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Achievement for All ST JOSEPH S BOYS SCHOOL ANTI BULLYING POLICY Review Due Agreed SMT _______________ Principal Date ___________ Agreed BOG _______________ Date ___________

St Joseph s Boys School Achievement for All Anti Bullying Policy Aim Our aim is to ensure the happiness and safety of all members of the school community Bullying can make someone s life a misery It can make someone unwilling to go to school It can interfere with one s learning It can mark someone for life Bullying can be both emotional as well as physical and psychological Bullying can be both verbal and non verbal Bullying behaviour is intentionally hurtful Rationale St Joseph s is a place of work and learning We all have a job to do We each have a right to get on with our work without being kept back in any way by other people Pupils are expected to take responsibility for their own learning and behaviour and to work as hard as they can In order to respect the rights of every person in our school we all have the responsibility to treat each other with respect This means being co operative and obeying school rules We must be willing to work as part of the school community Mission Statement Achievement for All At St Joseph s we promote the ideal of Achievement for all through every aspect of school life In doing so we hope that each pupil can contribute in a meaningful way to society and be prepared and ready to undertake a fulfilling and rewarding role in life To help us achieve this aim the school seeks to create a Catholic community in which understanding and tolerance flourish where each individual is seen as unique and where respect is shown for a diversity of opinions and view points General Principles In order to respect the rights of every person in our school we all have the responsibility to treat each other with respect This means being cooperative and obeying school rules We must be willing to work as part of the school community Principles Our policy thus has three main strands 1 2 3 When bullying is discovered it will be dealt with Every person in the school has a responsibility to take action The school will try to prevent bullying through an anti bullying programme delivered through Personal Development and other areas throughout the curriculum The organisation administration and practices within the school will reflect our commitment to the prevention of bullying 1

Definition Bullying is an intentional conscious desire to hurt threaten or frighten someone It involves someone the bully using their power on someone else It can take many forms verbal psychological physical and can lead to a great deal of distress or even depression This type of behaviour is often used repeatedly and is persistent Forms of Bullying Verbal Physical Teasing Sarcasm Belittling Ridiculing Mimicking Threatening Name calling Stereotyping Racially offensive Sexually offensive Criticising constantly Spreading malicious tales Encouraging others to bully Homophobic language Hitting Jostling Pinching Punching Cornering Vandalism Unwanted touching Interfering with property Kicking Extortion Non verbal Getting money or property off people Borrowing and not returning Staring Glaring Ignoring Shunning Invading privacy Embarrassing graffiti Showing lack of respect Hiding Bags Books Writing graffiti on another s books Cyber Bullying Cyber Bullying by Various Means Links With Other Policies Pastoral Care Discipline Procedure Child Protection Acceptable Use of Internet Policy Curriculum Policy Participation and Consultation Process Staff Pupils and Parents are actively encouraged to participate in the process of development and review of relevant School Policies Consultation with staff takes place via staff development training days and feedback though anti bullying policy questionnaires Pupil feedback is encouraged and carried out via the Student Council Parental feedback is requested in a number of ways Year 8 PTA parental survey annually Letter and policy copy to parents requesting comments and feedback as appropriate either at end of academic year or beginning of new term as appropriate for regular policy review Bi annually for Anti bullying Policy 2

Responsibilities of all Stakeholders Staff Anyone who is discovered bullying must be dealt with as soon as possible and be seen to be acted upon TO DO NOTHING IS TO BE SEEN TO AGREE The school s policy is the best way for dealing with bullying It is the responsibility of all staff to make sure that they are familiar with the policy and its procedures All incidents must be recorded on the Bullying Incident Form appendix 1 The bully bullies and the victim s should also make written statements about the incidents Written accurate information is vital and helps to bring home the seriousness of the incident When appropriate the parents of victims and bullies should be informed and involved Breaks lunch times and lesson changeovers where pupils arrive before the teacher are danger periods Knowing this staff should be aware that exercising of professional duties should minimise the opportunities available to bullies There are implications for pupil management by staff and for the way that staff treat each other If bullying strategies are used by staff this will serve to reinforce the idea that bullying is a legitimate way of exercising power and control Teaching about bullying though the curriculum is an essential strategy in prevention Form teachers Heads of School Heads of Year Heads of Department and Senior Managers will be proactive in ensuring an anti bullying culture of respect is promoted at all times To co operate with parents and pupils the school will Be a warm welcoming and safe place Treat pupils fairly and with respect Give pupils advice on how they can improve Give pupils support if they are bullied or abused or have other problems affecting their education Tell parents about anything which affects them or their children Work with parents in carrying out their policies Involve parents and children in key decisions about their education Tell parents promptly about any concerns Respond sensitively and effectively to any concern raised by parents or pupils Parents Some pupils do find it difficult to differentiate bullying from their normal behaviour It is not unusual for pupils to view strength as important and bullying can be a quite natural form of behaviour for them Parents sometimes teach their children to stand up for themselves to get in first It is important that the values which the school promotes are supported by the vast majority of our parents and pupils Parents must contact school as soon as possible to inform appropriate staff of their concerns In the first instance it is important to contact your son daughter s Form Teacher Get to know the school policies about promoting good behaviour anti bullying and support these Encourage their children to obey the school s rules and to show respect for other pupils school staff and property Respond quickly to concerns raised by the School Take part in the life of the School Treat School staff with the respect they would expect to receive themselves Tell the School promptly of any concern about their children Make sure their children have all they need for school and have done their homework Make every effort to come to parent evenings progress and career meetings 3

Responsibilities of Pupils Be well behaved both inside and outside school and to follow school rules Treat everyone with respect Wear the school uniform and take care of your own and the school s property Work hard in class and co operate with the teachers Arrive punctually and be prepared for class with the correct equipment Do nothing to interrupt the teaching of lessons Work to the best of your ability in all homeworks and assessments To make an effort Take part in at least one extra curricular activity Make healthy food choices Electronic equipment should not be used during the school day It should be switched off and kept in school bag The School Council will also be proactive in delivering an anti bullying message through assemblies meetings and school events Response to Incidents of Bullying Behaviour Interventions What to do Victim Don t retaliate Ask them to stop Tell a member of staff as soon as possible Discuss your feelings with a friend and parents Report it to School Council Bully Stop when asked Stop when made aware Parents Contact School Staff Deal with incident and report to the Form Teacher Head of Year Head of School ANYONE WHO SEES BULLYING TAKING PLACE MUST REPORT IT IMMEDIATELY TO A MEMBER OF STAFF FOR THE GOOD OF THE VICTIM AND THE BULLY 4

At St Joseph s we avoid raising our voices swearing using offensive language or spreading rumours and we protect each other against bullying We move in an orderly way We treat everyone with courtesy and good manners We respect the environment As these rights and responsibilities are central to everything we do St Joseph s is a safe and purposeful place However there are certain things which are absolutely forbidden and consequences will apply These are 1 2 Pupils will be suspended for hitting punching extorting money and serious verbal bullying When appropriate parents will be contacted and the following actions could be taken Detentions Isolation Suspension Involvement with outside agencies police Bullying counselling Withdrawal of privileges including travelling on school buses representing school teams school trips etc Meetings with parents If a pattern of serious bullying begins to emerge further serious action will be taken possibly leading to expulsion All cases of bullying will be dealt with by staff who will report all incidents in writing to the Form Teacher Year Head In all cases of bullying pupils will be interviewed by the Form Teacher Year Head When appropriate parents will be contacted A successful end to all cases of bullying will require RECONCILIATION to take place and all involved will be informed of the outcome What happens if pupil involved in bullying behaviour Nature of Incident Threatening with attack Immediate Staff possible fight deal with and reconcile immediately If unable go to HOY Form Teacher informed by HOY Hitting Punching Fighting Immediate referral to HOY with parties involved Staff must advise HOY as to the seriousness of the situation As per current procedure above Follow up HOY decides if parental involvement needed and takes appropriate action If fight subsequently takes placesuspension as appropriate HOS informed and suspension implemented Statements taken Excluded as appropriate See parents If persistent see HOS Record File Incident noted As per current procedure above File Incident recorded File Incident noted 5

Name calling Abusive language Verbal bullying Taking pupils things Extortion Demanding money services Non verbal Staff other pupils should stop incident Deal with appropriately Report to Form Teacher on slip that day If borrowing without permission deal with appropriately If regular refer to Form Teacher HOY HOS Stealing report to HOY Staff reports person s to HOY Form Teacher informed Deal appropriately when seen If victim distressed refer to Form Teacher if necessary report Form Teacher gets information Gets written statements Interviews all involved victim first 1st offence verbal warning depending on nature of incident 2nd offence warning and parents 3rd refer to HOY parents meeting 4th offence refer to HOS exclusion 1st offence warning 2nd offence contact parents 3rd offence parents and replacement Investigate Inform parents Replace Investigates and takes written statements If proven exclusion and parents come in 1 Warning 2 2nd warning 3 Contact parents 4 HOY parents meeting 5 Refer to HOS 6 Exclusion File reports and action taken File reports pass to HOY for records and further action if appropriate File reports and action taken File reports pass to HOY If necessary again pass to HOS File reports and action taken If persistent pass to HOS File Pass file to HOY Pass file to HOS These guidelines are intended to show what actions should be taken when the various types of bullying behaviour are used However they cannot account for every circumstance and it is strongly believed that Heads of Year Heads of School must be free to act in a discretionary way given the precise nature of each circumstance But these procedures will form the basis of their actions and they will act in accordance with them on most occasions Preventative Intervention The school will ensure that a bully free environment is maintained by encouraging an antibullying message is delivered through Community statutory agency input and intervention eg Regular participation in Anti bullying Week Regular update and information from N I Anti bullying Forum Pastoral provision in the school and an ethos which supports positive staff and peer interactions Positive and preventative classroom management by all staff Appropriate connected and cross curricular delivery to highlight an anti bullying message throughout the school either by subject departments or whole school areas such as Health Education 6

Continuous Professional Development Staff training will be conducted as appropriate throughout the year or at the beginning of each academic year Regular information and update on bullying will be provided when requested appropriate Staff will be encouraged to attend external training provision as necessary Newly appointed staff or student teachers will be supported via the school induction process or through support by the Teacher Tutor Monitoring and Review of Policy Policy will be reviewed biannually with appropriate consultation and presented to Board of Governors or as required due to an incident or event which warrants such review The policy procedure will be monitored and evaluated regularly via Pastoral Team meetings and analysis of data records of incidents __________________________ Chairman of Board of Governors Date __________________________ Principal ______________ 7