Anti-Bullying Policy

Policy Statement

This policy will help staff to achieve the vision of the school, which is: ‘Minerva Primary School – Growing together, making the impossible…possible’. This will ensure that the school provides an environment where every child can feel:

• Safe;
• Healthy;
• able to enjoy and achieve;
• able to contribute to future economic well-being;
• able to make a positive contribution.

To help eliminate bullying and child-on-child abuse we will ensure that children are taught:

• what child-on-child abuse and bullying is;
• what to do if they feel they are being abused or bullied, or if someone else is being abused or bullied.

To protect the rights of all children to have a safe and secure learning environment Minerva Primary School will continuously work towards preventing acts of bullying, harassment, and other forms of aggression and violence as these behaviours are unacceptable and interfere with both our school’s ability to educate children and a child’s ability to learn. If such a case arises, the staff at Minerva Primary School will follow the anti-bullying guidelines laid out in this policy. This will enable staff to:

• identify children displaying unacceptable behaviour and know how to support them in order that they develop the necessary skills to participate in the school community effectively and positively;
• keep all other children safe, happy and confident;
• identify signs that indicate that a pupil may be experiencing bullying but are not reporting it.

Reference to other relevant policies

This policy should be read in conjunction with:

• Behaviour Policy
• Exclusions and Suspensions Policy
• Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
• CLF Employment Manual (for staff)

Roles and Responsibilities

The Education Act 2002, Education and Inspections Act 2006 and Equalities Act 2006 all make reference to a school’s legal responsibility to prevent and tackle bullying. By law, all state schools must have a behaviour policy in place and displayed on their website and must also follow anti-discrimination law. This means staff must act to prevent discrimination, harassment and victimisation within the school.

Minerva Primary School has also developed this anti-bullying and child-on-child abuse policy, a copy of which is available from the school office and on the school website for parents, staff and pupils to access when and as they wish.

Schools have the legal power to make sure pupils behave and do not bully outside of school premises, for example on public transport or in nearby public communal areas. If seen as appropriate the Principal or staff can choose to report bullying to the police or local council. During school hours, including while pupils are taking part in school visits, after school clubs and cyber bullying the school has direct responsibility to ensure children feel safe and secure.

Academy Council (AC)

The AC supports the Principal in all attempts to eliminate bullying from the school. The AC will not condone any bullying at all, and any incidents of bullying that do occur will be taken very seriously and dealt with appropriately.

The AC monitors incidents of bullying that do occur and reviews the effectiveness of this policy regularly. The members of the AC require the Principal to keep accurate records of all incidents of bullying and to report to the members of the AC on request about the effectiveness of the school’s anti-bullying strategies.

A parent/carer who is dissatisfied with the way the school has dealt with a bullying incident can make a complaint to the AC or to the Cabot Learning Federation. The complaint will be dealt with in accordance with the CLF complaints policy which can be accessed from the school website.

Principal

It is the responsibility of the Principal to implement the school’s anti-bullying and child-on-child abuse strategy, to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the school policy, and that they know how to identify and deal with incidents of bullying. The Principal will report to the AC about the effectiveness of the anti-bullying policy on request. Although the Principal has overall responsibility, they may have nominated a staff member to implement the anti-bullying and child-on-child abuse policy.

It is the Principal (or designated member of staff) who must ensure that all children know that bullying and child- on-child abuse is wrong, and that it is unacceptable behaviour in school. The Principal will draw the attention of children to this fact at suitable moments. For example, the Principal may decide to use an assembly as the forum in which to discuss with the children why bullying is wrong.

The Principal will ensure that all members of staff receive sufficient training to be equipped to identify and deal with all incidents of bullying and child-on-child abuse.

The Principal will set the school climate of mutual support and praise for success, so making bullying and child- on-child abuse less likely. When children feel they are important and belong to a friendly and welcoming school, bullying is far less likely to be part of their behaviour.

Members of staff

Members of staff will do all that they can to eradicate bullying and child-on-child abuse; they will ensure that they follow the school’s anti-bullying and child-on-child abuse policy.

All members of staff will routinely attend training that equips them to identify bullying and child-on-child abuse to follow school policy and procedures with regard to behaviour management.

Staff will use a range of methods within PSHE lessons to help prevent bullying and child-on-child abuse to establish a climate of trust and respect for all. They will use drama, role-play, stories etc. within the curriculum, to help pupils understand the feelings of bullied children and to practise the restraint required to avoid lapsing into bullying behaviour. Ring fenced time will also be used to praise, reward and celebrate the successes of all children (such as celebration evenings or assemblies) and thus to help create a positive atmosphere.

Members of staff will keep a vigilant watch on suspected ‘bullies’; any incidents will be handled carefully. It is important that the child responsible for initiating the bullying is dealt with appropriately. The person dealing with the incident will need to collect all the relevant information and then provide the Principal with a copy in order that he/she can decide on an action. All cases are individual and various strategies will be employed by the Principal to address the issue.

Teachers and support staff will do all they can to support a child who is being bullied.

Parents and carers

Parents/carers, who are concerned that their child might be being bullied or who suspect that their child may be the perpetrator of bullying, should contact their child’s class teacher immediately in a calm manner. If they are not satisfied with the action taken they should contact the HoS. If they remain dissatisfied, they should follow the procedure detailed above. Parents/carers have a responsibility to support the school’s anti-bullying policy by actively encouraging their child to be a positive member of the school and this expectation of support is outlined in the home/school agreement (if they have one).

Pupils

Pupils are encouraged to tell somebody they trust such as a teacher, senior leader etc. if they are being bullied, and if the bullying continues they must keep on letting people know; the children are taught several strategies to help them with this.

Pupils are also encouraged to participate fully in activities that raise their awareness about bullying in order that they clearly understand what to do if they, or another child, are being bullied.

Clarification of Terms

Definition of bullying

Bullying is defined as repeated negative behaviour that is intended to make others feel upset, uncomfortable or unsafe.

Definition of abuse

Abuse is something which usually physically or emotionally hurts another person by using behaviour that is meant to scare, hurt or upset that person.

Definition of Child-on-child abuse

This form of abuse is when there is any kind of abuse or bullying between children/young people both on and offline.

Forms of bullying or abuse

• Physical: Deliberately hurting particular children on a regular basis
• Verbal: Deliberately hurting feelings through name-calling
• Ostracising: Making someone feel left out and different by deliberately setting out to exclude them

There are many different kinds of bullying including:

• bullying related to race, religion or culture;
• bullying related to special educational needs;
• bullying related to appearance or health;
• bullying related to sexual orientation;
• bullying of young carers or looked after children, or related to home problems;
• sexist or sexual bullying, including ‘sexting’ as a form of abuse;
• cyber bullying.

Definition of Sexting

This is sending inappropriate pictures, videos or messages – they can sometimes be called ‘nude pics’, ‘rude pics’ or ‘nude selfies’, but can also be rude messages. Pressuring someone into sending these pictures, videos and messages is abuse. It is illegal to have these kind of pictures or videos of a person if they are under 18 years old.

Definition of cyber-bullying

Cyber-bullying is the use of technology such as mobile phones, email, chat rooms or social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to harass, threaten, embarrass, intimidate or target a child. Unlike physical bullying, cyber-bullying can often be difficult to track as the cyber-bully (the person responsible for the acts of cyber- bullying) can remain anonymous when threatening others online, encouraging them to behave more aggressively than they might face-to-face.

Types of cyber-bullying

• Flaming: Online fights usually through emails, instant messaging or chat rooms where angry and rude comments are exchanged.
• Denigration: Putting mean online messages through email, instant messaging, chat rooms, or websites set up to make fun of someone.
• Exclusion: Intentionally leaving someone out of a group such as instant messaging, friend sites, or other online group activities.
• Outing: Sharing secrets about someone online including private information, pictures, and videos
• Trickery: Tricking someone into revealing personal information then sharing it with others
• Impersonation: Pretending to be someone else when sending or posting mean or false messages online
• Harassment: Repeatedly sending malicious messages to someone online
• Cyber-stalking: Continuously harassing and denigration including threats of physical harm

Actions NOT considered to be bullying

All children have upsets and squabbles; these are not classed as bullying and are dealt with through the Behaviour Policy. Actions not considered to be bullying are:

• not liking someone;
• excluding someone (unintentionally);
• accidentally bumping into someone;
• making other kids play things a certain way;
• a single act of telling a joke about someone;
• arguments;
• expression of unpleasant thoughts or feelings regarding others;
• isolated acts of harassment, aggressive behaviour, intimidation, or meanness.

Reasons for Bullying

Some reasons why children might bully someone include:

• they think it’s fun, or that it makes them popular or cool;
• they feel more powerful or important, or they want to get their own way all the time;
• they feel insecure or lack confidence or are trying to fit in with a group;
• they are fearful of other children’s differences;
• they are jealous of another child;
• they are unhappy;
• they are copying what they have seen others do before, or what has been done to them.

The Effects of Bullying

All forms of bullying cause psychological, emotional and physical stress. Each child’s response to being bullied is unique; however, some signs that may point to a bullying problem are:

• depression and anxiety;
• increased feelings of sadness, helplessness, decreased self-esteem and loneliness;
• loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy;
• unexplainable injuries;
• lost or destroyed clothing, books, electronics, or jewellery;
• frequent headaches or stomach aches, feeling sick or faking illness;
• changes in eating habits, like suddenly skipping meals or binge Children may come home from school hungry because they did not eat lunch;
• difficulty sleeping or frequent nightmares;
• declining grades, loss of interest in schoolwork, or not wanting to go to school;
• sudden loss of friends or avoidance of social situations;
• self-destructive behaviours such as running away from home, harming themselves, or talking about suicide.

Bullying in the Workplace

Incidents where it has been deemed that a member of staff has been bullying a child will be taken very seriously. The Principal, with the support of the AC, will deal with this; formal action will be taken where necessary.

Such action will also be taken if it is deemed that a member of staff is bullying other members of staff.

In the event of the Principal being involved in such incidents, reports will be given immediately to the chair of the Academy Council who will also take formal action where necessary.

If you are a member of staff who is experiencing bullying (by other adults or students), you should inform your line manager, a member of the senior leadership team or your union representative as soon as possible. For visitors to the school, any concerns should be directed to the Principal (or other appropriate member of staff).

Cyber Bullying

Minerva Primary School is covered by the CLF’s IT Acceptable Use Policy. The ICT code of conduct is explained and discussed with pupils in assemblies, PSHE classes and IT classes.

Reporting, Sanctions and Monitoring

All members of Minerva Primary School are encouraged to challenge all forms of bullying including prejudice-based bullying if they come across it.

How to report bullying

1. Any member of staff can be approached to report incidents of bullying, and they in turn will report to the Principal.
2. The Principal has overall day-to-day responsibility for dealing with reported incidents and will forward details to the relevant member of staff to investigate.

Procedures

The following steps must be taken when dealing with incidents of bullying:

1. If bullying is suspected or reported, the incident will be dealt with immediately by the member of staff who has been approached, or who suspects/observed the bullying.
2. The Principal must be informed immediately.
3. A clear account of the incident will be recorded in writing either by the victim or the member of staff recording the victim’s verbal statement.
4. The Principal will interview all concerned and will record the incident on the school’s MIS.
5. Parents will be kept informed by the Principal.
6. Class teachers will be kept informed and asked to monitor the situation.
7. A range of sanctions will be used as appropriate and in consultation with all parties These sanctions could include: verbal or written warnings, restrictions of break and lunchtime activities, fixed term and in the event of persistent bullying, permanent exclusion. Where appropriate the Principal may inform the police. Such incidents include:
   • violence or assault;
   • theft;
   • repeated harassment or intimidation, for example name calling, threats and abusive phone calls, emails or text messages;
   • hate crimes.
8. There will be a biannual audit and analysis of incident logs and interventions to continually improve practice

This school has set procedures to follow in implementing sanctions where a bullying incident has occurred, as described above. Sanctions are applied in appropriate proportion to the event. In the event of all other avenues being exhausted, or in particularly serious cases that lead to exclusion, the Academy Council will examine the evidence that a wide range of strategies had been tried and failed to affect a positive change in the bullying behaviour.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Review

1. The AC, the Principal and relevant staff will review this policy biannually and assess its implementation and effectiveness. The policy will be promoted and implemented throughout the school.
2. The school council will review the effectiveness of the policy biannually and their views will be given to the Principal.
3. An approved DFES pupil questionnaire will be given to a representative cross section of students every year. The resulting data will be considered in the annual policy review and reported to AC members.
4. A record of all such incidents will be kept both centrally and on students’ files
5. The numbers of incidents will be reported to the AC annually or provided to them at any time on request.
6. Bullying data will be analysed to reflect and re-design further strategies to improve procedures.

Strategies to Reduce Bullying

Minerva Primary School has adopted a range of strategies to prevent and reduce bullying, to raise awareness of bullying and support victims and those displaying bullying behaviour, including:

• the consistent promotion of the school’s code of behaviour which requires all pupils to respect the rights of others;
• the reinforcement of the clear message that violence has no place at Minerva Primary School;
• consultation with the ‘Student Voice’ on appropriate action;
• taking part in initiatives such as Anti-Bullying Week;
• training for all members of staff on anti-bullying policy and strategy;
• the supervision by school staff of all play areas at lunch times and breaks;
• KS2 buddies for KS1 and early years pupils;
• providing information to all parents on the symptoms of bullying and the steps to take if the suspect their child is being bullied;
• a clear policy of mobile phones not permitted to be in use during school hours;
• the celebration of all student’s backgrounds and cultures through assemblies ;
• the training of a cross section of students as anti-bullying ambassadors;
• during assemblies and PHSE, learning sessions to discuss and explore bullying issues with the children;
• raising awareness of cyber bullying and teaching children to safely use technology (including mobile phones, email, internet);
• all websites accessed in school are screened;
• effective recording systems;
• work with multi-agency teams including police and children’s services as appropriate;
• contacting the parents of both the child being bullied and the bully;
• challenging sexual content within verbal abuse, especially challenging the word ‘gay’ and other homophobic language.

Appendix One: Useful Websites

www.bullying.co.uk
www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk
www.childline.org.uk
www.kidscape.org.uk
www.each.education
www.youngminds.org.uk
www.youngstonewall.org.uk
www.nspcc.org.uk
www.stoptextbully.com
www.beyondbullying.com
www.childnet-int.org
www.cyberbullying.org
www.chatdanger.com
www.thinkuknow.co.uk