Policy on Preventing and Countering Bullying Behaviour
Introductory Statement
This policy was originally formulated by a group of local principals in 2004. It was reviewed in 2008 and reviewed again (2012) to ensure that is in line with current child protection procedures and the school’s policy on child protection.
Rationale
We believe that every child coming to school has a right to expect an atmosphere where he/she can learn, play and feel secure. Equally we believe that every teacher and all members of staff have the right to feel safe and valued in their place of work.
With this belief in mind we have endeavoured to formulate a school policy to prevent or eradicate all forms of abuse and cruelty completely or at least to greatly reduce the incidence and the passive tolerance of bullying.
Relationship to the Characteristic Spirit of the School
Our school vision states that we want to have each child and teacher working in a safe and happy environment. Therefore we want to promote behaviour which actively discourages bullying and in which children feel that they can confidently report instances of bullying in the knowledge that we will deal with it effectively.
Aims
1. To ensure an understanding of what we mean by bullying
2. To create a school ethos which encourages children to disclose and discuss incidents of bullying behaviour
3. To raise awareness of bullying as a form of unacceptable behaviour with school management, teachers, pupils, parents/guardians mainly through the use of the SPHE programme
4. To ensure comprehensive supervision and monitoring measures through which all areas of school activity are kept under observation
5. To develop procedure for noting and reporting incidents of bullying behaviour
6. To develop procedures for investigating and dealing with incidents of bullying behaviour
7. To evaluate the effectiveness of school policy on anti-bullying.
Defining bullying
Bullying is defined as repeated aggression, whether verbal, psychological or physical, conducted by an individual or group against others. Examples of bullying include physical aggression, damage to property, intimidation, isolation, name-calling, taunting or ‘slagging’. Child to child bullying, teacher to child, intra staff bullying, parent to staff and parent to child bullying (including a child other than their own) are examples of the areas where bullying may occur.
Isolated instances of aggressive behaviour, which would be dealt with under the Code of Behaviour, would not be described as bullying. However when the behaviour is systematic and ongoing, it is bullying.
The school acknowledges that there are three parties involved in bullying – those who bully, those who are bullied and those who witness the bullying. Staff and teachers bear this in mind when dealing with bullying incidences and try to support and work with all parties involved.
Preventing bullying
In order to prevent bullying of children in the school, teachers should
Be vigilant
As part of the Stay Safe programme which is delivered every second year, the school will administer a questionnaire* to pupils in middle and senior classes to ascertain:
*See appendix 1
Types of BullyingPupil Behaviour
Teacher Behaviour
A teacher may unwittingly or otherwise engage in, instigate or reinforce bullying in a number of ways such as:
Countering bullying
Procedures for Noting and Reporting an Incident of Bullying Behaviour
All class teachers keep a daybook. This may be used to record initial observations regarding incidents which occur in class or are reported to them by a child. They might use it to note such things as
If the teacher has a concern about bullying they should record the child/children’s version of events in the office incident book. Children are encouraged to come and have their version of the event recorded in writing. This helps them to realise that things are being taken seriously –both the bully and the victim. It also allows us to refer back when having discussions between the various people concerned.
It should be made clear to all pupils that when they report incidents of bullying they are not telling tales but are behaving responsibly.
Procedures for Dealing with an Incident of Bullying Behaviour
Serious misbehaviour is recorded in the incident book that is kept in the school. At the discretion of the teacher and in consultation with the principal, a standard note*
may be sent to the parents from the class teacher.
*See appendix 2
If the misbehaviour continues or if a misdemeanour is so serious as to demand immediate attention, a letter* will be sent to the parents requesting them to call to the school to discuss the matter with the class teacher and the principal.
*See Appendix 2
Where there are repeated instances of serious misbehaviour, the chairperson of the Board of Management will be informed and the parents will be requested, in writing, to attend the school to meet the chairperson, the principal and the class teacher
For gross misbehaviour, or repeated instances of misbehaviour suspension of pupil, in accordance with Rule 130(b), of Rules for National School.
Every effort will be made by the teachers to ensure that parents are kept well informed and that a welcoming, co-operative attitude towards them is always provided.
In any event, every effort will be made to provide support* for both victims and bullies to ensure that there is no recurrence of the behaviour.
*See Appendix 3
Bullying by Adults
In the case of intra-staff bullying, St. Dominic’s NS will adopt the procedures outlined in Section C (c2) of the INTO booklet: ‘Working Together: Procedures and Policies for Positive Staff Relations’. A copy of this document is available for free download on the INTO website.
In the case of Teacher – Child bullying, a complaint should in the first instance be raised with the teacher in question by the parent/guardian of the child if possible and then if necessary referred to the Principal. Where it has not been possible to agree a framework for resolution, the matter should be referred in writing by both parties to the Board of Management for investigation.
In the case of Parent – Teacher bullying, the Principal should be informed in the first instance, and if deemed necessary the Board of Management should subsequently be informed in writing.
In the case of Parent/Visitor to the school – Child bullying, the complaint should be referred in the first instance to the child’s class teacher and subsequently to the Principal if unresolved.
In the case of Principal – Parent/Child bullying, the matter should be raised with the Principal if possible, or referred to the Chairperson of the Board of Management.
Evaluation
This policy will be evaluated every two years when the Stay Safe Programme is being delivered. The first step in the evaluation will be the administration of the questionnaire attached to this policy.
See Appendix 1
Success Criteria
Roles and Responsibility
The whole school community has a role in the implementation of this policy. The principal and staff of the school will have the day to day responsibility for ensuring that the policy is adhered to in the school. The children will help in the prevention and reporting of bullying. Parents will have to watch for signs of bullying and report them to the school. The board of management will support the efforts of the school and help to deal with serious cases of bullying should they present themselves.
Implementation date
This policy will be presented to the next Board of Management meeting in the school, and will be adopted as school policy when it has been ratified by the board.
Ratified by the Board of Management in November 2012
Reviewed in October 2015
Introductory Statement
This policy was originally formulated by a group of local principals in 2004. It was reviewed in 2008 and reviewed again (2012) to ensure that is in line with current child protection procedures and the school’s policy on child protection.
Rationale
We believe that every child coming to school has a right to expect an atmosphere where he/she can learn, play and feel secure. Equally we believe that every teacher and all members of staff have the right to feel safe and valued in their place of work.
With this belief in mind we have endeavoured to formulate a school policy to prevent or eradicate all forms of abuse and cruelty completely or at least to greatly reduce the incidence and the passive tolerance of bullying.
Relationship to the Characteristic Spirit of the School
Our school vision states that we want to have each child and teacher working in a safe and happy environment. Therefore we want to promote behaviour which actively discourages bullying and in which children feel that they can confidently report instances of bullying in the knowledge that we will deal with it effectively.
Aims
1. To ensure an understanding of what we mean by bullying
2. To create a school ethos which encourages children to disclose and discuss incidents of bullying behaviour
3. To raise awareness of bullying as a form of unacceptable behaviour with school management, teachers, pupils, parents/guardians mainly through the use of the SPHE programme
4. To ensure comprehensive supervision and monitoring measures through which all areas of school activity are kept under observation
5. To develop procedure for noting and reporting incidents of bullying behaviour
6. To develop procedures for investigating and dealing with incidents of bullying behaviour
7. To evaluate the effectiveness of school policy on anti-bullying.
Defining bullying
Bullying is defined as repeated aggression, whether verbal, psychological or physical, conducted by an individual or group against others. Examples of bullying include physical aggression, damage to property, intimidation, isolation, name-calling, taunting or ‘slagging’. Child to child bullying, teacher to child, intra staff bullying, parent to staff and parent to child bullying (including a child other than their own) are examples of the areas where bullying may occur.
Isolated instances of aggressive behaviour, which would be dealt with under the Code of Behaviour, would not be described as bullying. However when the behaviour is systematic and ongoing, it is bullying.
The school acknowledges that there are three parties involved in bullying – those who bully, those who are bullied and those who witness the bullying. Staff and teachers bear this in mind when dealing with bullying incidences and try to support and work with all parties involved.
Preventing bullying
In order to prevent bullying of children in the school, teachers should
Be vigilant
- Monitor trouble spots and situations where bullying may occur and take steps to prevent it.
- Watch for children who you would regard as vulnerable – as bullies or victims
- Be vigilant during yard supervision
- Supervise the children as they come in from breaks and go to their classrooms
- Less emphasis on punishment and criticism and more emphasis on praise and appreciation for effort
- Be fair and just; we the teachers, must be fair, and be sure to be fair in our dealings with all pupils and we must establish fairness and openness among the pupils
- Use reward systems suggested in school Code of Behaviour
- All efforts made to match the curriculum content the abilities, aptitudes and interests of each pupil
- Making sure the children understand and have mastered each step of the graded programme before moving on to the next step.
- Providing interesting and challenging activities for the brighter children who have completed tasks before other children, thus preventing boredom and any misbehaviour they may be tempted to engage in for ‘light relief’.
- Use strategies to enhance the children’s self image and to foster a friendly and supportive atmosphere.
- Challenge: Bring the pupil to the point where the chances of success are good and then issue the challenge “This is difficult, but I think you can do it.”
- Respect: Never lower the pupil’s sense of worth.
- Warmth: Provide a safe, supportive learning environment.
- Having high expectations of students: Children should be encouraged to develop a strong sense of duty and pride so that they will not want to let either themselves, family or school down.
- Control: Pupils must know that there are firm but reasonable and fair limits to what they may do and should feel secure and safe in that knowledge.
- Children to be clear on what unacceptable behaviour is, and why it is unacceptable.
- Appropriate curricular areas will be used to deal with bullying, such as SPHE and Drama.
- Appropriate strategies will be used to deal with bullying such as co-operative games, circle time and drama games.
As part of the Stay Safe programme which is delivered every second year, the school will administer a questionnaire* to pupils in middle and senior classes to ascertain:
- Pupil’s perception of bullying behaviour
- The degree to which there may be bullying in the school
- The extent and type of bullying
*See appendix 1
Types of BullyingPupil Behaviour
- Physical Aggression
- Damage to Property
- Extortion
- Intimidation
- Abusive Telephone Calls
- Isolation
- Name Calling
- Slagging
- Bullying of School Personnel
Teacher Behaviour
A teacher may unwittingly or otherwise engage in, instigate or reinforce bullying in a number of ways such as:
- Sarcasm
- Humiliation
- Threatening gestures
Countering bullying
Procedures for Noting and Reporting an Incident of Bullying Behaviour
All class teachers keep a daybook. This may be used to record initial observations regarding incidents which occur in class or are reported to them by a child. They might use it to note such things as
- a change in a child’s demeanour/ behaviour
- wandering around alone
- looking unhappy/ worried/ miserable/ tearful
- not working as well as usual
- lost or damaged equipment
- not wanting to go out to play
- damaged clothes or unexplained bruises
If the teacher has a concern about bullying they should record the child/children’s version of events in the office incident book. Children are encouraged to come and have their version of the event recorded in writing. This helps them to realise that things are being taken seriously –both the bully and the victim. It also allows us to refer back when having discussions between the various people concerned.
It should be made clear to all pupils that when they report incidents of bullying they are not telling tales but are behaving responsibly.
Procedures for Dealing with an Incident of Bullying Behaviour
- Teacher has a talk with bully and victim, where each gets a turn to say his/her piece, without interruption. When both have calmed down, the teacher asks why did this happen; did it solve the problem and go on talking until the child understands that she/he has hurt someone and that someone is upset as a consequence of her/his actions
- If a number of children are involved, each member is interviewed individually and then all of the children are met as a group. Each member is asked for his/her account of what happened to ensure that everyone is clear about what everyone has said. Teachers investigating cases of bullying keep a written record of their discussions with those involved
- If necessary, bystanders are asked for their opinions on what happened
- Each child is asked to suggest possible solutions to their differences
- Teacher helps them find a solution that suits both
- They say sorry and shake hands
Serious misbehaviour is recorded in the incident book that is kept in the school. At the discretion of the teacher and in consultation with the principal, a standard note*
may be sent to the parents from the class teacher.
*See appendix 2
If the misbehaviour continues or if a misdemeanour is so serious as to demand immediate attention, a letter* will be sent to the parents requesting them to call to the school to discuss the matter with the class teacher and the principal.
*See Appendix 2
Where there are repeated instances of serious misbehaviour, the chairperson of the Board of Management will be informed and the parents will be requested, in writing, to attend the school to meet the chairperson, the principal and the class teacher
For gross misbehaviour, or repeated instances of misbehaviour suspension of pupil, in accordance with Rule 130(b), of Rules for National School.
Every effort will be made by the teachers to ensure that parents are kept well informed and that a welcoming, co-operative attitude towards them is always provided.
In any event, every effort will be made to provide support* for both victims and bullies to ensure that there is no recurrence of the behaviour.
*See Appendix 3
Bullying by Adults
In the case of intra-staff bullying, St. Dominic’s NS will adopt the procedures outlined in Section C (c2) of the INTO booklet: ‘Working Together: Procedures and Policies for Positive Staff Relations’. A copy of this document is available for free download on the INTO website.
In the case of Teacher – Child bullying, a complaint should in the first instance be raised with the teacher in question by the parent/guardian of the child if possible and then if necessary referred to the Principal. Where it has not been possible to agree a framework for resolution, the matter should be referred in writing by both parties to the Board of Management for investigation.
In the case of Parent – Teacher bullying, the Principal should be informed in the first instance, and if deemed necessary the Board of Management should subsequently be informed in writing.
In the case of Parent/Visitor to the school – Child bullying, the complaint should be referred in the first instance to the child’s class teacher and subsequently to the Principal if unresolved.
In the case of Principal – Parent/Child bullying, the matter should be raised with the Principal if possible, or referred to the Chairperson of the Board of Management.
Evaluation
This policy will be evaluated every two years when the Stay Safe Programme is being delivered. The first step in the evaluation will be the administration of the questionnaire attached to this policy.
See Appendix 1
Success Criteria
- Reduction in the number of reported incidents of bullying and serious misbehaviour
- Positive feedback from teachers, parents, and pupils
- Observation of behaviour in classrooms, corridors, the yard etc.
- Change in behaviours and attitudes
Roles and Responsibility
The whole school community has a role in the implementation of this policy. The principal and staff of the school will have the day to day responsibility for ensuring that the policy is adhered to in the school. The children will help in the prevention and reporting of bullying. Parents will have to watch for signs of bullying and report them to the school. The board of management will support the efforts of the school and help to deal with serious cases of bullying should they present themselves.
Implementation date
This policy will be presented to the next Board of Management meeting in the school, and will be adopted as school policy when it has been ratified by the board.
Ratified by the Board of Management in November 2012
Reviewed in October 2015