Anti Bullying

Introduction

Bullying affects everyone, not just the bullies and the victims. It also affects those other children who watch, and less aggressive pupils can be drawn in by group pressure. Bullying is not an inevitable part of school life or a necessary part of growing up, and it rarely sorts itself out. It is clear that certain jokes, insults, racist behaviour or comment, intimidating/threatening behaviour, written abuse and violence are to be found in our society. No one person or group, whether staff or pupil, should have to accept this type of behaviour. Only when all issues of bullying are addressed, will a child best be able to benefit from the opportunities available at the School.

The School believes that its pupils have the right to learn in a supportive, caring and safe environment without the fear of being bullied.

 

All institutions, both large and small, contain some numbers of pupils with the potential for bullying behaviour. If a school is well disciplined and organised, it can minimise the occurrence of bullying. The School also has a clear ethos on the promotion of good citizenship, where it is made clear that bullying is a form of anti-social behaviour. It will not be tolerated.

 

It is important therefore that the School has a clear written policy to promote this belief, where both pupils and parents/guardians are fully aware that any bullying complaints will be dealt with firmly, fairly and promptly.

Each incidence of bullying is quite unique. Discretion must be used to ascertain whether an incident is an isolated and relatively harmless event or evidence of bullying. Bullying can occur through several types of anti- social behaviour. It can be:-

a). Physical.
A child can be physically punched, kicked, hit, spat at, etc.

b). Verbal.
Verbal abuse can take the form of name calling. It may be directed towards gender, ethnic origin, physical/social disability, or personality, etc.

c). Exclusion.
A child can be bullied simply by being excluded from discussions/activities, with those they believe to be their friends.

d). Damage to property or theft.
Pupils may have their property damaged or stolen. Physical threats may be used by the bully in order that the pupil hand over property to them.

e). Online.
Unfortunate photographs, unpleasant comments and written abuse are all unfortunate side effects of our connected society. Coed-Y-Gof  issues clear guidelines in this field and will act upon incidents of bullying in this medium.

 

The evolving nature of social media and ever changing interconnectivity make much of the advice rapidly redundant. Part of our digital competency work in school is aimed at empowering pupils as digital citizens. The best advice may sound old fashioned. The family values that you teach your child of courtesy, thoughtfulness, kindness, consideration and empathy are a constant positive in the ever shifting ether of digital communications.

What can you tell your child if he/she is being bullied?

• Teachers will take you seriously and will deal with bullies in a way which will end the bullying and will not make things worse for you.
• Remember that your silence is the bully’s greatest weapon!
• Tell yourself that you do not deserve to be bullied
• Be proud of who you are. It is good to be individual.
• Try not to show that you are upset. It is hard but a bully enjoys someone’s fear.
• Stay with a group of friends/people. There is safety in numbers.
• Be assertive – say “Na!” Walk confidently away. Go straight to a teacher, member of staff.
• Generally it is best to tell an adult you trust straight away. You will get support.

If you know someone is being bullied:

TAKE ACTION!

• Watching and doing nothing looks as if you are on the side of the bully. It makes the victim feel more unhappy and on their own.
• If you feel you cannot get involved, tell an adult IMMEDIATELY. Teachers have ways of dealing with the bully without getting you into trouble.
• Do not be, or pretend to be, friends with a bully.
• Remember the Bocs Becso is where you can tell us what you really think. You don’t have to give your name.

As a parent:

Look for unusual behaviour in your children. For example, they may suddenly not wish to attend school, feel ill regularly, or not complete work to their normal standard.

Always take an active role in your child’s education. Enquire how their day has gone, who they have spent their time with, how lunch time was spent etc.

If you feel your child may be a victim of bullying behaviour, inform the School IMMEDIATELY. Your complaint will be taken seriously and appropriate action will follow.

• It is important that you advise your child not to fight back. It can make matters worse!
• Tell your own son or daughter there is nothing wrong with him or her. It is not his or her fault that they are being bullied.
• Make sure your child is fully aware of the School policy concerning bullying, and that they will not be afraid to ask for help.
• AS A SCHOOL WE WILL:
• Deal quickly, firmly and fairly with any complaints, involving parents where necessary.
• Review the School Policy and its degree of success.
• Continue to have a firm but fair discipline structure. The rules will be few, simple and easy to understand.
• Not use teaching materials or equipment which give a bad or negative view of any group because of their ethnic origin, sex, etc.
• Encourage pupils to discuss how to get on with other people and to form positive attitudes towards other people.
• Encourage pupils to treat everyone with respect.
• We will treat bullying as a serious offence and take every possible action to eradicate it from our School.

If bullying is suspected we talk to the suspected victim, the suspected bully and any witnesses. If any degree of bullying is identified, the following action will be taken:

Help, support and counselling will be given as is appropriate to both the victims and the bullies:

We support the victims in the following ways:

• By offering them an immediate opportunity to talk about the experience with their class teacher, or another teacher if they choose.
• Informing the victims’ parents/guardians.
• By offering continuing support when they feel they need it.
• By taking one or more of the seven disciplinary steps described below to prevent more bullying.

We also discipline, yet try to help the bullies in the following ways:

• By talking about what happened, to discover why they became involved.
• Informing the bullies’ parents/guardians.
• By continuing to work with the bullies in order to get rid of prejudiced attitudes as far as possible.
• By taking one or more of the seven disciplinary steps described below to prevent more bullying.

1. They will be warned officially to stop offending.
2. Informing the bullies’ parents/guardians.
3. They may be excluded from the School premises at lunch times.
4. We may arrange for parents escorted them to and from the School premises.
5. If they do not stop bullying they will be suspended for a minor fixed period. It should be noted however that on any occasion where it is felt that a pupil’s behaviour constitutes a physical threat to another that suspension (At the discretion of the Head Teacher) may be immediate.
6. If they then carry on they will be recommended for suspension for a major fixed period.

 

Appendix 1.

A Message for pupils

Hello!

The internet can be great fun. You can chat to your friends, play games and learn about new things. But sometimes things happen which can make you upset. People may say mean things which make you feel sad, or you may see something that you don’t like.

If this happens, you must remember it’s not your fault.

• TELL AN ADULT YOU TRUST if you are upset or worried about something that has happened to you. They can help you to report it to us at CEOP.
• If you feel in danger phone 999 to speak to the police. They will make sure you are safe.
• If you don’t feel there is anyone you can talk to, there are people at ChildLine who will always listen to you. They won’t tell anyone else about what you’ve said, which means you can feel safe talking to them.

You can also tell us at CEOP what is happening so we can help you. If there is an adult you trust, like your mum, dad, carer or teacher, gets them to help you fill out the form. Click the red box below to get the form.

Appendix 2.

It’s important that you talk to your children about what they enjoy doing online, get involved in what they are doing, play games with them, ask them about their apps so you understand what they are using. You don’t have to be a computer genius to give practical safety advice.

 

Here are a few guidelines about managing digital technology:

Keep it Nice

Remind your children that being kind online is up to everyone. If they do see something upsetting or abusive online, they should block and report it, and talk to you or another trusted adult about it.

Games
Do look out for the PEGI age ratings on the games your children want to play – they work in a similar way to age ratings for films and should be respected. Games also have labels to indicate if the game contains violence, scary content and so on. Don’t give in to your child’s relentless please for games that are not appropriate for their age.

Sharing Photos

It is worth thinking how you share photos and with whom. Manage your lists of contacts. For example you can create a Close friends and family list of your Facebook [ED2] contacts and share some pictures with a limited group of people.

Insurance
The cost of a phone or tablet is sometimes hidden behind a monthly contract. Do check the insurance policy. Replacing a basic phone can cost up to £500

Find my Phone

Most phones or tablets now come with an app that can allow you to locate it. Though not pin point accurate, they give you the ability to lock the device and remotely wipe its data. You may have lost the phone but at least no one is looking through your photos, contacts or bank details.

ICE
ICE stands for In Case (of) Emergency. You create a contact in your child’s phone called ICE and list the number of someone who a doctor, first aider, etc. – can contact. Emergency services are trained to look for an ICE contact if they find a mobile phone.

Avoid Big Bills

You can avoid unexpected big bills. Set a block on your kid’s phone to prevent them from downloading any apps which have in app purchases.

Talking Tech

Although children may know how to use apps, tablets, consoles and other high tech gadgets what they often lack is life experience and the ability to think about their actions and conseque