Prudhoe Castle First School Castle Road Prudhoe Northumberland NE42 6PH Telephone: 01661 833122 Head Teacher: Mrs Tammy Allen Email: [email protected] Website: www.prudhoe.eschools.co.uk ANTI BULLYING POLICY June 2016 Introduction Bullying may be defined as the abuse of power by an individual or group with the intent to cause distress to another individual or group. It is deliberately hurtful behavior which may be physical, sexual, verbal or psychological in nature. It is repeated over a period of time on those who feel powerless to resist with the intention of causing distress. Bullying should always be taken seriously. All bullying is unacceptable. Bullying does not only occur between children. The above definition can also be seen to characterize some relationships between adults or between adults and children. In more serious instances where adults abuse their power over a child or a child abuses their power over another child, bullying may be viewed as child abuse (see Child Protection Policy) and should be treated as such. Bullying is deliberately hurtful – it typically has seven elements: An initial desire to hurt The desire is expressed in action Someone is hurt either physically or emotionally There is an imbalance of power It is without justification It is typically repeated There is evident enjoyment by those who bully Bullying can also stem from thoughtlessness, such as in name calling or stem from institutionalized attitudes, for example in relation to gender or race. That does not make it any less acceptable. Bullying can typically take three forms: 1. Physical Bullying – hitting, kicking, taking belongings 2. Verbal Bullying – name calling, insulting, making offensive remarks 3. Indirect Bullying – spreading nasty stories, exclusion from social groups Name calling is the most common direct form. This may be because of individual characteristics. However, pupils can be called names because of their ethnic origin, nationality or colour, sexual orientation or some form of disability. Bullying is always significant to the person being bullied. Those who are being bullied may experience: Unhappiness A sense of desolation and in some cases, desperation Reduced self-esteem and self worth Poor academic performance Exclusion from normal social experience A strong desire to escape the situation which may result in absconding or truanting A desire to self harm or even commit suicide Those who are bullied are often reluctant to say what is wrong or to seek help. Rationale Prudhoe Castle First School should be a safe, happy place for every child. Bullying behaviour is persistent and subversive harassing of one child, or group of children, by another or group of others. Bullying is an infringement of liberty and the school’s equal opportunities policy means that everyone has the same basic rights of freedom, regardless of biological inheritance or circumstances of birth, gender, race, disability or age. Creating a positive ethos in school is the most effective way of trying to keep bullying to a minimum. Where bullying is detected or reported it will be dealt with sensitively and seriously. Bullying is a complex problem and needs to be taken seriously. Every opportunity is taken to reinforce the positive ethos of the school so that children have high self-esteem and bullying is kept to a minimum. Aims To ensure that every child feels safe and confident in all areas of the school and to reduce opportunities for children to bully others. To ensure all children have adults they can relate to so incidents of bullying are dealt with immediately. To ensure that all staff are made aware of any allegations of bullying so steps can be taken to minimise opportunities. To have a school environment where issues of concern to children are discussed, including bullying. To ensure all children understand bullying is not acceptable. To ensure there is a system of positive reinforcement of good behaviour. To ensure parents understand the schools’ attitude to bullying and to create an environment where parents will inform school of any concerns. To ensure parents are kept informed of action taken to stop incidents of bullying Guidelines Staff have responsibility for discipline and there should be adequate supervision at all times of the school day and in all areas of the school. There are clear codes of conduct in the behaviour policy and all children are expected to adhere to them. Any complaints of bullying will be recorded, and the appropriate action taken and the Headteacher informed (see Appendix One). A member of staff will observe and check on both the victim and the person accused of bullying regularly throughout playtimes. There will always be at least 2 adults on the yard during playtimes and lunchtimes. Any incidents will be reported to the class teacher who will keep Mrs Allen informed of any suspected cases of bullying. Children will always be encouraged to tell an adult if they feel others are being unkind to them. Children’s complaints will be investigated carefully, appropriate action taken and, where appropriate, the outcome recorded. All staff will be informed of allegations of bullying so they will be able to observe the children concerned when on yard duty. PSHE and citizenship lessons will be used to reinforce messages about the way to behave towards others. If there is an issue of bullying in a particular class, extra PSHE lessons will be given to address the concern. Depending on the age of the children, this may be through group activities or story telling where bullying is part of the plot. Bullies will be encouraged to see the victim’s point of view. The strong feelings held against bullying by adults should be made very clear to children and parents so they are willing to report any incidents to an adult in school. Education about bullying starts from the day children enter this school by having strategies and responses in place for parents and children. Confirmed incidents of bullying will be reported to the parents of the person accused of bullying. Definition of Cyber Bullying Cyber-bullying is an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual using electronic forms of contact repeatedly over time against a victim who cannot easily defend himself/herself. By cyber-bullying, we mean bullying by electronic media such as: Bullying by texts or messages or calls on mobile phones The use of mobile phone cameras to cause distress, fear or humiliation Posting threatening, abusive, defamatory or humiliating material on websites, to include blogs, personal websites, social networking sites Using e-mail to message others Hijacking/cloning e-mail accounts Making threatening, abusive, defamatory or humiliating remarks on social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc Policy Prudhoe Castle First School educates its pupils both in the proper use of telecommunications and about the serious consequences of cyber-bullying and will, through PSHE and in ICT lessons and assemblies, continue to inform and educate its pupils in these fast changing areas. Prudhoe Castle First School trains its staff to respond effectively to reports of cyber-bullying or harassment and has systems in place to respond to it. Prudhoe Castle First School endeavours to block access to inappropriate web sites, using firewalls, antivirus protection and filtering systems and no pupil is allowed to work on the internet in the Computer Room, or any other location within the school which may from time to time be used for such work, without a member of staff present. Where appropriate and responsible, Prudhoe Castle First School audits ICT communications and regularly reviews the security arrangements in place. Whilst education and guidance remain at the heart of what we do, Prudhoe Castle First School reserves the right to take action against those who take part in cyber-bullying. All bullying is damaging but cyber-bullying and harassment can be invasive of privacy at all times. These acts may also be criminal acts. Prudhoe Castle First School supports victims and, when necessary, will work with the Police to detect those involved in criminal acts. Prudhoe Castle First School will follow the guidelines as set out in the behavior policy for those pupils who bully fellow pupils or harass staff in this way, both in and out of school. All members of the School community are aware they have a duty to bring to the attention of the Head or the E-Safety officer any example of cyber-bullying or harassment that they know about or suspect. Guidance for Staff If you suspect or are told about a cyber-bullying incident, follow the protocol outlined below: Mobile Phones Ask the pupil to show you the mobile phone Note clearly everything on the screen relating to an inappropriate text message or image, to include the date, time and names Make a transcript of a spoken message, again record date, times and names Tell the pupil to save the message/image Inform a member of the Senior Leadership team and pass them the information that you have Computers Ask the pupil to get up on-screen the material in question Ask the pupil to save the material Print off the offending material straight away Make sure you have got all pages in the right order and that there are no omissions Inform a member of the Senior Leadership team and pass them the information that you have Normal procedures to interview pupils and to take statements will then be followed particularly if a child protection issue is presented. Guidance for Pupils If you believe you or someone else is the victim of cyber-bullying, you must speak to an adult as soon as possible. This person could be a parent/guardian, or a member of staff at Prudhoe Castle First School.