ST WYSTAN’S SCHOOL

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

This policy had been implemented with regard to the DCSF guidance ‘Safe to Learn:Embedding anti-bullying work in schools’.

Aims and Objectives

At St Wystan’s school, our community is based upon respect, good manners and fair play. We are committed to providing a safe and caring environment that is free from disruption, violence and any form of harassment so that every one of our pupils can develop his/her full potential. We expect our pupils to treat members of staff with courtesy and co-operation so that they can learn in a relaxed, but orderly, atmosphere. All pupils should care for and support each other.

St Wystan’s school prides itself on its respect and mutual tolerance. Ours is a diverse community, with pupils from a variety of cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds. Some pupils require additional support and help. Parents/guardians have an important role in supporting the school in maintaining high standards of behaviour. It is essential that school and homes have consistent expectations of behaviour and that they co-operate closely together. Acceptance of this policy forms part of our standard terms and conditions.

Bullying, harassment and victimisation and discrimination will not be tolerated. We treat all our pupils and their parents fairly and with consideration and we expect them to reciprocate towards each other, the staff and the school. Any kind of bullying is unacceptable. Where necessary, we will apply the sanctions described in our Behaviour Policy for behaviour that constitutes bullying or harassment of any kind.

Definition of Bullying

Bullying may be defined as the intentional hurting, harming or humiliating of another person. It can take the form of racial, religious, cultural, sexual, sexist, homophobic or disability related bullying. It could involve physical (including sexual) intimidation, verbal, cyber (including chat room, email, e-photos and text messages), and emotional means (by excluding, tormenting or spreading malicious rumours). It can involve manipulating a third party to tease or torment someone. It can involve complicity that falls short of direct participation. Bullying is often hidden and subtle. It can also be overt and intimidatory.

Bullying may involve actions or comments that are racist, homophobic, which focus on disabilities or other physical attributes (such as hair colour or body shape). Bullying can happen anywhere and at any time. It can cause serious and lasting psychological damage and even suicide. Harassment and threatening behaviour are criminal offences. We always treat it very seriously. It conflicts sharply with the school’s policy on Equal Opportunities, as well as with its social and moral principles.

Signs of Bullying

Changes in behaviour that may indicate that a pupil is being bullied include:

• Unwillingness to return to school
• Displays of excessive anxiety, becoming withdrawn or unusually quiet
• Failure to produce work, or producing unusually bad work, or work that appears to have been copied, interfered with or spoilt by others
• Books, bags and other belongings suddenly go missing, or are damaged
• Change to established habits (e.g. giving up music lessons, change to accent or vocabulary)
• Psychological damage and diminished levels of self confidence
• Frequent visits to the doctor with symptoms such as stomach pains, headaches
• Unexplained cuts and bruises
• Frequent absence, erratic attendance, late arrival to class
• Choosing the company of adults
• Displaying repressed body language and poor eye contact
• Difficulty in sleeping, experiences nightmares
• Talking of suicide or running away

Although there may be other causes for some of the above symptoms, a repetition of, or a combination of these possible signs of bullying should be investigated by parents and teachers.

Preventative Measures

We take the following preventative measures:

• We use appropriate Assemblies to explain the school policy on bullying. Our PSHE programme is structured to give pupils an awareness of their social and moral responsibilities as they progress through the school. The programme is structured to enforce the message about community involvement and taking care of each other. It specifically tells pupils whom they should inform if they are being bullied, or are worried that another pupil is being bullied.
• Other lessons, particularly RE, English and PSHE highlight the issue of bullying and reinforce this message by teaching moral and spiritual values that show bullying to be unacceptable and by developing social skills.
• All our pupils are encouraged to tell a member of the teaching or pastoral staff at once if they know that bullying is taking place. Every member of staff is trained on how to respond to such allegations as part of their child safeguarding training.
• All reported incidents are recorded and investigated at once. We always monitor reported incidents.
• We have a strong and experienced pastoral team of Form teachers and House Mistresses who support the Headteacher and are trained in handling any incidents as an immediate priority, and are alert to possible signs of bullying.
• Our pastoral team gives support and guidance to other staff on handling and reporting incidents, and on the follow-up work with both victims and bullies.
• Staff are always on duty at times when pupils are not in class and patrol the school site, particularly areas where bullying might occur. They are trained to be alert to inappropriate language or behaviour.
• We operate a buddying scheme, whereby older pupils are encouraged to offer support to younger pupils.
• We provide leadership training to our team of Prefects which specifically covers the importance of offering support and assistance to younger pupils.
• We reserve the right to investigate incidents that take place outside school hours, on school visits and trips and that occur in the vicinity of the school, involving our pupils.
• We welcome feedback from parents and guardians on the effectiveness of our preventative measures.

Cyberbullying – Definition

“Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that is intended to harm others."
Cyberbullying can involve Social Networking Sites, like Bebo and Myspace, emails and mobile phones, used for text messages and as cameras.

Cyberbullying – Preventative Measures

In addition to the preventative measures described above, St Wystan’s School:

• Expects all pupils to adhere to its charter for the safe use of the internet. Certain sites are blocked by our filtering system and our ICT Coordinators monitors pupils’ use.
• May impose sanctions for the misuse, or attempted misuse of the internet.
• Mobile phones are not permitted in classrooms, public areas of the school, or where they may cause annoyance to others.
• The use of cameras on mobile phones are not allowed in school

Procedures for dealing with reported Bullying

If an incident of bullying is reported, the following procedures are adopted:
• If bullying is suspected or reported, the incident will be dealt with immediately by the member of staff who has been approached
• Upon discovery of an incident of bullying, the member of staff will discuss with the children the issues appropriate to the incident and to their age and level of understanding
• A clear account of the incident will be recorded and given, in the first instance, to the Deputy Headteacher
• The Deputy Headteacher may interview all concerned and will record the incident. This recording is important in order to enable patterns to be identified.
• House mistresses and all other responsible adults will be kept informed
• If the matters persists or reoccurs then the Headteacher will be informed. The Head will interview all parties concerned and after consultation will decide on an appropriate course of action
• Parents will be kept informed when deemed appropriate
• Punitive measures will be used as appropriate and in consultation with all parties concerned
Pupils who have been bullied will be supported by:
• offering an immediate opportunity to discuss the experience with a house mistress or member of staff of their choice
• reassuring the pupil
• offering continuous support
• restoring self-esteem and confidence
Pupils who have bullied will be helped by:
• discussing what happened
• discovering why the pupil became involved
• establishing the wrong doing and need to change
• informing parents or guardians to help change the attitude of the pupil
The following disciplinary steps can be taken:
• official warnings to cease offending
• withdrawal of free time
• exclusion from certain areas of school premises
• minor fixed-term exclusion
• major fixed-term exclusion
• permanent exclusion
Parental Involvement
The parents of bullies and their victims will be informed of an incident and the action that has taken place and asked to support strategies proposed to tackle the problem. The bully will also be reminded of the possible consequences of bullying and the sanctions for repeated incidents will be clearly explained to him/her. (Persistent bullies may be excluded from school). A monitoring tool may also be used, usually incorporating a reward for achieving desired behaviours.

Parents are reminded regularly through letters and newsletters to inform their children that they must tell someone should they ever be bullied. Keeping information from the school, or from their parents, will never help a problem to be solved, and will prolong the period a victim has to suffer. Whilst there is little history of bullying at St Wystan’s, we believe that one case is one case too many and we believe it is essential to constantly review this policy to ensure we are in a position to strengthen our approach to this issue. Where necessary we will call on outside resources to support our action. This policy is seen as an integral part of our Behaviour and Discipline Policy.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Review
The school will review this policy regularly and assess its implementation and effectiveness. The policy will be promoted and implemented throughout the school.

Policy Development and Review
This policy document was produced in consultation with the entire school community, including pupils, parents, school staff and Governors.

This document is freely available to the entire school community. It has also been made available on the school web-site.

It will be reviewed on an annual basis.

[Back to News Letters]