Newtownwhite N.S. (Feb. 2014)

 

Anti-bullying.

 

 

* Introductory Statement.

        A review of the current school policy on bullying was carried out by Patricia Quinn and June West at a School Development Planning course (summer 2004). This policy was reviewed again on 4/6/10 on a planning day with Catherine Canny, facilitator with PPDS. This policy has been reviewed and updated (5^th February 2014) to meet the requirements of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools which was published in September 2013.

 

* Rationale

Review and updating of our existing policy was a priority to bring it in line with the requirements of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools published in September 2013.

 

 

* Relationship to Characteristic Spirit of the School.

Our school ethos promotes a stable and secure environment of mutual respect and co-operation. NewtownwhiteN.S. community believe that each pupil has a right to an education free from fear and intimidation. The school community regards bullying as a serious infringement of the rights of an individual pupils rights and a serious threat to the self-esteem and confidence of targeted pupil(s). Therefore bullying of any kind will not be tolerated.

Any report of bullying will be is treated seriously and dealt with having due regard for the well being of the targeted pupil(s) and the perpetrator(s). When investigating and dealing with bullying behaviour teachers will take a calm problem-solving approach. Teachers will be good role models –  “Children will always find in the eyes of parents and teachers mirrors in which they will discover themselves as they are. We have a choice in what we reflect back.” (William Glasser from “Raising Self Reliant Children in a Self Indulgent world” by Stephen Glenn and Jane Nelson.)

Teachers will endeavour to get both sides of the story keeping in mind the rights of all pupils and the Code of Behaviour of the school. The immediate priority, should a bullying incident occur, will be ending the bullying and resolving the issues and restoring the relationships involved insofar as is practicable using a ‘Reform, not Blame’ approach.

 

In line with our ethos, all pupils, staff and parents are expected to contribute to the creation and maintenance of a safe environment in this school. On becoming aware of any bullying situation, in or outside the school, involving members of the school community they should notify a trusted adult.

 

• Aims.

* To raise the awareness of staff, children, parents and B.O.M. and work from a common definition of what bullying is and how unacceptable it is.

* To create a school ethos that is safe and which encourages children to disclose and discuss incidents of bullying behaviour.

*To ensure comprehensive supervision and monitoring measures through which all areas of school activity are kept under observation.

*To develop procedures for recording, investigating and dealing with incidents of bullying behaviour.

*To implement a programme of support for those affected by bullying behaviour (targeted pupil(s)) and for those involved in bullying behaviour (perpetrator(s)).

*To work with appropriate agencies in countering all forms of bullying and anti-bullying behaviour.

* To provide supports for staff and parents.

* To foster positive behaviour and create a positive school climate, which focuses on safety of and respect for the individual.

* To ensure on-going evaluation of the effectiveness of the anti-bullying policy.

 

Definition of Bullying.

* In accordance with the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools (Sept 2013) bullying is defined as follows:

Bullying is unwanted negative behaviour, verbal, psychological or physical conducted by an individual or group against another person (or persons) and which is repeated over time.

 

• “Bullying is knowing what hurts someone and deliberately doing it.”  (Bullying in our Schools, David Fitzgerald)

 

The following types of behaviour are included in the definition of bullying:

• Deliberate exclusion, malicious gossip and other forms of relational bullying
• Cyber-bullying
• Identity-based bullying such as homophobic bullying, racist bullying, bullying based on a person’s membership of the Traveller community and bullying of those with disabilities or special educational needs.
•   Non-verbal- making suggestive, provocative or intimidating gestures—sneer, dirty look, stare (facial expressions)
•   Personal Property- threats or damage to property.

 

Intention of bullying- a person tries to damage another persons self esteem, undermine her/his self confidence thereby reducing his/her sense of personal power and safety.

 

Isolated or once-off incidents of intentional negative behaviour, including a once-off offensive or hurtful text message or other private messaging, do not fall within the definition of bullying and will be dealt with, as appropriate, in accordance with Newtownwhites N.S. ‘s school ethos.

 

However, it is important to note that in the context of this policy, placing a once-off offensive or hurtful public message, image or statement on a social network site or other public forum where that message, image or statement can be viewed and/or repeated by other people will be regarded as bullying behaviour.

 

Appendix 1 gives a list of specific examples of bullying behaviour. This list is not exhaustive.

Additional information on different types of bullying is set out in Section 2 of the Anti-bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools.

 

Who to contact:

The relevant teachers for investigating and dealing with bullying in NewtownwhiteN.S. are:

Mrs Patricia Quinn for Junior Infants, Senior Infants, First Class

Mrs June West for 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th and 6^th Class.

(“At Primary level, the relevant teacher will normally be the class teacher.” Procedures 6.8.3).

 

 

 

Indicators that may suggest a child is being bullied

 

Deterioration in self-esteem, self confidence or educational performance, Unexplained bruising, cuts or damaged clothes, Visible signs of anxiety or distress – refusal to say what is wrong unexplained mood swings or behaviour, becoming withdrawn, becoming clinging, attention seeking, aggressive behaviour, Out of character behaviour in class, Deterioration in educational attainments, Loss of concentration, Loss of interest in school, Erratic attendance, Mitching, Lingering behind in school after classes are over, Increased requests for pocket money or stealing money, Loss of or damage to personal possessions or equipment, Artwork expressing inner turmoil…

Fostering positive behaviour and prevention of bullying.

 

The education and prevention strategies (including strategies specifically aimed at cyber-bullying and identity based bullying) used by NewtownwhiteN.S. are as follows:

 

a) The school ethos.

• Good role models (staff) and promotion of positive school atmosphere.
• Through out the school, encourage kindness, respect, and tolerance and emphasise that bullying behaviour is unacceptable and wrong.
• Everyone aware of what Bullying is as defined in our School Policy.
• Children are aware of what to do if they are bullied:-

It’s not your fault.

Don’t put up with bullying.

Ask for help.

• Parents are aware of procedures if they feel their child is being bullied or bullying. i.e. Parents should make an appointment (if possible) to talk to the teachers and be aware that it will be dealt with in a sensitive manner. Parents reinforce positive behaviour both at home and at school and support the Anti-Bullying Code.
• Staff are vigilant regarding all children but especially children who are considered at risk.
• B.O.M. are aware of their role.

• Promoting      self esteem through celebrating individual achievements e.g. recognition and      praise at Assembly for achievements, providing opportunities for success during the school      day, praise and notes sent home for incidents where the child acted      responsibly, “Pupil of the Week” Awards, at different times of the year.
• Pupils are helped to develop      empathy by discussing feelings and by trying to put themselves in the      place of others.
• Use assemblies to remind pupils of the school’s anti-bullying      policy.
• Special events such as a ‘Secret Friend’ Week- act of kindness.
• Devising a school charter for display in classrooms and other      prominent locations e.g. “Treat others as you would like to be treated”.

 

 

b) Supervision– The Board of Management of Newtownwhite N.S. confirms that appropriate supervision and monitoring policies and practices are in place to both prevent and deal with bullying behaviour and to facilitate early intervention where possible; within and outside the school.

* Identify and supervise all high-risk locations and situations e.g.

Playground. Toilets- leave outside doors open. No more than 2 at a

time during class.

* Clear and open communication with children fostered and encouraged.

* Mentoring— senior children are encouraged to have caring attitude and look out for younger children. Older children organise playground games for the younger children.

 

C) Curriculum.

* The anti-bullying module of the S.P.H.E programme as it applies during

each school year.

* At least 5 awareness-raising activities per school year for each class

grouping (e.g from the ‘Awareness-Raising’ strand of the Anti-Bullying 

  Campaign, via its website), pro-actively explaining the nature and

variety, causes, consequences and unacceptability of bullying.

      – Pupils are helped to examine the issue of bullying in a calm way,

outside of the tense context of a bullying incident- raising

awareness of the nature of bullying and the variety of forms it can

take.

– Pupils are made aware that the consequences of bullying behaviour

are always bad for those targeted, even if that is not always

obvious at the time.

– Pupils are encouraged to recognise, reject and report bullying

behaviour, either directly to an adult or through questionnaires.

Surveys: – confidential/questionnaires on bullying situation where

children write or draw what happened.

* Incredible Years Programme- fostering the development of Social,

Emotional and Educational skills in children.

* Circle-time activities.

* Drama, co-operative games.

* P.E.- fostering team building activities.

* S.P.H.E. Walk Tall, Zippy Programme, Stay Safe, R.S.E. Blocks of lessons

from Prim Ed Bullying Books with focus on bullying and self-esteem.(Use

of Posters on Bullying in the school).

* Playground and classroom rules drawn up by children themselves during

assembly and class time to raise awareness of what good behaviour

looks like.

 

(d) Parents/ Guardians and Staff:

• Through information sharing and other exercises, the school staff and parents/guardians are made aware of the nature of bullying and the signs that might indicate that a pupil is being bullied. Vigalance is encouraged in watching for signs of bullying and to report any suspicion of bullying they may have to ‘relevant teacher’.
• Through school circulars, text a parent and the School Newsletter parents/ guardians are regularly informed of the activities of the school around anti-bullying activities and encouraged to support this work.
•  Co-operation and support from parents and between all parties is encouraged and welcomed in order to ensure the effective operation of Anti- Bullying Policy.
• Parents should explain and backup Code of Behaviour and Anti Bullying Policy to their child/children.

 

 

Intervention -Procedures for dealing with incidents of bullying

“Teachers are best advised to take a calm, unemotional problem solving approach when dealing with incidents of bullying behaviour reported by pupils, staff or parents/guardians. Such incidents are best investigated outside the classroom situation to avoid public humiliation of the victim or the pupil engaged in bullying.” (Guidelines on Countering Bullying Behaviour in Primary and Post-Primary Schools, 1993)

 

The school’s procedures for investigation, follow-up and recording of bullying behaviour and the established intervention strategies used in Newtownwhite N.S. for dealing with cases of bullying behaviour, (e.g. the six step approach available from the ‘Dealing with Incidents’ section of the Anti-Bullying Campaign website) are as follows:

 

1.  Take all reports seriously. Record the complaint in the logbook, the ‘relevant teacher’ investigates all instances of reported or suspected bullying behaviour, whether these take place within or outside the school, with a view to establishing the facts and bringing any such behaviour to an end.
2. Information should be gathered with care and sensitivity.(what, where, when, who and why). The school, through the ‘relevant teacher’ reserves the right to ask any pupil to write an account of what happened as part of an investigation. This will be a standard procedure and does not necessarily imply that a pupil is guilty of misbehaviour.
3. Pupil(s) who are alleged to have been involved in bullying behaviour are interviewed by the ‘relevant teacher’ to establish the nature and extent of the behaviour and any reasons for it. In the event that they have been involved in bullying behaviour they are asked to sign a binding promise that they will treat all pupils fairly, equally and respectfully including the targeted pupil(s).
4. The ‘Relevant teacher’ does not apportion blame but rather treats bullying behaviour as a “mistake” that can and must be remedied. S/he emphasises that the intention is not to punish perpetrators but to talk to them, to explain how harmful and hurtful bullying is and to seek a promise that it will stop. If that promise is forthcoming and honoured there will be no penalty and that will be the end of the matter. Pupils who report bullying are not getting other pupils “in trouble” but rather enabling them to get out of trouble into which they may ultimately get if the bullying continued.  Condemn the “behaviour”, not the person. (Label actions not person).
5. When an investigation is completed and/or a bullying situation is resolved the ‘Relevant teacher’ will complete a report, to include the findings of the investigation, the strategy adopted and the outcome of the intervention, as well as any other relevant information.
6. If a pupil has signed a promise but then chooses to break that promise and continue the bullying behaviour, this can no longer be considered a “mistake”. In this event parent(s)/guardian(s) will be informed and requested to counter sign their daughter/son’s promise. Breach of this additional promise by further bullying behaviour is regarded as a very grave matter and a serious sanction may be imposed by the school authorities (See sanctions below).

 

Sanctions:

Where a pupil(s) who has been found to be engaged in bullying behaviour, has formally promised to stop and has broken this promise, any of the following sanctions may be imposed:

–         S/he may be required to sign another promise, this time counter signed by a parent/ guardian;

–         Parent(s) guardian(s) may be contacted by the ‘Relevant teacher’ and informed of  the nature and extent of the bullying behaviour with a view to agreeing a strategy whereby a promise to end the bullying behaviour would be honoured;

–         Parent(s)/guardian(s)   may be invited to a meeting with the ‘Relevant teacher’ and the Principal and the pupil may be suspended from the school.

–         The case may be referred to the Board of Management and the pupil may be expelled from the school.

 

All documentation regarding bullying incidents and their resolution is retained securely in school. Records will be kept of these incidents in the Office Log Book and sometimes children themselves will write out an account or draw what happened.

 

Professional Assistance e.g. NEP’s, HSE may be sought in serious and ongoing cases with the knowledge of parent(s)/guardian(s).

 

Programme of support.

The school’s programme of support for working with pupils affected by bullying is as follows:

1. Bullied pupils:

–         Ending the bullying behaviour

–         Changing the school culture to foster more respect for bullied pupils and all pupils

–         Indicating clearly that the bullying behaviour is not the fault of the targeted pupil(s) through the awareness-raising programme

–         Indicating clearly that the bullying behaviour is not the fault of the targeted pupil(s) through the speedy identification of those responsible and speedy resolution of bullying situations

–         After resolution, enabling bullied pupils to complete victim-impact statement

–         Making adequate counselling facilities available to pupil(s) who need it in a timely manner

–         Helping bullied pupil(s) raise their self-esteem by encouraging them to become involved in activities that help develop friendships and social skills (e.g. participation in group work in class and in extra-curricular group or team activities during and after school)

–         Using learning strategies throughout the school curriculum to help enhance pupils’ feelings of self-worth

1. Pupils engaged in bullying behaviour:

–         Ending the bullying behaviour

–         In dealing with negative behaviour in general, encouraging teachers and parents to focus on, challenging and correct the behaviour while supporting the child

–         In dealing with bullying behaviour seeking resolution and offering a fresh start with a ‘clean sheet; and no blame in return for keeping a promise to reform.

 

Success Criteria.

* A happy safe school where children are not afraid to tell.

* An atmosphere where everyone knows what Bullying is.

* Parents and staff are aware of and supportive of our Policy and feel free to report and input through the right channels i.e. know what to do.

* At the end of the day the child displaying bullying behaviour and the victim will be helped.

* Observation of positive behaviour in class rooms, corridors, yard

 

 

 

Roles and Responsibility.

Bullying is a social problem and a whole school community approach is needed to combat bulling behaviour. It is part of the ethos of our school to recognise, highlight and nurture the strengths and talents of every child. Children are encouraged to seek ways of expressing their needs, which do not violate the rights of others.

The Board of Management confirms that the school will, in accordance with its obligations under equality legislation, take all the steps as are reasonably practicable to prevent the sexual harassment of pupils or staff or the harassment of pupils or staff on any of the nine grounds specified i.e. gender (including transgender), civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community.

 

Reference to other policies

• SPHE plan
• Code of Behaviour
• Record keeping
• Home / School links
• Health & Safety
• Special Educational Needs

 

 

Review

This policy and its implications will be reviewed by the Board of Management every two years and amended if necessary before then.

 

Ratification and Communication

This policy was circulated to the Policy Reading group of parents and feedback was invited. This policy was updated and adopted by the Board of Management of Newtownwhite N.S. on _______ and made available for viewing by school personnel, published on the school website from February 2014.  A record of the review and its outcome will be made available to the Department of Education and Skills and to the patron if requested.

 

 

 

Signature of Chairperson of B.O.M: ____________________________

 

Date: ___/___/2014.

 

Date of next review: February 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 1.

Bullying can take a number of forms. These may include any of the following (this list is not exhaustive):

• Repeated aggressive      behaviour/attitude/body language, for example:

Shouting & uncontrolled anger; Personal insults; Verbal abuse; Offensive language directed at an individual; Continually shouting or dismissing others; Public verbal attacks/ criticism; Domineering behaviour; Open aggression; Offensive gestures and unwanted physical contact.

• Intimidation, either      physical, psychological or emotional, for example:

Treating in a dictatorial manner; Ridicule; Persistent slagging; Deliberate staring with the intent to discomfort; Persistent rudeness in behaviour and attitude towards a particular individual; Asking inappropriate questions/ making inappropriate comments re. social life or schoolwork.

• Interference with      property for example:

Stealing/ damaging books or equipment; Stealing/ damaging clothing or other property; Demanding money with menaces; Persistently moving, hiding or interfering with property; Marking /defacing property.

• Undermining/Public or      Private Humiliation, for example:

Condescending tone; Deliberately withholding significant information and resources; Writing of anonymous notes; Malicious, disparaging or demeaning comments; Malicious tricks/ derogatory jokes; Knowingly spreading rumours; Belittling others’ efforts, their enthusiasm or their new ideas; Derogatory or offensive nick-names (name-calling); Using electronic or other media for any of the above(cyber bullying); Disrespectfully mimicking a particular individual in his/her absence; Deliberately refusing to address issues focusing instead on the person.

• Ostracising or  isolating, for example:

Deliberately marginalising an individual; Deliberately preventing a person from joining a group; Deliberately preventing from joining in an activity, schoolwork-related or recreational; Blaming a pupil for things s/he did not do.