Pilgrims’ Way Anti-Bullying Policy
Aims:
To make it clear what bullying is and that the school does not tolerate bullying.
To ensure systems are in place to deal quickly and effectively with any incidents of bullying that occur
To instil an ethos of mutual respect and positive self esteem throughout the school to help prevent bullying.
Throughout this policy the term ‘parent’ is used to mean a pupil’s parent, carer or guardian.
What we believe about bullying
We are committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all of our pupils so they can learn in a relaxed and secure atmosphere. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at our school. If bullying does occur, all pupils should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively.
What is bullying?
Bullying is hurting another person deliberately and persistently. Bullying results in
pain and distress to the victim.
Bullying is not an argument between two children or where another child inadvertently upsets another child.
Bullying can take the following forms:
- Physical bullying – hitting, tripping, kicking…
- Verbal bullying – teasing, name calling, abusive comments…
- Gesture bullying – with implied threats.
- Cyber bullying – through use of text messages / emails/picture or video clips
- Exclusion bullying – exclusion from circle of friends, games…
Statutory duty of schools
Head teachers have a legal duty under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to draw up procedures to prevent bullying among pupils and to bring these procedures to the attention of staff, parents and pupils. Under the Education Inspections Bill 2006 the duties are extended to include preventing/responding to bullying that happens outside school, where it is reasonable to do so.
Schools also have a duty to ‘safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils’ (Education
Act 2002) and to ensure that children and young people are safe from bullying and
discrimination (Children Act 2004). Government guidance advises that the policy should also address the bullying of staff by pupils (‘Safe to Learn’ DCSF 2007).
If bullying is suspected
It is vital that children know what bullying is and what it is not, so they know what to do if they or someone else is being bullied.
We teach children to tell a member of staff if they are being bullied or know that another child is being bullied. The following will then occur:
Procedures for dealing with incidents of bullying:
- If bullying is suspected or reported, the incident will be dealt with immediately by the member of staff who has been approached.
- A clear account will then be referred to a member of the Senior Management Team for further investigation.
- The incident will be fully investigated and recorded and a record kept.
- An appropriate course of action will be affected, with support for the victim, disciplinary action taken, and monitoring to ensure no further repetition.
- Parents will be kept informed.
Sometimes children may feel reluctant to speak to an adult. Children can write down concerns and put them into a box. The responses in this box are regularly reviewed by the learning mentor and followed up accordingly.
Support for victims of bullying:
Pupils will be reassured and given support to ensure their self-esteem and confidence is restored. This may involve working with the learning mentor or another nominated member of staff.
The bully (bullies) will be asked to genuinely apologise to the victim.
The following disciplinary steps may be taken:
- Official warning to stop
- Detention
- Exclusion from certain areas of the school premises
- Fixed term exclusion
- Permanent exclusion
We will work with the bully and their parents to help change the attitude of the pupil.
Prevention
We set high expectations for pupil behaviour. There are clear expectations for our pupils which are applied consistently and a behaviour policy based on positive behaviour management strategies.
The support of parents is vital in helping to prevent bullying. Parents know they can speak to class teachers if they have a concern about their child. This concern will be followed up as quickly as possible and the outcome reported back to the parent.
We also employ a range of additional strategies such as circle time and role play opportunities which promote positive attitudes and self esteem as well as focusing specifically on bullying.
A focus on anti-bullying is undertaken as part of Anti-Bullying Week in November.
The SEAL programme is followed to promote positive attitudes and relationships across the school community.
Monitoring, evaluation and review
The school will review this policy annually and assess its implementation and effectiveness. A record of this will be filed with the policy.
Incidents of bullying will be reviewed by the head teacher and reported to the governing body.
HELP ORGANISATIONS:
The following organisations provide useful information on bullying:
Advisory Centre for Education (ACE): 0808 800 5793
Children’s Legal Centre: 0845 345 4345
KIDSCAPE Parents Helpline (Mon-Fri, 10am – 4pm) 0845 120 5204
Parentline Plus: 0808 800 2222
Youth Access: 0208 772 9900
Bullying Online: www.bullying.co.uk
Cyber bullying is bullying through the use of communication technology like mobile phone text messages, e-mails, websites or social networking. This can take many forms for example:
- Sending threatening or abusive text messages or emails, personally or anonymously
- Making insulting comments about someone on a website, social networking site (e.g.: Facebook) or Instant Messaging
- Making or sharing derogatory or embarrassing videos of someone via mobile phone or email (such as ‘Happy Slapping’ videos)
It should be noted that the use of ICT to bully could be against the law.
Abusive language or images, used to bully, harass or threaten another, whether spoken or written (through electronic means) may be libellous.
For more information on Online Safety look at our Online Safety Policy.
This policy was agreed on: October 2017
To be reviewed in October 2018