Anti-Bullying Policy

Anti-Bullying Policy

Introduction

1. In accordance with the requirements of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 and the code of behaviour guidelines issued by the NEWB, the Board of Management of Scoil Mhuire, Caiseal has adopted the following anti-bullying policy. This policy fully complies with the requirements of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools which were published in September 2013.

Rationale

2. This policy is required to assist the school community in preventing and tackling school based bullying behaviour among its pupils and in dealing with any negative impact within school of bullying behaviour that occurs elsewhere. The school is not responsible for bullying incidents which occur outside of school.

Aims

3.

1. To encourage and develop respectful relationships between children and between staff and children.
2. To create a school ethos which encourages children to disclose and discuss incidents of bullying behaviour.

• To raise awareness of bullying as a form of unacceptable behaviour with school management, staff, pupils and parents.

1. To develop procedures for noting and reporting incidents of bullying behaviour.
2. To develop procedures for dealing with incidents of bullying procedures.
3. To develop a programme of support for those affected by bullying behaviour and for those involved in bullying behaviour.

• To work with and establish connections with various agencies/organisations/individuals in countering all forms of bullying and anti-social behaviour. (e.g. Gardaí, NEPS)

Principles of Best Practise

4. The Board of Management recognises the very serious nature of bullying and the negative impact it can have on the lives of pupils and is therefore fully committed to the following Key principles of best practice in preventing and tackling bullying behaviour.
5. – Creating a positive school culture and climate which is welcoming of difference and   diversity and is based on inclusivity.

– Encouragement of pupils to disclose and discuss incidents of bullying behaviour in a non-threatening environment.

– Promoting respectful relationships across the school community.

This positive school culture may be created by:

1. Modelling respectful behaviour to all members of the school community at all times.
2. Explicitly teaching pupils what respectful language entails.
3. Catching children being good! Always notice and acknowledge respectful behaviour.
4. Consistently tackling the use of discriminatory and derogatory language in the school.

1. Giving constructive feedback to pupils when respectful behaviour / language are ignored.
2. Explicitly teaching pupils about the appropriate use of social media.
3. Positively encouraging pupils to comply with the school rules re. Mobile phone and internet use and following up and through with pupils who ignore the rules.
4. Highlighting and explicitly teaching school rules (Classroom &Yard) and having them displayed in all classrooms.
5. Ensuring that all staff actively watch out for signs of bullying behaviour.

1. Ensuring that there is adequate playground supervision.

1. Effective leadership.

• A school – wide approach.

1. A shared understanding of what bullying is and its impact.
2. Implementation of education and prevention strategies.
3. Effective supervision and monitoring of pupils.

• Supports for staff.
• Consistent recording, investigation and follow up of bullying behaviour.

1. On-going evaluation of the effectiveness of the anti-bullying policy.
2. Definition of Bullying

In accordance with the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools bullying is defined as follows:

*The following types of bullying 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.

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 should be dealt with, as appropriate, in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.

However, in the context of this policy, placing a once-off offensive for 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.

Negative behaviour that does not meet this definition of bullying will be dealt with in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.

6. Types of bullying

General behaviours which apply to all types of bullying

• Harassment based on any of the nine grounds in the equality legislation e.g. sexual harassment, homophobic bullying, racist bullying etc.
• Physical aggression ( pushing, shoving, punching, kicking, tripping)
• Damage to property (clothes, books, bags)
• Name calling (accent, low / high achievers, attract name calling)
• Slagging (aimed at appearance, clothing, hygiene)
• The production, display or circulation of written words, pictures or other materials aimed at intimidating another person
• Offensive graffiti
• Extortion
• Intimidation (aggressive body language, voice)
• Insulting or offensive gestures
• The “look” (showing aggression / dislike)
• Invasion of personal space
• A combination of any of the types listed.

Cyber

• Denigration: Spreading rumors, lies or gossip to hurt a person’s reputation
• Harassment: Continually sending vicious, mean or disturbing messages to an individual
• Impersonation: Posting offensive or aggressive messages under another person’s name
• Flaming: Using inflammatory or vulgar words to provoke an online fight
• Trickery: Fooling someone into sharing personal information which you then post online
• Outing: Posting or sharing confidential or compromising information or images
• Exclusion: Purposefully excluding someone from an online group
• Cyber stalking: Ongoing harassment and denigration that causes a person considerable fear for his/her safety
• Silent telephone/mobile phone call
• Abusive telephone/mobile phone calls
• Abusive text messages
• Abusive email
• Abusive communication on social networks e.g. Facebook/Ask.fm/ Twitter/You Tube or on games consoles
• Abusive website comments/Blogs/Pictures
• Abusive posts on any form of communication technology

Identity Based Behaviours

Including any of the nine discriminatory grounds mentioned in Equality Legislation (gender including transgender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community).

Homophobic and Transgender

• Spreading rumours about a person’s sexual orientation
• Taunting a person of a different sexual orientation

• Name calling e.g. Gay, queer, lesbian…used in a derogatory manner
• Physical intimidation or attacks
• Threats

Race, nationality, ethnic background and membership of the Traveller community

• Discrimination, prejudice, comments or insults about colour, nationality, culture, social class, religious beliefs, ethnic or traveller background
• Exclusion on the basis of any of the above

Relational

This involves manipulating relationships as a means of bullying. Behaviours include:

• Malicious gossip
• Isolation & exclusion
• Ignoring
• Excluding from the group
• Taking someone’s friends away
• “Bitching”
• Spreading rumours
• Breaking confidence
• Talking loud enough so that the victim can hear
• The “look”

Sexual

• Unwelcome or inappropriate sexual comments or touching
• Harassment

Special Educational Needs, Disability

• Name calling
• Taunting others because of their disability or learning needs
• Taking advantage of some pupils’ vulnerabilities and limited capacity to recognise and defend themselves against bullying
• Taking advantage of some pupils’ vulnerabilities and limited capacity to understand social situations and social cues.
• Mimicking a person’s disability
• Setting others up for ridicule

7. IMPACT AND INDICATORS OF BULLYING BEHAVIOUR

7.1 Impacts of bullying behaviour

7.1.1 Pupils who are being bullied may develop feelings of insecurity, humiliation and extreme anxiety and thus may become more vulnerable. Self-confidence may be damaged with a consequent lowering of self-esteem. While they may not talk about what is happening to them, their suffering is indicated through changes in mood and behaviour. Extreme cases of bullying may result in suicide. It is, therefore, essential to be alert to changes in behaviour as early intervention can be very effective.

7.1.2 Pupils who witness bullying may also be affected and may suffer in similar ways to those who are bullied. For example, pupils who witness identity-based bullying and share that identity can experience anxiety and feel under threat themselves. Pupils can also feel guilt or distress at not being able to help the person being bullied.

7.1.3 There are also consequences for individuals who engage in bullying behaviour. Pupils who become involved in such behaviour can be at higher risk of depression. Other possible long-term consequences may include an increased risk of developing an anti-social personality, anxiety disorders, a likelihood of substance abuse and law-breaking behaviour in adulthood and decreased educational and occupational attainment.

7.2 Indicators of bullying behaviour

7.2.1 The following signs and symptoms may suggest that a pupil is being bullied:

(i) Anxiety about travelling to and from school e.g. requesting parents to drive or collect him/her, changing travel routes, avoiding regular times for travelling to and from school;

(ii) Unwillingness to go to school, refusal to attend, truancy;

(iii) Deterioration in educational performance, loss of concentration and loss of enthusiasm  and interest in school;

(iv) Pattern of physical illnesses e.g. headaches, stomach aches;

(v) Unexplained changes either in mood or behaviour which may be particularly noticeable before returning to school after weekends or more especially after longer school holidays; 12

(vi) Visible signs of anxiety or distress e.g. stammering, withdrawing, nightmares, difficulty in sleeping, crying, not eating, vomiting, bedwetting;

(vii) Spontaneous out-of-character comments about either pupils or teachers;

(viii) Possessions missing or damaged;

(ix) Increased requests for money or stealing money;

(x) Unexplained bruising or cuts or damaged clothing; and

(xi) Reluctance and/or refusal to say what is troubling him/her.

7.2.2 There may be other signs depending on the individual and his/her circumstances. The above signs do not necessarily mean that a pupil is being bullied but if repeated or occurring in combination, these signs do warrant investigation in order to establish what is affecting the pupil.

8. 8. The relevant teachers for investigating and dealing with bullying are

• All Class Teachers and the Learning Support Teacher in conjunction with the Principal Teacher.

9. Education and Prevention Strategies

The education and prevention strategies that will be used by the school are as follows:

• The fostering and enhancing of self esteem of all our pupils through curricular and extracurricular activities.
• Supervision and monitoring of classrooms, corridors, curricular activities. Non-teaching staff will be encouraged to be vigilant and report issues to relevant teachers.
• Development and promotion of an Anti-Bullying code for the school.
• Development of a class code for each class where children have input into its structure. This class code to be displayed in each class and signed by each pupil in the class.
• The school’s anti-bullying policy is discussed with pupils and all parents. As of September 2014 all parents will be issued with a copy of the school’s Code of Behaviour and the School’s Anti-Bullying Policy.

• The implementation of regular whole school awareness measures (Drawing Children’s attention to Anti-Bullying posters in the hall, weekly assembly on Mondays where anti-bullying issues are discussed)
• Encourage a culture of ‘telling’. This measure ensures children gain confidence in ‘telling’. Children will be encouraged to ‘tell’ and therefore behave responsibly as opposed to ‘telling tales’
• Ensuring that pupils know who to tell and how to tell.

Examples include:

– Directly to teacher – after class, at lunchtime

– Note in homework diary.

– Get parent / friend to tell on their behalf

– Ensure bystanders understand the importance of telling if they witness or know that bullying is taking place.

• Identify clear protocols to encourage parent(s) to approach the school if they suspect that their child is being bullied (By letter, phone call, arranged meeting, directly before / after school)
• Ensuring that access to technology within the school is strictly monitored. This includes the use of the school phone, mobile phones.
• Co-ordination with Anti-Bullying week (October) – This is a nationality run annual bullying awareness week where schools are encouraged to raise awareness through drama, art, poetry.
• The whole school community will be encouraged to become a ‘reporting school’ whereby the whole school community are encouraged to reports / speak out if they are being bullied or if they witness a bullying situation. Where children inform a teacher of a bullying situation which occurred outside of school time, the teacher will listen to the child, making note of the details relayed and encourage the child to discuss same with their parents. If a child is unable / unwilling to do so, the teacher will make a professional judgement on how to proceed. i.e. inform parents while still leaving an avenue of communication with the child who has placed their trust in the teacher.
• Where the opportunity arises, guest speakers with an expertise in the area of bullying prevention will be invited to address pupils, staff and parents.
• The full implementation of the SPHE/OSPS curricula, the RSE programme and Stay Safe programmes and the Walk Tall (Misneach) programme.
• Continuous Professional Development for staff in delivering these programmes.

10. Investigation / Recording / Follow Up

Investigation, follow-up and recording of bullying behaviour and intervention strategies used by the school for dealing with cases of bullying behaviour.

The primary aim in investigating and dealing with bullying is to resolve any issues and to restore, as far as is practicable, the relationships of the parties involved (rather than to apportion blame);

The school’s procedures must be consistent with the following approach.

Every effort will be made to ensure that all involved (including pupils, parent(s)/guardian(s)) understand this approach from the outset.

Reporting bullying behaviour

• Any pupil or parent(s)/guardian(s) may bring a bullying incident to any teacher in the school.
• All reports, including anonymous reports of bullying, will be investigated and dealt with by the relevant teacher.
• Teaching and non-teaching staff such as secretaries, special needs assistants (SNAs), bus escorts, caretakers, cleaners must report any incidents of bullying behaviour witnessed by them, or mentioned to them, to the relevant teacher;

Investigating and dealing with incidents: Style of approach

• In investigating and dealing with bullying, the (relevant)teacher will exercise his/her professional judgment to determine whether bullying has occurred and how best the situation might be resolved;
• Parent(s)/guardian(s) and pupils are required to co-operate with any investigation and assist the school in resolving any issues and restoring, as far as is practicable, the relationships of the parties involved as quickly as possible;
• Teachers should take a calm, unemotional problem-solving approach.
• Where possible incidents should be investigated outside the classroom situation to ensure the privacy of all involved;
• All interviews should be conducted with sensitivity and with due regard to the rights of all pupils concerned. Pupils who are not directly involved can also provide very useful information in this way;
• When analysing incidents of bullying behaviour, the relevant teacher should seek answers to questions of what, where, when, who and why. This should be done in a calm manner, setting an example in dealing effectively with a conflict in a non-aggressive manner;
• If a group is involved, each member should be interviewed individually at first. Thereafter, all those involved should be met as a group. At the group meeting, each member should be asked for his/her account of what happened to ensure that everyone in the group is clear about each other’s statements;
• Each member of a group should be supported through the possible pressures that may face them from the other members of the group after the interview by the teacher;

It may also be appropriate or helpful to ask those involved to write down their account of the incident(s)

• In cases where it has been determined by the relevant teacher that bullying behaviour has    occurred, the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the parties involved should be contacted at an early stage to inform them of the matter and explain the actions being taken (by reference to the school policy). The school should give parent(s)/guardian(s) an opportunity of discussing ways in which they can reinforce or support the actions being taken by the school and the supports provided to the pupils;
• Where the relevant teacher has determined that a pupil has been engaged in bullying behaviour, it should be made clear to him/her how he/she is in breach of the school’s anti-bullying policy and efforts should be made to try to get him/her to see the situation from the perspective of the pupil being bullied;

• It must also be made clear to all involved (each set of pupils and parent(s)/guardian(s)) that in any situation where disciplinary sanctions are required, this is a private matter between the pupil being disciplined, his or her parent(s)/guardian(s) and the school;

Follow up and recording

• In determining whether a bullying case has been adequately and appropriately addressed the relevant teacher must, as part of his/her professional judgement, take the following factors into account:

– Whether the bullying behaviour has ceased;

– Whether any issues between the parties have been resolved as far as is practicable;

-Whether the relationships between the parties have been restored as far as is practicable;

-Any feedback received from the parties involved, their parent(s)/guardian(s) or the school Principal or Deputy Principal

• Follow-up meetings with the relevant parties involved should be arranged separately with a view to possibly bringing them together at a later date if the pupil who has been bullied is ready and agreeable.
• Where a parent(s)/guardian(s) is not satisfied that the school has dealt with a bullying case in accordance with these procedures, the parent(s)/guardian(s) must be referred, as appropriate, to the school’s complaints procedures.
• In the event that a parent(s)/guardian(s) has exhausted the school’s complaints procedures and is still not satisfied, the school must advise the parent(s)/guardian(s) of their right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman for Pupils.

Recording of bullying behaviour

It is imperative that all recording of bullying incidents must be done in an objective and factual manner.

The school’s procedures for noting and reporting bullying behaviour are as follows:

       Informal- pre-determination that bullying has occurred

• All staff must keep a written record of any incidents witnessed by them or notified to them.  Each teacher will log the incident details in the School Incident Log Book.
• While all reports, including anonymous reports of bullying must be investigated and dealt with by the relevant teacher, the relevant teacher must keep a written record of the reports, the actions taken and any discussions with those involved regarding same
• The relevant teacher must inform the principal of all incidents being investigated.

       Formal-determination that bullying has occurred

• If it is established by the relevant teacher that bullying has occurred, the relevant teacher must keep appropriate written records which will assist his/her efforts to

resolve the issues and restore, as far as is practicable, the relationships of the parties involved.

• All records relating to the bullying incident will be kept in the filing cabinet in the Principal’s office.
• The relevant teacher must use the recording template to record the bullying behaviour (Appendix 3 – from DES Procedures)

11. Established Intervention Strategies

– Teacher interviews with all pupils

– Negotiating agreement between pupils and following these up / monitoring progress.

– Working with parents to support school interventions. Keeping parents informed and up to date ensures all parties are aware of the interventions being applied.

– No blame approach

– Circle Time

– Restorative Practice

12. School Support for working with pupils affected by Bullying

–         Opportunities to participate in activities designed to raise their self-esteem, to develop friendships and social skills and build resilience.

e.g. – Circle Time, poetry / drama, group work in class, school football leagues, buddy system (seniors/juniors mixed for different activities)

–         Where pupils require further supports / and counseling the school will have with external agencies to organize same (e.g. NEPS, HSE) This may be for the pupil affected by bullying or the pupil involved in the bullying behaviour.

13. Supervision and Monitoring of Pupils

The Board of Management of Scoil Mhuire ensures that there are agreed, appropriate monitoring and supervision practices in the school.

• Yard duty rotas are in place
• Strategies in the event of an absence of a teacher (class taken by other teacher; class divided up)
• Appropriate ratio of pupils / teachers when engaging in outside school activities (swimming, school tours, going to football matches etc)
• Supervision of pupils when entering the school in the morning and again on leaving in the afternoons
• Supervision of pupils in school hall entering / leaving during breaks and lunchtimes
• L/S teacher to assist in supervision of pupils at school occasions (concerts, Mass, prize giving ceremonies)
• Internet sessions will be monitored by a teacher at all times.

14. Adult bullying of children

All complaints against a teacher are handled under the agreed INTO / CPSMA Complaints Procedure.

15. Prevention of Harassment

The Bord of Management of Scoil Mhuire confirms that the school will, in accordance with it’s obligations under equality legislation, take all such steps that are reasonably practicable to prevent the sexual harassment of pupils or staff on any of the nine grounds specified (gender including transgender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community)

17. Success Criteria

The success of this policy will be measured against its success in preventing bullying behaviour in the school. Feedback from pupils, parents and staff will inform this decision.

18. Approval / Ratification / Review

This policy will be made available to all parents in draft form and when approved by the Board of Management will be available for viewing for all parents and school personnel in Term 3 of 2013/2014. The revised policy will be circulated to all parents at the beginning of the 2014 – 2015 school year.

This policy will be reviewed by the Bord of Management once in every school year. A record of the review of this policy will be made available, if requested, to the patron and the Department.