Bullying: "Bullying is repeated"

Children and young people learn in a safe and secure environment that fosters equality of opportunity, mutual respect and co-operation.

Affirmation

The school recognises that bullying is a serious issue. We recognise the damage it can cause to the education of the victim, the perpetrator and the pupil body as a whole. We are committed to challenging the assumption that bullying is inevitable and are working towards its complete eradication.

Aims

The aim of this policy is to provide a definition of bullying and to establish some basic guidelines for:

• The prevention of bullying
• The reporting of bullying
• The recording of incidents of bullying
• Supporting the victim
• Supporting the bully
• Sanctions
• Communication

Definition

Bullying is repeated action that is intended to cause someone else harm or upset.

Prevention

The school is committed to the complete eradication of bullying. In order to do this the school will:

• Have an Anti-Bullying Week every year to promote the school's bullying policy.
• Deliver anti-bullying lessons in Citizenship and other relevant subject areas.
• Deliver training to staff on the Anti-Bullying Policy and other associated issues.
• Have an Anti-Bullying display board promoting the reporting of bullying.

Reporting

The school is committed to removing the culture of secrecy from bullying. We recognise that many young people will be put off reporting bullying because they fear that it will make matters worse. In order to promote the reporting of bullying the school will:

• Carry out surveys on bullying at least once a term, allowing students to disclose if they are being bullied anonymously.
• Provide training to staff in how to deal with a disclosure about bullying.
• Deal with each disclosure about bullying sensitively and with a guarantee about anonymity if this is requested.

In order to ensure the accuracy of reporting written testimony will be taken from the victim, the perpetrator and any witnesses. These will be treated sensitively and kept confidential.

Recording

In order to monitor the frequency with which incidents of bullying take place the school will record each incident of bullying centrally on a database. The following information will be recorded:

• The student's name.
• Their form/class.
• If the student is a Looked After Child (LAC)
• Whether or not they wish to remain anonymous.
• Brief details about the alleged incident.
• Who dealt with it.
• What action was taken.
• Whether the victim was satisfied with the school's response to the incident.

The School recognises how traumatic being the victim of bullying can be. We are committed to providing each victim with the support they need to continue with their education in an environment free from the fear of bullying. In order to do this the school will:

Victim Support

• Arrange a letter of apology from the perpetrator of the bullying.
• Discuss with the student what support they feel that they need.
• Discuss with the parent/s what support they feel their child/young person needs.
• Make referrals to external agencies if necessary.
• Offer a meeting with the perpetrator of the bullying.

Support for the Bully

The school recognises that bullying can damage the education of the perpetrator as well as the victim. Students that bully will be offered a range of support. This will include one or more of the following:

• Supervised break times.
• A report card.
• A Behaviour Action Plan.
• A Pastoral Support Programme.
• A referral to the school's Learning Support Unit.
• A referral to an external agency.
• If the bullying has involved actual or attempted extortion, a referral to the school's police officer.

Sanctions

It is important for the victim of bullying, the perpetrator, and the school community as a whole that there are clearly defined consequences for any act of bullying. Each case will be dealt with individually, but the types of sanctions available to the school are:

• A period of inclusion in the Learning Support Unit.
• Withdrawal of break times and lunchtimes.
• Fixed term exclusion.
• Permanent exclusion.

Communication

Whenever an allegation about bullying is made the parents, form teacher and Phase Leader of both victim and perpetrator will be informed. In cases of extortion the school's police officer will be informed.

Review Date - 30/09/09