Bullying and Harassment of School Staff

BULLYING AND HARASSMENT OF SCHOOL STAFF:

A MODULE FOR LOCAL TRAINING

NOTES FOR TRAINERS

• ‘I hear and I forget’

• ‘I see and I remember’

• ‘I do, and I understand’

AIM OF THE TRAINING MODULE

This training module aims to:

• help members identify bullying and harassment;

• look at ways of preventing bullying and harassment;

• advise members on what to do if they face bullying and harassment.

TIME REQUIRED:1 hour

TARGET GROUP

Associations and divisions may find this module useful for:

• school representatives’ training; and

• member level training.

OUTLINE OF SESSION

1. Trainer’s Introduction

1. Group Activity

1. Answers and Plenary Discussion

1. Conclusion

MATERIALS

• Task Sheet: Questions to consider

DETAILS OF SESSION

1. Trainer’s Introduction (10 minutes)

If you have not already done so, ask every participant to introduce her or himself, giving their name and any other information relevant to the session.

We are going to:

• help you identify bullying and harassment;

• look at ways of preventing it; and

• examine what you should do if you are the victim.

• facilitate learning;

• enable group members to participate, to think and to learn;

• bring their expertise and experience to the course;

• draw on experience and knowledge that group members bring to the course; and

• represent and promote the NUT.

1. Group Activity (20 minutes)

Divide participants into groups. Give out the task sheet:

• Questions to consider

Ask the groups to discuss the questions.

• participants have the opportunity to work with as many colleagues as possible;

• difficult or dominant participants are not working with the same people all the time.

• Name A-Z – Ask participants to arrange themselves around the room in alphabetical order of their first name, e.g., from Amina by the window to Zoe by the door.

• Birthday order – Do the same thing in order of birthday (not date – we are not interested in how old they are!). So, for example, someone with a birthday on the 6th January sits near the window and someone with a birthday on the 15th December near the door.

• Group numbers – Go around the room giving each person a number 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. All the 1s form a group, all the 2s form a group and so on.

1. Answers and Plenary Discussion (25 minutes)

For each question, ask the groups to say what they have come up with.

Trainers can then give additional information from the answers below.

Questions to consider…ANSWERS

1. What is the difference between bullying and harassment?

What is harassment?

Harassment is unwanted behaviour which is offensive to the person involved, causing her or him to feel threatened, humiliated or patronised. Such behaviour can interfere with the person’s work performance, undermine job security and create a threatening or intimidating work or learning environment.

Harassment may be experienced by an individual on the basis of their sex, race, sexual orientation, disability, religion, class, cultural or language difference.

Certain forms of harassment are unlawful, including that based on:

• racial, ethnic or national origins;
• sex;
• transgender status;
• disability;
• sexual orientation;
• religion or belief;
• age;
• also protection from less favourable treatment and victimisation for trade union membership or activities.

In extreme forms, harassment can constitute serious criminal offences such as assault, rape or incitement to racial hatred.

What is bullying?

Bullying is a form of harassment in which the bully undermines and belittles or assaults the recipient. Bullies may seek to exploit others’ perceived personal weaknesses, either because they enjoy the exercise of such power or because they are under pressure themselves, or even because they believe such behaviour is the best means of managing relationships.

All such behaviour is clearly disadvantageous for the person subject to those measures.

Bullying may also involve abuse and undue criticism in front of colleagues and pupils.

Both bullying and harassment are unwanted by the victim. Bullying tends to be more indiscriminate and may appear to be completely arbitrary.

1. Can you think of a few examples of both bullying and harassment?

Harassment can take many forms, including:

• physical contact such as unnecessary touching;

• threatened or actual physical abuse or attack;

• verbal abuse such as suggestive remarks, jokes, name calling;

• display or distribution of offensive material, graffiti or badges; and

• non-verbal abuse such as offensive gestures and body language.

Common examples of bullying include:

• the allocation of additional workload;

• withholding of work responsibility;

• changing priorities and objectives unreasonably;

• the imposition of impractical deadlines;

• excessive and unreasonable supervision; and

• unnecessary invoking of disciplinary or capability procedures.

1. Which of these are bullying and which are not necessarily bullying?

(a.)a head teacher regularly criticising you in front of your class;

(b.)directing a you to complete a task which they would rather not undertake;

(c.)setting unreasonable deadlines for the completion of tasks;

(d.)spreading malicious rumours about you;

(e.)you arrive late for work because of a childcare emergency and your head teacher accused you of habitual inpunctuality;

(f.)you always seem to have more than your fair share of more difficult pupils and your last 4 requests for training have been turned down, whereas your colleagues all seem to have their requests agreed.

(a.)is definitely bullying.

(b.)could simply constitute a reasonable direction from a line manager. It would depend on what the task was.

(c.)could constitute bullying, especially if you are singled out for this treatment.

(d.)is definitely bullying.

(e.)this would be unreasonable if the lateness was a rare occurrence. It may constitute bullying if part of a wider pattern of behaviour.

(f.)This may be bullying.

1. How can bullying affect a person’s health?

It can cause stress leading to depression or illness. Bullying by management is a major cause of stress in teachers. Physical symptoms can include headaches, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol levels, muscular tension and many more. Mental health symptoms can include depression, withdrawal, anxiety, disturbed sleep, low self-esteem, and increased risk of suicide. You are likely to feel powerless with your self-confidence destroyed. This may be exactly how the bully intends you to feel. You may feel afraid to go into school.

1. What can help prevent bullying and harassment in the first place?

A clear whole school policy on Bullying/Harassment, which sets out what is acceptable and unacceptable conduct and behaviour and what the procedure is for making and resolving complaints. All authorities should provide a model policy to schools and strongly recommend that it is adopted. Such procedures should include the following:

• appropriate definitions of harassment and bullying;

• an statement to the effect that all employees have the right to a safe working environment free from intimidating behaviour;

• an acceptance that all complaints will be investigated by trained staff;

• an identification of the employer’s legal responsibilities in respect of health and safety law, discrimination law and the law relating to constructive in fair dismissal;

• a commitment to training so that employees are educated on issues relating to harassment and bullying; and

• an informal and formal grievance stage with the formal stage leading possibly to action under the disciplinary procedure.

School or safety representatives can organise surveys of staff, either with or without management to gauge the extent of the problem and help persuade management to take it seriously. Questions to ask include:

• Have you ever been bullied at work?

• Are you currently being bullied? If yes, when did the bullying start?

• How often does the bullying happen?

• Who is doing the bullying? – supervisor, line manager, colleague, group of colleagues, other?

• What form does the bullying take? – intimidation, being shouted at, being humiliated or ridiculed, belittling your work, withholding information, being ignored, being given impossible targets or deadlines, malicious gossip, excessive monitoring, blocking promotion, refusing reasonable requests, removing areas of responsibility, other?

• Is/was the bullying or harassment related to your gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or any other characteristic?

• Have you ever had any time off work because of bullying or harassment?

• Have you witnessed every anyone being bullied or harassed at work?

• If you have been bullied or harassed at work, have you raised the problem with: supervisor, a manager, the personnel department, a union representative, a colleague?

• What action was taken, if any? Please describe the result.

You could also include questions about the effects bullying has had and ask for views on the factors contributing to any bullying. There should also be a question on what measures people would like to see to help reduce bullying and harassment.

1. What should you do if you are bullied?

1. Keep notes of what is happening, including dates and times.

1. Make it clear to the bully that the behaviour is unacceptable. This can, of course, be difficult. Involve your NUT school representative. You could also put the complaint in writing. This is sometimes easier than facing up to the bully.

1. Seek advice from the appropriate division or regional office in England, or NUT Cyrmu in Wales, if the unacceptable behaviour continues or escalates. If a formal complaint is made about an alleged bully, he or she must be informed of the complaint.

1. There may be legal remedies to some forms of harassment but this is a last resort.

1. Conclusion (5 minutes)

• Bullying and harassment are Union issues.

• Don’t put up with bullying and harassment.