Apr 25 2014
Anti-Bullying Policy
St Patrick’s N.S. Johnstownbridge
Anti-Bullying Policy
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 St Patrick’s N.S. has adopted the following anti-bullying policy within the framework of the school’s overall code of behaviour. This policy fully complies with the requirements of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools which were published in September 2013.
2. The Board of Management recognises the very serious nature of bullying and the negative impact that 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:
(a) A positive school culture and climate which
• is welcoming of difference and diversity and is based on inclusivity;
• encourages pupils to disclose and discuss incidents of bullying behaviour in a non-threatening environment; and
• promotes respectful relationships across the school community;
• The school acknowledges the right of each member of the school community to enjoy school in a secure environment.
• The school acknowledges the uniqueness of each individual and his/her worth as a human being.
• The school promotes positive habits of self-respect, self-discipline and responsibility among all its members.
• The school prohibits vulgar, offensive, sectarian or other aggressive behaviour or language by any of its members.
• The school has a clear commitment to promoting equity in general and gender equity in particular in all aspects of its functioning.
• The school has the capacity to change in response to pupils’ needs.
• The school identifies aspects of curriculum through which positive and lasting influences can be exerted towards forming pupils’ attitudes and values.
• The school takes particular care of “at risk” pupils and uses its monitoring systems to facilitate early intervention where necessary and it responds to the needs, fears or anxieties of individual members in a sensitive manner.
• The school recognises the need to work in partnership with and keep parents informed on procedures to improve relationships on a school-wide basis.
• The school recognises the role of parents in equipping the pupil with a range of life-skills.
• The school recognises the role of other community agencies in preventing and dealing with bullying.
• The school promotes habits of mutual respect, courtesy and an awareness of the interdependence of people in groups and communities.
• The school promotes qualities of social responsibility, tolerance and understanding among all its members both in school and out of school.
• Staff members share a collegiate responsibility, under the direction of the Principal, to act in preventing bullying/aggressive behaviour by any member of the school community.
(b) Effective leadership
(c) A school-wide approach
(d) A shared understanding of what bullying is and its impact
(e) Implementation of education and prevention strategies (including awareness raising measures) that provide for-
• Building empathy, respect and resilience in pupils; and
• explicitly addressing the issues of cyber-bullying and identity-based bullying including in particular, homophobic and transphobic bullying;
(f) Effective supervision and monitoring of pupils
(g) Supports for staff
(h) Consistent recording, investigation and follow up of bullying behaviour (including use of established intervention strategies); and
(i) On-going evaluation of the effectiveness of the anti-bullying policy.
3. In accordance with the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools 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.
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 and
• 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 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.
Negative behaviour that does not meet this definition of bullying will be dealt with in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.
Examples of bullying behaviours
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
• Damage to property
• Name calling
• Slagging
• The production, display or circulation of written words, pictures or other materials aimed at intimidating another person
• Offensive graffiti
• Extortion
• Intimidation
• Insulting or offensive gestures
• The “look”
• 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”
• Use or terminology such as ‘nerd’ in a derogatory way
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
4. The relevant teacher(s) for investigating and dealing with bullying is (are) as follows:
Stage 1. Class Teacher / Yard Supervisor or any teacher to whom a report is made.
If relevant teacher feels that the behaviour has not been addressed or changed –
Stage 2. Whole School – Matter raised at a Staff Meeting to get a rounded view on it and alert staff to probable existence or continuance of a bullying situation.
Stage 3. Principal / B.O.M.
Any teacher may act as a relevant teacher if circumstances warrant it.
5. The education and prevention strategies (including strategies specifically aimed at cyber-
bullying, homophobic and transphobic bullying) that will be used by the school are as follows;
School-wide approach
• A school-wide approach to the fostering of respect for all members of the school community.
• The promotion of the value of diversity to address issues of prejudice and stereotyping, and highlight the unacceptability of bullying behaviour.
• The fostering and enhancing of the self-esteem of all our pupils through both curricular and extracurricular activities e.g. School Discos. Pupils will be provided with opportunities to develop a positive sense of self-worth through formal and informal interactions.
• When deemed appropriate whole staff professional development on bullying to ensure that all staff develops an awareness of what bullying is, how it impacts on pupils’ lives and the need to respond to it-prevention and intervention.
• An annual audit of professional development needs with a view to assessing staff requirements through internal staff knowledge/expertise and external sources
• Professional development with specific focus on the training of the relevant teacher(s)
• When deemed appropriate school wide awareness raising and training on all aspects of bullying, to include pupils, parent(s)/guardian(s) and the wider school community. ‘Bullying’ to form part of every Staff Meeting henceforth. ‘Incident’ Books brought to each meeting.
• Supervision and monitoring of classrooms, corridors, school grounds, school tours and extra- curricular activities. Non-teaching and ancillary staff will be encouraged to be vigilant and report issues to relevant teachers. Supervision will also apply to monitoring student use of communication technology within the school.
• Involvement of the students in contributing to a safe school environment e.g. as required, Buddy system, mentoring, Lunchtime Pals and other student support activities that can help to support pupils and encourage a culture of peer respect and support.
• Development and promotion of an Anti-Bullying code for the school-to be included in student journals and displayed publicly in classrooms and in common areas of the school.
• The school’s anti-bullying policy is discussed with pupils and all parent(s)/guardian(s) have access to same through the school’s website and are given a copy as part of the Code of Behaviour of the school on enrolment or subsequently on request.
• The implementation of regular (Term 1) whole school awareness measures e.g. a dedicated notice board in the school and classrooms on the promotion of friendship, and bullying prevention; annual Friendship Week and annual student surveys ( Term 3).
• Encourage a culture of telling, with particular emphasis on the importance of bystanders. In that way pupils will gain confidence in ‘telling’. This confidence factor is of vital importance. It should be made clear to all pupils that when they report incidents of bullying they are not considered to be telling tales but are behaving responsibly. Equally, however, they must be taught what does not constitute ‘Bullying’ and appropriate responces in those cases.
• Ensuring that pupils know who to tell and how to tell, e.g.:
o Direct approach to teacher at an appropriate time, for example after class.
o Hand note up with homework.
o Make a phone call to the school or to a trusted teacher in the school.
o Get a parent(s)/guardian(s) or friend to tell on your behalf.
o Administer a confidential questionnaire once a year to all pupils.
o Ensure bystanders understand the importance of telling if they witness or know that bullying is taking place.
• Encourage parent(s)/guardian(s) to approach the school if they suspect that their child is being bullied.
• The implementation of the school’s Acceptable Use Policy in respect of the access to and use of technology within the school and the strict monitoring of the ban on mobile phones.
Implementation of curricula
• The implementation of the SPHE , RSE and Stay Safe Programmes.
• Continuous Professional Development for staff in delivering these programmes.
• School wide delivery of lessons on bullying from evidence based programmes, e.g Anti-Bullying Strategy, Stay Safe Programme, The Walk Tall Programme.
• School wide delivery of lessons on Cyber Bullying (Web wise Primary teachers’ resources), Homophobic and Transphobic Bullying (Growing up LGBT, Stand Up Programme, The Trust pack )Diversity and Interculturalism, Yellow Flag Programme.
• Delivery, if available, of the Garda SPHE Programmes at primary level. These lessons, delivered by Community Gardai, cover issues around personal safety and cyber-bullying
• The school will specifically consider the additional needs of SEN pupils with regard to programme implementation and the development of skills and strategies to enable all pupils to respond appropriately.
• The school will implement the advice in “Sexual Orientation advice for schools” (RSE Primary, see booklet).
Links to other policies
• Policies, practices and activities that are particularly relevant to bullying include;
Code of Behaviour, Child Protection policy, Acceptable Use policy.
• Supports currently being used in the school include ; Stay Safe, Anti-Bullying Strategy, ‘I Escape’ , Behaviour Diary / Contract, Family liaison with troubled children, Close Supervision of same, Prim Ed educational material.
• other supports available to the school ; N.E.P.S. (Psychological Service) H.S.E., Child Protection Services, C.A.M.H.S., Tusla.
6. The school’s procedures for investigation, follow-up and recording of bullying behaviour and the established intervention strategies used by the school for dealing with cases of bullying behaviour are ;
Procedures for Investigating and Dealing with Bullying
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.
• Teaching and non-teaching staff such as secretaries, special needs assistants (SNAs), caretakers, cleaners must report any incidents of bullying behaviour witnessed by them, or mentioned to them, to the relevant teacher;
• All reports, including anonymous reports of bullying, will be investigated and dealt with by
the relevant teacher. If satisfied that the incident(s) merits it, the incident(s) will be recorded in the yard book or class teachers book setting out the facts such as who is making the allegation, who was involved, when and where and who witnessed. If the relevant teacher is satisfied that the incident(s) amount to ‘Bullying’ as per the definition in this policy the incidents will be recorded on the appended recording template and stored in a special Anti-Bullying book in the office. The child(ren) involved will be – on this first occasion – given a chance to apologise – make amends and promise to refrain from such behaviour going forward. A note will be made of such promise and the recipient of such behaviour will be encouraged to talk about the issue and supported to be resilient and forgiving on this occasion.
If a perpetrator denies the actions or refuses to apologise , make amends, or has been involved in any previous reported incident of bullying , then their parents will be informed of the situation and asked to countersign a promise of good behaviour into the future. They will also be informed that a reoccurrence of such behaviour will lead to the imposition of serious sanctions – including suspension and ultimately expulsion – on their child(ren).
Investigating and dealing with incidents: Style of approach
• In investigating and dealing with bullying, the (relevant) teacher will exercise his/her professional judgement 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 will take a calm, unemotional problem-solving approach.
• Where possible incidents will be investigated outside the classroom situation to ensure the privacy of all involved;
• All interviews will 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 will seek answers to questions of what, where, when, who and why. This will 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 will, if practical, be interviewed individually at first. Thereafter, all those involved will be met as a group. At the group meeting, each member will 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 will 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 MAY (subject to the conditions outlined above 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 will give parent(s)/guardian(s) an opportunity to discuss 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 will be made clear to him/her how he/she is in breach of the school’s anti-bullying policy and efforts will be made to try to get him/her to see the situation from the perspective of the pupil being bullied;
• It will 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 will , 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)s or the school Principal or Deputy Principal.
• Follow-up meetings with the relevant parties involved will 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) will 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 will advise the parent(s)/guardian(s) of their right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman for Children.
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.
• 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, in their class incident book or in the yard incident book.
• The relevant teacher must inform the principal of all incidents being investigated.
Formal Stage 1-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.
Formal Stage 2
• The relevant teacher must use the recording template ‘ Appendix 1’ and this must then be lodged in the schools Incident/Anti-Bullying Folder in the School Office to record the bullying behaviour in the following circumstances:.
a) in cases where he/she considers that the bullying behaviour has not been adequately and appropriately addressed within 20 school days after he/she has determined that bullying behaviour occurred; and
b) where the perpetrator has failed to apologise, make amends or promise good conduct going forward from incident(s) that have been designated as Bullying ; and
c) where the incident(s) is/are of such a grevious nature that in the opinion of the teacher, for the health, safety and well-being of the victim, they must be immediately addressed by the Principal or Deputy Principal as applicable.
Behaviours meriting suspension of a student:
A serious attack, physical or verbal on another child.
A serious attack, physical or verbal on any adult in charge.
Any form of serious bullying, i.e. exclusion, verbal or physical bullying.
Behaviours meriting immediate suspension of a student:
A serious threat of violence against another student or member of staff
Actual violence or physical assault
If such an event occurs the Principal may call the parents and require them to remove the child from the school pending further consideration of the issue.
(Source – School’s Code of Discipline )
These records will be maintained in the school for a period of five years after the year in which recorded.
Established intervention strategies
• Teacher interviews with all pupils
• Negotiating agreements between pupils and following these up by monitoring progress. This can be on an informal basis or implemented through a more structured mediation process
• Working with parent(s)/guardian(s)s to support school interventions
• No Blame Approach
• Circle Time
• Restorative interviews
• Restorative conferencing
• ‘I Escape’
• N.E.P.S. , C.A.M.H.S., H.S.E., referrals
The Procedures mention the following intervention strategies and reference Ken Rigby;
www.bullyingawarenessweek.org/pdf/BullyingPreventionStrategiesinSchools Ken Rigby.pdf
• The traditional disciplinary approach
• Strengthening the victim
• Mediation
• Restorative Practice
• The Support Group Method
• The Method of Shared Concern
7. The school’s programme of support for working with pupils affected by bullying is as follows :
• All in-school supports will be used to provide opportunities for the pupils affected by bullying, to participate in activities designed to raise their self-esteem, to develop friendships and social skills and build resilience e.g.
– Pastoral care system
– Buddy / Peer mentoring system
– Care team / Student Support Team
– Group work such as circle time
• If pupils require counselling or further supports the school will endeavour to liaise with the appropriate agencies to organise same. This may be for the pupil affected by bullying or involved in the bullying behaviour.
• Pupils should understand that there are no innocent bystanders and that all incidents of bullying behaviour must be reported to a teacher.
8. Supervision and Monitoring of Pupils
The Board of Management 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.
Children are supervised at all times during the school day, in class and on the yard, and appropriate measures are taken on every trip out of the school.
9. Prevention of Harassment
The Board of Management confirms that the school will, in accordance with its obligations under equality legislation, take all such steps that 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.
10. This policy was adopted by the Board of Management on 2/4/14.
11. This policy has been made available to school personnel, published on the school website and is readily accessible to parents and pupils on request) and has been provided to the Parents’ Association . A copy of this policy will be made available to the Department and the patron if requested.
12. This policy and its implementation will be reviewed by the Board of Management once in every school year. Written notification that the review has been completed will be made available to school personnel, published on the school website and provided to the Parents’ Association . A record of the review and its outcome will be made available, if requested, to the patron and the Department.
Signed: Rev G Breen Signed: C Ó Conchubhair
(Chairperson of Board of Management) (Principal)
Date: 2/4/14 Date: 2/4/14
Date of next review: March 2018