LissInfant School Policy

Anti-Bullying

“Every child is unique - in characteristics, interests, abilities and needs; and every child has the ability to enjoy his or her rights without discrimination of any kind.”

(Thomas Hammarberg, 1997)

Rationale

We believe that all pupils and members of staff should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential whatever their background, identity and circumstances. We are committed to creating a community that recognises and celebrates difference within a culture of respect and co-operation. We appreciate that a culture which promotes equality will create a positive environment and a shared sense of belonging for all who work, learn and use the services of our school. We recognise that equality will only be achieved by the whole school community working together – our pupils, staff, governors and parents/carers.

We recognise that we have duties under the Equality Act 2010 in relation to the school community to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations in relation to age (applicable only to staff), disability, ethnicity, gender (including issues of transgender, maternity and pregnancy), religion and belief, sexual orientation and marital status (applicable only to staff).

School Context

The school population is largely white British with approximately 10% of pupils from a mix of other white backgrounds and ethnic minority groups. On average, 95% of pupils have English as a first language and there is generally a similar proportion of boys and girls. Over the last three years there has been an average of 15 pupils on the SEN register (9% of school population) and 3 pupils (2%) on EHC Plans.

The gender of the school workforce as at May 2017 is 96% female. The race distribution of the school workforce as at May 2017 is 100% White British.

Definition

Bullying is behaviour by an individual or group, repeated over time, that intentionally hurts or intimidates another individual or group either physically or emotionally.

Department of Children, Schools and Families

Bullying can take many forms:

  • Name calling
  • Taunting
  • Mocking
  • Making offensive comment
  • Physical assault
  • Taking or damaging belongings
  • Cyber-bullying
  • Gossiping and spreading hurtful and untruthful rumours
  • Excluding people from groups

Specific types of bullying include:

  • Bullying related to race, religion or culture
  • Bullying related to special educational needs or disabilities
  • Bullying related to appearance or health
  • Bullying relating to sexual orientation
  • Sexist or sexual bullying

As an infant school we use the following definition produced by the Anti-Bullying alliance, when discussing bullying in school:

“People doing nasty or unkind things to you on purpose, more than once, and which is difficult to stop.”

Purpose of this Policy:

  • To ensure that our school is a place where children and adults feel safe and valued and where they will be listened to and supported.
  • To ensure that cases of bullying are quickly identified and effectively addressed.
  • To ensure that staff, parents, and children accept a shared responsibility for positive behaviour and the prevention of bullying.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the School policies for the Management of Behaviour, Exclusion and Equality.

Method of Achievement:

Prevention

  • The aim of the school is to create an ethos of good behaviour where pupils treat one another and the school staff with respect because they know that this is the right way to behave.
  • The values andethos of the school demonstrate a zero tolerance of bullying .
  • All members of the school community work together to engender an atmosphere of trust and openness.
  • Children are actively encouraged to express any fears or anxieties to members of staff, who will treat them seriously and respond promptly and appropriately.
  • The school has a rights-based approach to bullying, which recognizes thatevery adult and child, including those with SEN and disabilities, has the right to be safe.
  • All children are encouraged to take responsibility for themselves and others and are supported appropriately in doing so.
  • All adults employed by the school are able to identify signs of bullying and are aware of the appropriate course of action to be taken.
  • Raise awareness with pupils, staff and parents though our Rights, Respect and Responsibility Week held each year.
  • Celebrate success to create a positive school ethos around bullying

The Head Teacher oversees the Personal, Social and Health Educationcurriculum in school. The Head Teacher has responsibility for confidentiality and she is available to all pupils and adults to be spoken to in confidence.

The Headteacher and SENCo are responsible for:

  • Raising awareness of the disability equality duties and for addressing any related staff training needs
  • Ensuring children with SEN and disabilities who are bullied receive support and help in preventing and dealing with it
  • Monitoring the impact of anti-bullying interventions on individual children with SEN and disabilities
  • Ensuring children with social and behavioural needs receive appropriate support to prevent bullying behaviour where necessary

Children with SEND

We are conscious that children with SEND and disabilities may:

  • Be adversely affected by negative attitudes to disability and perceptions of difference
  • Find it more difficult to resist bullies
  • Be more isolated or not have many friends
  • Not understand that what is happening is bullying
  • Have difficulties telling people about bullying

The school is proactive in addressing these issues by:

  • Embracing the Disability Equality Duty through our Disability Equality Scheme
  • Ensuring that all staff are aware of children’s individual needs
  • Ensuring that an appropriate approach to incidents of bullying is taken, which is suited to the child’s particular needs
  • Ensuring that the school environment is welcoming, supportive and inclusive of children with SEN and disabilities
  • Ensuring that children with SEN and disabilities have opportunities to participate in school clubs and groups, to develop friendships and take an active part in school life
  • Making disability equality training available to all staff
  • Listening to the views of children with SEN and disabilities on bullying
  • Establishing appropriate, comfortable and safe support mechanisms to help children with SEN and disabilities who are being bullied
  • Using a variety of methods to explore the issues of disability, SEN and bullying in a supportive and non-threatening way within the curriculum to underpin and inclusive and positive school ethos involving all learners
  • Supporting all children with schemes such as buddying and social skills groups

Reporting

Pupils

If aClass Teacher suspects, through observations or reports, that a potential bullying situation is beginning to emerge, they must keep a written log of all related incidents, including dates, times and people involved. This must be done with sufficient depth and accuracy to allow the School to monitor this policy effectively.

Where school staff are aware of bullying outside school. Teachers have the responsibility to address this within school “to an extent that is reasonable”. This can relate to bullying incidents occurring anywhere of the school premises, such as on school or public transport, outside the local shops or in the village.

All reported incidents are taken seriously and investigated by the Head Teacher/member of the Leadership Team. The details are recorded using the ‘Hampshire Bullying and Racist Incident Form’’. The matter will be addressed immediately, ensuring that all staff are made aware and are vigilant at all times.

Staff

Any member of staff who feels bullied or who feels that a colleague is being bullied, should report their concerns to the Head Teacher, the Deputy Head Teacher or the Chair of Governors. All reports will be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the School Procedure for Dealing with Allegations of Harassment or Bullying of Staff and the support and advice of Hampshire Education Personnel Service will be sought.

Intervention

In order to successfully eliminate bullying we aim to work with parents and pupils. We aim not only to apply disciplinary measures but consider the motivations behind bullying behaviour and whether it reveals concerns for the safety of the perpetrator.

We will involve parents to ensure they are clear that the school does not tolerate bullying. Parents should also feel confident that the school will take any complaint about bullying seriously and resolve the issue.

We involve pupils to ensure they understand the schools approach and are clear about the part they can play in preventing bullying, including when they are bystanders.

In instances where acts of bullying between pupils have been conclusively established, the following process will be initiated and documented by the Head Teacher:

Step 1 (informal)

The Head Teacher will inform the parents of those children involved and invite them into school to discuss the matter and to agree a way forward in order to ensure a positive outcome for all parties.

Step 2

If the matter cannot be resolved at Step 1, advice and support will be sought by the school from external agencies, e.g. Educational Psychologist, Primary Behaviour Service, etc. The parents of all concerned will be included in this consultation.

Step 3 (formal)

If the bullying persists, the school will invoke the Local Education Authority’s Exclusion procedures to remove the culprit from the school.

Conclusion

With this policy the Governing Body and the school seek to work in partnership with parents to ensure the safety and well-being of every pupil and to provide a clear, consistent and robust approach to bullying. The effectiveness of the policy will be continuously monitored by the Head Teacher and the Governing Body in consultation with the staff, using information provided by observations, documentation and discussions with children and parents. The Head Teacher will report regularly to the Governing Body on the effectiveness of its implementation.

Resources:

DfE. Preventing and tackling bullying: Advice for Headteachers, staff and governing bodies/ July 2013

Anti-bullying Alliance. School Anti-bullying Assessment. March 2013

Hampshire Inspection and Advisory Service. Anti-bullying: WholeSchool anti-bullying policy template. December 2012.

Agreed by the Governing Body: May 2017

Review: May 2019