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Abbey School, Torquay
Anti-Bullying Policy and Procedure
Policy
Statement for Anti-Bullying
At the Abbey
School we believe that all persons are entitled to a caring, safe environment in
which to work and play. We regard
bullying as very serious and believe that everyone in the school should work
against it. Single inappropriate
incidents, although unpleasant, do not fall under our interpretation of what
bullying is, and will be treated appropriately in order to avert possible
escalation of such behaviour.
There are many
kinds of bullying; the key factor is that it is always persistent.
Some are Physical
such as
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Hitting
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Pushing
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Taking belongings away
Some are Verbal
such as
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Name-calling
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Threatening
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Swearing
Some are Emotional
such as
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Making fun of differences
¨ Teasing
¨
Excluding
The victim may be,
for example:
Smaller,
weaker, quieter, more able, looked upon as different, popular with teacher,
disabled, of a different race.
Most of the time the
victim finds it difficult to fend for him/her self.
Bullies may carry
out their actions to
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Impress their friends.
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Use up their own anger,
which sometimes comes from personal problems, or jealousy of their victim.
¨
Copy or act out bad
behaviour learned from older friends or TV influence.
¨
Make fun when they are
bored.
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Fulfil mistaken
expectations of what older children can do.
We must be observant
of the outward distress signs exhibited by victims of bullying
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Possible withdrawal, hard
to detect in the loner
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Lack of effort in class
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Feigned illness
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Unwillingness to go out to
play
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Erratic unhappiness
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Lack of appetite
Once staff have
verified bullying behaviour, liaison between home and school is vital if
symptoms are to be corrected for both victim and bully. The Head Teacher/Head of
Nursery will invite parents in to discus the matter.
When attending any
meeting with reference to bullying, parents must realise that they need to
co-operate with the school to resolve the situation. Parents need to know we
care and are offering our support, whether their child is a victim or perceived
as a bully.
Operating a
preventative an anti-bullying policy is the best procedure
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Encouraging older children
to care for others
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Discuss friendships with
children
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Discourage rough behaviour
and silly games
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Keep an eye on ‘loners’
and try to involve them in group games
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Ensure adequate supervision
in play areas
Teachers must be
observant
¨ Watching and advising
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Discourage bad language
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Reward non aggressive
behaviour
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Keep up levels of
supervision on the playground and cloakrooms
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Hold assemblies to ‘get
the message’ across
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Discuss problems at staff
meetings
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Encourage PSHE, circle time
to encourage good behaviour
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Draw up individual class
contracts
Procedure
for dealing with complaints of bullying
1. Any complaint of verbal,
physical or emotional abuse will go to the duty staff at playtime.
This needs to be dealt with at the time and if necessary passed on to the
Form Teacher to monitor the situation. The assistance of the Head Teacher in
dealing with any problem may be requested should this be considered necessary.
2. It is important to check at
certain times of the day that the child who is having the problem is safe and
the child causing the problem is aware we know. This is usually at break and
Lunchtime and after school before going home.
3. Monitor poor behaviour -
and consequences, if any.
4. If the poor behaviour is
considered to be bullying, in that it is deemed to be persistent, the Head
Teacher/ Head of Nursery will be informed and will contact the parents who must
be involved in dealing with the problem.
Sanctions
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Year
6 Posts of responsibility withdrawn
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Loss of playtime/withdrawal
at playtime/part of lunchtime for a week
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Detention
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Loss
of privilege i.e. School clubs
School teams
Residential visits
Exclusion - either fixed term or permanent
Bring
the bully and recipient together:
Encourage
them to talk
Help them to
a)
become friends or
b) tolerate each other and leave one another alone
Make
the bully aware of their actions
a) the affect of bullying on the recipient
b) their punishment
for bullying
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