are assured of a “listening ear”.

Identifying Bullying:

Identifying bullying is crucial to pupil’s well-being in school. 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

It is important to make all pupils aware of their responsibilities in witnessing such behaviour. Failure to report such acts may be interpreted as condoning the bullying.

The Role of the Head Teacher

to work with staff in creating and maintaining a caring and supportive ethos
to encourage a whole school approach to bullying
to promote home/school partnership
to support class teachers in dealing with bullying behaviour
to apply sanctions, if appropriate
to involve outside agencies, e.g. Psychological Services if appropriate.

The Role of the Teacher

to create and maintain an atmosphere within the class which would encourage pupils to feel confident about speaking out about bullying, e.g. circle time sessions
to take reports of bullying seriously
take action when necessary
to seek advice when necessary
to report serious incidents to the Head Teacher

The Role of the Janitor and Support Staff

to observe and monitor pupils behaviour in the playground at intervals
to defuse incidents and prevent them escalating
to report incident to Class Teacher or Head Teacher

An adult presence is provided in playgrounds at break times in terms of the Schools (Safety and Supervision of Pupils) (Scotland) Regulations 1990.

The Role of Parents

to support their children
to report repeated or serious incidents to the school
to co-operate with the school in their efforts to sort out the problem
to encourage their children to follow the Golden Rules established within the school
to understand that “hitting back” can make the child more vulnerable as it is more difficult to establish who is at fault. It encourages violence. It can cause injury.

Strategies for Children

When bullying is being discussed advice should be given to children about how to react to and deal with bullies and bullying. Through Circle Time, they can offer support and advice to one another and this should be encouraged.

Children should be aware that they should not

blame themselves
put themselves at risk
hit back

Children should be aware that they should

stay calm and look confident
stay with friends
tell someone – friends, buddy, House Captain, janitor, teacher, or parent
keep in control
report incidents they have witnessed – there are no innocent bystanders.

Procedures for dealing with Bullying:

Children are aware of strategies to report Bullying, e.g.

through a “Bubble time” session with the teacher
through their House Captain, who will report the incident to an adult on their behalf
through any adult supervisor in the playground
through the “Buddy system” set up for younger pupils

Teachers will report any serious or persistent incidents to the Head Teacher, Head Teacher will interview bully and victim and take appropriate action. Consequences of actions will be discussed with the children. Parents will be involved where necessary and support and co-operation will be sought to resolve the situation. Recurring incidents will be recorded, and where no satisfactory outcome can be reached at school level, outside agencies may be involved.

The recording of bullying or alleged bullying incidents are recorded electronically as part of the School’s monitoring system.