Anti-Bullying Policy (Students)

Anti-Bullying Policy (Students)

Schools have a duty of care to take reasonable measures to prevent foreseeable risks of injury to their students. St. Margaret Mary’s Spotswood takes bullying very seriously and has guidelines for its prevention and management.

The school will provide a positive culture where bullying is not accepted, and in doing so, will ensure the following is upheld:

the right of respect from others
the right to learn or be taught
the right to feel safe and secure in the school environment at all times

The principles supporting this culture are:

providing a safe, secure learning environment for all.
creating a supportive climate for all members of our school community.
raising awareness of the different types of bullying, including the lesser known forms of covert bullying.
raising awareness of the issues involved with bullying.
addressing bullying behaviour.
supporting and empowering students and to build their emotional resilience on their life journey.
pupils and parents should be assured that they will be supported when bullying is reported.

This policy supports these principles through the following objectives:

To ensure that all teaching and non-teaching staff, pupils and parents have an understanding of what bullying is, including covert forms of bullying.
To ensure that all teaching and non-teaching staff know what the school policy is on bullying, and follow it when bullying is reported.
To ensure that all pupils and parents know what the school policy is on bullying, and what they should do if bullying arises.

What Is Bullying?

Bullying is defined as repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological aggressive behaviour, by a person or a group, directed towards a less powerful person or group, that is intended to cause harm, distress or fear.

Although a single act of this behaviour is not deemed to be bullying, single acts are bullying when performed by individuals of a group to the same person.

Mutual conflict or dislike is also not bullying unless it involves deliberate and repeated attempts to cause distress, exclude or create dislike by others. Mutual conflict needs to be resolved or this may lead to bullying by repeated retaliation.

Types of bullying

Face-to-face bullying (sometimes referred to as direct bullying) involves physical actions or direct verbal actions. This form of bullying is generally recognised because it consists of obvious actions such as:

hitting, kicking, or punching.
pushing, shoving, or spitting.
making rude gestures.
taking or damaging something which belongs to someone else.
forcing others to hand over food, money or something which belongs to them.
making someone do something they don’t want to.
name calling.
teasing.
threatening.
making fun of someone because of their appearance, physical characteristics or cultural background.
making fun of someone’s actions.

Covert bullying (sometimes referred to as indirect bullying) is a clever and powerful form of bullying not knownor understood by many adults or students. It is often arranged out of sightof others,and involves actions that seem normal but are directed at the victim. This form of bullying can be even more painful than face-to-face bullying when no-one else except the victim realises what is going on, and no-one believes the victim. Even worse,the victimcan be seen as the problem, particularly when bullies back each other up or collectively express innocence of what is happening. Examples of covert bullying are:

excluding others from the game or group.
spreading stories about others.
spreading untrue stories about others.
mimicking traits of others, such as sighing in a particular way, or gesturing in a particular way.
Criticising things that the victim is known to do. If the victim is known to watch ABC program X, then “ABC program X is for losers”.

Cyber-bullying occurs through the use of information or communication technologies such as Instant Messaging or chat, text messages, email and social networking sites or forums. It has many similarities with offline bullying, but it can also be anonymous, it can reach a wide audience, and sent or uploaded material can be difficult to remove. Most people who cyber-bully also bully off-line.

Signs and Symptoms

Many children and young people do not speak out when being bullied and may indicate by signs or behaviour that he or she is being bullied. Adults should be aware of these possible signs and should investigate if a child:

• is frightened of walking to or from school
• doesn't want to go on the school / public bus
• begs to be driven to school
• changes their usual routine
• is unwilling to go to school (school phobic)
• begins to truant
• becomes withdrawn anxious, or lacking in confidence
• starts stammering
• attempts or threatens suicide or runs away
• cries themselves to sleep at night or has nightmares
• uses excuses to miss school (headache, stomach ache etc.)
• begins to suffer academically
• comes home with clothes torn or books damaged
• has possessions which are damaged or "go missing"
• asks for money or starts stealing money (to pay bully)
• has icy pole or other monies continually "lost"
• has unexplained cuts or bruises or shows signs of being in a fight
• comes home starving (money / lunch has been stolen)
• becomes aggressive, disruptive or unreasonable
• is bullying other children or siblings
• changes their eating habits (stops eating or over eats)
• goes to bed earlier than usual
• is unable to sleep
• wets the bed
• is frightened to say what's wrong
• gives unlikely excuses for any of the above
• is afraid to use the internet or mobile phone
• is nervous and jumpy when a text message or email is received

These signs and behaviours could indicate other problems, but bullying should be considered a possibility and should always be investigated.

Why is it Important to Respond to Bullying?

Bullying hurts. No one deserves to be bullied. Individuals have a right to feel safe and to be treated fairly and respectfully. Bullying is a serious problem with serious mental and physical impacts. Bullying can violate many of the individual’s human rights including:

●the person’s right to be free from mental, emotional and physical violence

●the person’s right to education

●the person’s right to a safe environment

Bullying can have a negative impact on everyone – it is not just a problem for victims and bullies. Bystanders may feel as bad as those who are being bullied and may also feel worried that they will be a target of bullying. When bullying isn’t stopped or challenged by anyone it can create an environment where bullying is accepted and where everyone feels powerless to stop it.

Students who are bullying need to learn different ways of behaving. Schools have a responsibility to respond promptly and effectively to issues of bullying.

Strategy

Teaching students about bullying and why it is unacceptable, through discussions, posters, essays, stories and other normal learning methods.
Providing parent information on bullying through information sessions, noticeboards, the school web site and the newsletter.
Professional development and support for staff regarding behaviour management.

Implementing a school wide Positive Behaviour Support Process.
Establish responsibility of all students to act on bullying by using the school processes.This includes bystanders as well as the person being bullied.
Staff promoting school rules regularly at assembly, in class and on the yard.
Staff adhering to school wide behaviour management procedures, yard duty protocols and behaviour hierarchy.
Provision of programs to students that promote resilience, inclusiveness, social skills, assertiveness, conflict resolution and problem solving.
Religious Education program.
A buddy system for senior and prep students.
Cyber-safety contract/agreements.
Parent information sessions on related topics such as cyber safety and school rules.
Clipboards carried by staff on yard duty to track, record and monitor behaviour of students.
Ensuring this policy is easily accessible within the school community and published on the school's website.

Roles in Support of this Anti-Bullying Policy

Role of the Principal or Deputy Principal

To initiate and arrange meetings with stakeholders at the reporting stage of the procedure.
Provide support and referral for parent/guardians.
To seek advice and support, if needed from to the CEM Well being unit for advice and support.
To recognise and value the partnership between home and school. It is the school’s responsibility to contact parents of other children when incidents happen. It is the parent’s responsibility to care for and support his or her own children.

Role of the Teachers

To teach and model appropriate behaviours.
To teach and clarify for the children the terms, meanings and distinct differences between, bullying, social isolation, conflict, random acts of aggression/intimidation and meanness.
To teach and promote resilience.
To inform the principal or deputy principal of any reported incidents and to record incidents presented.
To teach and model active listening so that all incidents are treated seriously.
To recognise and value the partnership between home and school. It is the school’s responsibility to contact parents of other children when incidents happen. It is the parent’s responsibility to care for and support his or her own children.

Role of Children

To report incidents to a trusted adult.

To try to practise strategies taught in the classroom e.g. CASEA strategies of ‘Cool, Weak, Aggro’ or ‘Stop, Think, Do’.
To model acceptable behaviour to others.
To be a responsible bystander and take appropriate action. (i.e. If it’s not safe, it’s safe to tell).
To identify trusted adults that they can talk to for support.
To keep on telling until the bullying stops.
To say no to bullying behaviours.
To use positive language and behaviour towards all others.

Role of LSO’s

To teach and model appropriate behaviours.
To be aware of the policy and the strategies being implemented in the school.
To model active listening so that all incidents are treated seriously.

Role of Parents

To remain calm….to act, not to react.
To contact the school to report incidents of bullying
To be aware of the policy and the strategies being implemented in the school and to actively discusses the policy with their children.
To teach and model appropriate behaviours at home
To remind children to report behaviours when they express a concern.
To encourage children to have and to use their nominated support network when at school.
To recognise and value the partnership between home and school. It is the school’s responsibility to contact parents of other children when incidents happen. It is the parent’s responsibility to care for and support his or her own children.
To support their children in the knowledge that the resolution of the situation may take some time.

If bullying occurs

Reporting Bullying

Incidences of bullying can be reported to any teacher, Assistant Principal or the Principal by children as well as their parents. Any bullying incidences that are dealt with will be recorded and this record will be kept until we evaluate the programsteps.

Role of the school

The following steps may be taken when dealing with incidents:

if bullying is suspected or reported, the incident will be dealt with immediately by the member of staff who has been approached.
a clear and precise account of the incident will be given to the principal or deputy principal.
the principal/deputy will interview all concerned and record the incident.
teachers will be informed.
parents will be informed.
disciplinary measures will be used as appropriate and in consultation with all parties concerned.
if necessary and appropriate, police will be consulted.

Students who have been bullied will be supported by

being offered an immediate opportunity to discuss the experience with a staff member.
reassuring the student.
offering continuous support.
provision of strategies to help empower the student and develop confidence.

Students who have bullied will be helped by

discussing what happened.
discovering the reason for involvement.
establishing the wrongdoing and the need to change the behaviour.
informing and working with parents to help change the attitude and the behaviour of the student.

Parents are expected to

listen carefully to their child and show concern and support.
give considered advice – don’t encourage the child to fight back as this will most likely increase bullying.
help the child to develop positive strategies – such as saying ‘Leave me alone’, calmly walking away or avoiding situations that might expose them to further bullying.
ask their child questions to understand if there is a repeated pattern of bullying.
establish what, when, where the incident(s) happened and who was involved.
not directly approach any other student or their family.
work with the school to solve the problem by contacting the school and making an appointment to discuss the issue.
work with the school to solve the problem by establishing a plan for dealing with the current situation and future bullying incidents.

The following disciplinary steps can be taken in line with the CECV pastoral care policy

official warning to cease offending
lunch time out and reflection
exclusion from certain areas of the school premises
minor fixed term suspension
major fixed term suspension
permanent exclusion

The school will review this policy annually and assess its implementation and effectiveness.

The policy will be promoted and implemented throughout the school.

More Information
Bully Stoppers is the Department's online resource dedicated to bullying prevention. Developed by a range of experts, it provides advice for teachers, parents and students on how to identify, respond to and prevent bullying in their school community.

The National Safe Schools Framework provides school communities with a vision, a set of guiding principles and the practical tools and resources that will help build a positive school culture.

Kids Helpline | Phone Counselling Service
Kids Helpline is Australia's only free, private and confidential, phone counselling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25.
1800 551 800

Lifeline
13 11 14

For more information about cyber bullying and how to stay safe online, see our fact-sheet on
‘Sexting and Cyber-Bullying’ or go to

The Australian Human Rights Commission (1300 656 419) has a complaint handling service that may investigate complaints of discrimination, harassment and bullying

You can contact police if bullying involves a criminal offence. Police can then investigate and may charge the person responsible in court.

St. Margaret Mary’s Anti Bullying Policy (Student) 2016