Anti-Bullying Policy s9

Kirkby College Anti-Bullying Policy March 2017

Introduction At Kirkby College we aim to provide a safe, caring and friendly environment for all our students, to allow them to learn effectively, improve their life chances and help to maximise their potential. All students should feel safe and confident to seek support from someone in school if they feel unsafe.

The school’s Code of Conduct states that we expect all students to show respect. This means that at Kirkby College we will not tolerate bullying behaviour.

At Kirkby College we want parents/carers to feel confident that their young person is safe and cared for and when incidents occur they are dealt with promptly and to the best of our ability.

Kirkby College is aware of its legal obligations and role within the community in supporting parents/carers, students and working alongside any outside agencies where appropriate.

Policy Development This policy was formulated in consultation with the whole school community. Students contributed to the policy through the Student Council and a student working party. Members of staff and governors contributed through a staff working party. Parents/carers were encouraged to take part in a parents’ survey where they had the opportunity to put forward their own views and expectations of the school’s Anti-Bullying Policy.

This policy is available: from the school website and from the school office.

Roles and responsibilities The Head Teacher has overall responsibility for the policy, its implementation, liaising with the governing body, parents/carers, the LA and outside agencies and appointing an Anti-Bullying Co-ordinator who will have general responsibility for handling the implementation of this policy. This role is delegated to Ms E Crookes, Assistant Head of School, who is supported by the specialist Behaviour for Learning Co-ordinators. The following is a list of their responsibilities:

. Policy development and review involving students, parents/carers, staff, governors and relevant local agencies. . Implementing the policy and monitoring and assessing its effectiveness in practice. . Ensuring evaluation takes place and that this informs policy review. . Managing incidents of bullying in conjunction with Progress and Guidance Co- ordinators. . Managing the reporting and recording of incidents of bullying. . Assessing and co-ordinating training and support for staff and parents/carers where appropriate. . Co-ordinating strategies for preventing bullying behaviour.

The nominated link governor with responsibility for anti bullying behaviour is Mr J Bates.

Kirkby College’s definition of bullying

Bullying behaviour is defined as being ‘the wilful and conscious desire to hurt, threaten or frighten someone’ which can include the following repeated behaviours:

. Name calling . Making offensive comments . Physical assault . The taking of or damage to the property or belongings of other people . Cyber bullying – this would include sending offensive emails or text messages, sending offensive or degrading images by phone or the internet . Producing offensive graffiti . Gossiping or spreading offensive or untruthful rumours . Ignoring/excluding people from groups . Racist comments . Sexist comments . Homophobic and transphobic comments . Bullying because of special educational needs or disability

Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological. It can happen face to face or through cyberspace. Specific types of bullying include: . Prejudice crime related bullying of children with special educational needs or disabilities, homophobic and transphobic bullying or related to race, religion or culture . Bullying related to appearance or health . Bullying of young carers or looked after children or otherwise related home circumstances . Sexist or sexual bullying

Kirkby College expects students who witness bullying to report this to the appropriate member of staff and not to stand by and watch it happen as this can be as bad as being involved in the bullying itself.

Homophobic bullying and using homophobic language

Homophobic language covers terms of abuse used towards lesbian, gay and bisexual people or those thought to be LGB. It is also used to refer to something or someone as inferior. This may also be used to taunt young people who are different in some way or have gay friends, family members or their parents/carers are gay.

Dismissing it as banter is not helpful as even if these terms are not referring to persons’ sexuality they are using the terms to mean inferior, bad, broken or wrong. We will challenge the use of homophobic language in our school even if it appears to be being used without any homophobic intent. Persistent use of homophobic language or homophobic bullying will be dealt with as with any other form of bullying.

Where does bullying take place?

Bullying is not confined to the school premises. Advice for school leaders to help with this problem and its effects on children acknowledges that it may also persist outside school, in the local community, on the journey to and from school and may continue into Further Education.

Cyberbullying

The increasing use of digital technology and the internet has also provided new and particularly intrusive ways for bullies to reach their victims. We will ensure that our children are taught safe ways to use the internet (see our e-safety policy) and encourage good online behaviour.

Whilst most incidents of cyberbullying occur outside school we will offer support and guidance to parents and their children who experience online bullying and will treat Cyberbullying the same way as any other forms of bullying.

Bullying can take place between: . Young people . Young people and staff . Between staff . Individuals or groups

It is important to remember that there is no hierarchy of bullying and all forms will be taken equally seriously and dealt with appropriately. Prevention The following is a list of preventative measures that are in place at Kirkby College: 1. The cross curricular approach to bullying is throughout all year groups but with particular focus on Years 7 and 8 eg English, PSE (including SEAL work), RE, assemblies and tutor time programme. 2. The Peer Mentors are trained in dealing with students who are having difficulties and students can go to them during lunchtimes and break times with issues they have in order to get support and advice from someone their own age. 3. Students who are new to the school should be allocated a student ‘buddy’ to act as a guide and mentor for the first few days. 4. Post 16 students’ awareness should be raised to their own responsibility towards the younger students with regards to bullying and volunteers encouraged to participate in activities such as primary liaison and visits to feeder schools etc. 5. Opinions of students/parents/carers and staff will be sought for any discussions or reviews of the anti-bullying procedures. 6. Kirkby College will endeavour to take part in Anti-Bullying Week, thereby raising the awareness of staff and students of issues around bullying. 7. Regular evaluation of bullying data to assist in the further development of the anti- bullying agenda. 8. Behaviour for Learning Co-ordinators trained in using a restorative justice approach when responding to bullying issues.

Reporting bullying and responding to bullying Our school has a clear system to report bullying: . If a student is the victim of bullying, or has witnessed bullying behaviour as a bystander they should inform a member of staff immediately, eg. form tutor, subject teacher, support staff or peer mentors. This information will then be passed onto the relevant Progress and Guidance Co-ordinator who will investigate the incident. . Parents/carers/visitors wishing to report an incident of suspected bullying should inform a member of staff, or if possible a child’s tutor. This will then be passed onto the relevant Progress and Guidance Co-ordinator who will investigate the incident. . If they feel it is a bullying situation the following will occur:-

For the victim Records will be kept by Progress and Guidance Co-ordinators on students who have been the victim of bullying behaviour. 1. It is important that we are sensitive to the feelings and worries of the victim. 2. Parents/carers of the victim should be informed of the incident and, if appropriate, invited into school to discuss the incident and what action has been taken. Where possible this should be done before the student goes home.

It may be possible that the victim may be given the opportunity to access some work based on how to deal with future bullying incidents.

We need to give recognition to the needs of both the victim and the bully; we will make support, counselling or other appropriate assistance available to both parties. Where appropriate outside agencies will be involved, eg Educational Psychology Service, Family Service, Social care, or the police.

For the bully Specific notes will be placed in the file of anyone who is reported for bullying. The Progress and Guidance Co-ordinators will keep incident reports (see attached form) and ensure copies are passed onto the relevant members of staff. Letters will be sent home for all incidents of bullying, inviting parents/carers to contact school. A duplicate letter will be given to tutors. Letters will always: 1. state clearly that bullying has been involved 2. make it very clear that bullying is unacceptable at Kirkby College 3. request support and help 4. explain the actions which have taken place 5. offer a contact point within school The school discipline process described in the Behaviour Policy will apply in bullying situations. Anyone found to be bullying will be placed on report to monitor the situation. They may also be required to take part in group work to help them understand the effects of bullying and how they can become a positive influence in supporting students who have been bullied. For more serious incidents of bullying parents/carers will be asked to attend a meeting in school. This will involve the student in question.

In the short term the bully will be withdrawn from lessons, or for more serious incidents, students will work in the inclusion unit. It should also be noted that in the most serious cases, or repeated incidents, exclusion will be an option that is considered by the school.

Any member of staff who considers that they are the victim of a bullying incident should report the matter to the school’s Anti-Bullying Co-ordinator, or the Head Teacher. All reported incidents will be taken seriously and investigated involving all parties.

Guidance and support for staff in recognising and dealing with bullying incidents:- If we become aware of bullying it is the responsibility of the staff to confront and tackle it.

By ignoring it we are condoning it.

Staff should remember that: 1. Students who are new or ‘different’ can become victims. 2. Watching and observing the social relationships between students in our classrooms and tutor groups can often provide early warnings of bullying.

Staff who pick up on these incidents have to decide whether they need to be referred on to the Progress and Guidance Co-ordinators for the appropriate year group.

Some signs that a student is being bullied can include:

. Becoming shy or nervous . Faking illness . Unusual number of absences . Change in how they work . Lack of concentration . Truancy . Damaged uniform or belongings . Loses dinner money on a regular basis . Unexplained cuts/bruises . Begins bullying others

Any of the above may also be indicative of other issues going on, but bullying should be considered a possibility and investigated.

Recording bullying and evaluating the policy Bullying incidents will be recorded on the SIMs Behaviour Management system and on a Bullying Report Form by the member of staff who deals with the incident. The Bullying Report Form will be stored by the Anti-Bullying Co-ordinator in a Central Bullying Log. This will be used to ensure individual incidents are followed up. It will also be used to identify trends and inform preventative work in school and the development of the policy.

This information will be presented to governors and the policy will be reviewed and updated annually.

Policy Review Date: March 2017 Kirkby College - Incident of Bullying Report Form

Date of incident: Time of incident:

Nature and type of incident (please tick)

Extortion Verbal (name calling) Forced into something against will Isolation, being left out or Cyber Written ignored Physical Personal possessions Spreading rumours taken/damaged Other Please specify:

Details of the young people involved and their role in the incident

Role* Name(s) Yr Gender . V – victim . B – bully . By - bystander 1 2 3 4

Where has this been taking place?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

If you feel the incident was motivated by any of the following, please circle:

Appearance Disability/SEN Gender/sexism Religion

Sexual orientation Home circumstance Race/Ethnic origin

Other …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Please give a brief description of the incident (attach copies of any witness statements to this form).

Please give a description of action taken or any follow up that will/has occurred, eg exclusion, on report, meeting with parents/carers, involvement with external agencies

Generally

With individuals

1. 2. 3. 4.

Copies of this form should be given to relevant Progress and Guidance Co-ordinator and the Anti-Bullying Co-ordinator