Anti-Bullying Policy

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY/ ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
 

1. Statements
1.1 Principle Statement

“The English School is committed to the principle of equal opportunities for all and seeks to uphold the rights of every individual within the school community. The School aims to provide an opportunity for all students regardless of sex, age or creed to develop their talents and skills to the full, and encourages an awareness and tolerance of varying aesthetic, cultural, traditional and religious values within today’s increasingly pluralistic and multicultural society. It is the duty of all members of staff to help their students to accept and respect other people’s individuality and to offer positive role models in support of ethnicity, gender, religion and special needs.”

 
1.2 Anti-Bullying Policy Statement
The English School’s Anti-Bullying Policy reflects the view that in order to achieve academic excellence, which is the primary school objective; we must aim to provide a safe, secure and positive environment for all the children and staff. Our School promotes respect for self and others and encourages mutual respect between all members of the School community. 

2. Aims

•  To prevent, reduce and eradicate bullying in any form. This includes bullying related to race/ ethnicity, religion and culture, sexism, sexual orientation, socio-economic group, special educational needs, disability, appearance and health conditions.
•  To have a consistent approach for dealing with incidents of bullying.
•  To ensure that all students, staff and parents are aware of this policy and their responsibilities and obligations to uphold it.
•  To create a safe and secure environment for all, where positive relationships can develop.
•  To protect the targets of bullying and to change the attitude and the behaviour of the persons who bully.
•  To empower students to take responsible action in response to bullying.

3. Definition

Bullying can be defined as behaviour by an individual or group, usually repeated over time, that consequently hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally. It involves an imbalance of power, leaving someone feeling helpless to prevent it or put a stop to it.
 
3.1. Bullying may include any of the following:

• Physical violence, such as hitting, pushing or spitting at another student;
• Interfering with another student’s property, by stealing hiding or damaging it;
• Using offensive or discriminatory language or names when addressing another student;
• Taunting, mocking or spreading hurtful or untruthful rumours about another student or his / her family;
• Belittling another student’s abilities and achievements;
• Writing offensive notes or graffiti about another student;
• Deliberately excluding people from groups;
• Consistently ignoring / isolating another student in/ outside the class;
• Ridiculing another student’s appearance, way of speaking or personal mannerisms;
• Disrespecting or taking discriminatory actions against a person’s cultural or religious identity.
• Cyber bullying – See Section 4 below

4. Cyber bullying

This is the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), particularly mobile phones and the internet, deliberately to upset someone else. Cyber bullying is a “method” of bullying rather than a “type” of bullying. It can take the form of the previously discussed forms of bullying – i.e. technology can be used to bully for reasons of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, etc.
It includes the following:

• inappropriate text messaging and emailing;
• sending offensive images or videos posted on the internet or spread via mobile phone or electronic device;
• posting offensive / inappropriate or discriminatory text on instant messenger sites or social network sites e.g. MSN, Facebook, Twitter.
• threats and intimidation;
• harassment or “cyber-stalking” (e.g. repeatedly sending unwanted texts or instant messages);
• defamation;
• exclusion or peer rejection;
• impersonation or manipulation;
• unauthorised publication of private information or images;

5. Standards 

Our school accepts that any form of bullying or/ and discrimination is unacceptable and recognises the harmful effects it has on students. We will actively work to minimise all risks whilst realising that both the targets of bullying and the perpetrators need to be treated in a supporting manner. We recognise that bullying is likely to have a harmful effect on student’s performance and emotional health.
We are aware that a great deal of bullying takes place outside the school premises, and on journeys to and from school. The school has the authority to regulate, where it is reasonable to do so, the behaviour of their students outside school especially in cases where their behaviour is damaging the learning or emotional/ physical health of other students or bringing their school into disrepute. This is consistent with the School Code of Conduct.
 

6. Preventative Steps

The school will endeavour to establish the following steps/ measures in order to create and implement a bully free ethos:

• Effective school leadership team which promote an open and honest anti-bullying ethos, which secures whole-school community support for the anti-bullying policy.
• A code of conduct which include student’s responsibilities and the sanctions to be applied in the case of transgression.
• A full and agreed procedure for staff, students and parents to follow when responding to any incident where bullying or discriminatory behaviour is involved
• Agreed documentation to ensure that students, staff and parents are aware of all responsibilities.
• An identified person or persons trained and empowered to coordinate and continually monitor policy and incidents.
• Provision of appropriate support, counselling and advice for targets of bullying and perpetrators/offenders involved in bullying and/or discriminatory behaviour.
• Use of curriculum opportunities to raise awareness of and tackle bullying: 
  in the form of timetabled PSHE lessons or Citizenship / SEAL Lessons where Bullying and Discrimination are designated topics.
• Student voice - engaging students in developing anti-bullying policy and practice.
• Professional development - to ensure that appropriately targeted information or professional training and development, including information on legal responsibilities is available for all staff.
• Effective classroom management that isolates and recognises such anti-social behaviour.
• A Pastoral structure in order to provide full support for students, through class tutors and year heads.
• A fully implemented Merit System that rewards defenders, i.e. those who try and intervene to stop the bullying or comfort students who experience bullying.
• A Peer Mentoring and Peer Mediation System for students.
• An anti-bullying e mail address where students can write a message asking for help for themselves or others.

7. Individual Responsibilities

It is important that all parties recognise the difficulties that can be encountered in implementing the Anti-Bullying policy. With this in mind the following procedures have been agreed and will be implemented.
 
7.1 The Responsibilities of Staff
All Staff will:
Consistently monitor behaviour of all students in their care.
Foster in all our students self-esteem, self-respect and respect for others.
Demonstrate by example the high standards of personal and social behaviour we expect of our students.
Be alert to signs of distress and other possible indications of bullying.
Listen to children who have been bullied and take what they say seriously.
Report cases of bullying in accordance with specific procedures.
Follow up any complaint by a parent about bullying or discriminatory behaviour and report back promptly and fully on the action that has been taken.
Adhere and promote the school’s Anti-Bullying Policy / procedures
Ensure they seek / undertake regular Training on Anti-Bullying Practice.
 
7.2 The Responsibilities of Students
We expect all our students to:

• Report to a member of staff any witnessed or suspected instances of bullying. (You may ask a friend or parent to assist you or accompany you.)
• Act in a respectful and supportive manner to fellow students and staff in order to promote a safe environment for all.
• Intervene, if you can, to prevent the bullying from taking place, as long as your own safety is not at risk.
• Adhere and promote the schools Anti-Bullying Policy / procedures

 
Anyone who becomes a target or victim of bullying should:

• Not suffer in silence, but have the courage to speak out and put an end to their bullying and that of other potential targets of bullying.

Anyone who engages in bullying behaviour should:

• Be aware that sanctions and learning programmes hold them to account for their behaviour and help them to face up to the harm they have caused;
• Be prepared to learn to behave in ways which do not cause harm in future, by being given the opportunity to develop their emotional skills and knowledge.
• Be prepared to learn how they can take steps to repair the harm they have caused.

7.3 The Responsibilities of Parents
 

• We expect our parents to support their children and the school by:
• Being clear that the school does not tolerate bullying or/and discrimination.
• Being aware of procedures to use if they are concerned their child is being bullied or does not feel safe to learn, including the school’s complaints procedure.
• Being alert for signs of distress and other possible indications of bullying.
• Advising their children to report any bullying to any member of staff and explain the implications of allowing the bullying to continue unchecked, for themselves and for other students.
• Advising their children not to retaliate to any form of bullying.
• Being sympathetic and supportive to their children and reassuring them that appropriate action will be taken.
• Informing the school of any suspected bullying or discriminatory behaviour even if their children are not involved.
• Co-operating with the school, if their children are involved or accused of bullying. Trying to ascertain the truth, and to point out the implications of bullying both for the children who are bullied and for the offenders/ perpetrators.
• Being clear about ways in which they can complement the school on the anti-bullying policy or procedures.

 
7.4 The Responsibilities of the School
 

• To develop whole-school policies which meet the law.
• To promote a school climate where bullying, discriminatory behaviour and violence are not tolerated and cannot flourish.
• To continually monitor and review this policy document to ensure that the contents reflect current and recommended practice. 
• To provide curriculum opportunities to address bullying/ discrimination through the use of timetabled PSHE Lessons or Citizenship/ SEAL Lessons where Bullying and Discrimination are designated topics or/and by engaging in whole- school initiatives such as Anti-bullying week.
• To ensure that there is annual staff training for all staff, including new staff, so that they are fully aware of the School’s Anti-bullying Policy and confident with regards to their own responsibilities and the actions required in helping to eradicate all forms of bullying and discriminatory behaviour.
• To work in partnership with parents, other schools and community partners to promote safe communities.
• To ensure that the policy has been approved after consultation with Staff, Parents and Students and has also been approved by the Board of Directors.

 
7.5 The Responsibilities of All
 
In accordance with the principles stated in our principle statement, we expect everyone to work together to combat bullying.