At Queen Margaret Primary School we respect every child’s need and rights to an environment where safety, security, praise, recognition and opportunity for taking responsibility are available . Our school does not tolerate any form of harassment, bullying or discrimination and values variety and individual differences. We aim to create a culture where all our children can learn in a supportive, caring and safe environment based on values including resilience, confidence and responsibility.
We are a TELLING school. If bullying or harassment does occur, all pupils should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively. This means that anyone who knows that bullying is happening is expected to tell the staff, parents or a trusted adult.
Our aims are:
We are a school that respects individuals differences. These differences include ( but are not limited to) gender, ethnicity, culture, age , disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or belief, education, learning styles, pregnancy and maternity, and those with a caring responsibility.
Head Teachers have a legal duty under the School Standards and Framework Act to draw up procedures to prevent bullying among pupils and to bring these procedures to the attention of staff, parents/carers and pupils.
What is defined as bullying?
Links to legislation:
There are several pieces of legislation which set out measures and actions for schools in response to bullying, as well as criminal and civil law. These may include (but are not limited to):
It is important to recognise that occurrences of bullying, prejudice based and hate incidents can have a detrimental effect on the achievement and wellbeing of the whole school community and only when these issues are addressed will a child best be able to benefit from the opportunities available at the school.
Bullying is the use of aggression with the intention of hurting another person and where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying results in pain and distress to the victim. It is different from other types of aggressive behaviour because it is defined as something that happens more than once and is directed specifically at an individual or group.
The school recognises that bullying behaviour can happen both in and out of school. Out of school behaviour, where it directly affects the well-being of a member of the school community, may be dealt with through this policy. This is particularly relevant to instances of cyber-bullying.
We define bullying as physical or verbally aggressive behaviour that occurs ‘ Several Times on Purpose’. The school uses this definition to help children understand the seriousness of bullying compared to other unacceptable behaviours and provides the ‘STOP’ acronym that leads to children knowing they should ‘ Start Telling Other People’.
It can also include material bullying which includes damage to belongings and extortion
Hate crime is defined as “any incident, which may or may not constitute a criminal offence, which is perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by hostility or prejudice.” (College of 2 Policing 2014) If a criminal offence has been committed the incident becomes a Hate Crime. The recorded strands of hate crime are:
We recognise that some groups of pupils may be more vulnerable to bulling including where the perpetrators may use different pretexts as the basis of their bullying, basing their comments or actions on:
Bullying can also take place through third person involvement i.e. another person being
encouraged to take part in any of the behaviours above.
Staff recognise that children are capable of abusing their peers. Peer on peer abuse can take different forms: this is most likely to include, but may not be limited to, bullying (including cyberbullying), gender based violence/sexual assaults and sexting. The school makes it clear that abuse is abuse and should never be tolerated or passed off as “banter” or “part of growing up”.
All staff should also be aware to the possibility of a member of staff bullying a child. Should anyone suspect that this is taking place this should be reported immediately to the Head Teacher. This also includes any incidents of adult bullying by staff or parents. If the Head teacher is suspected of bullying, the matter should be reported to the Chair of the Governing Body.
It is important to understand that bullying is not an odd occasional falling out with friends, name calling, arguments or when the occasional ‘joke’ is played on someone. Children do sometimes fall out or say things because they are upset. When occasional problems of this kind arise it is not classed as bullying. It is an important part of a child’s development to learn how to deal with friendship breakdowns, the odd name calling or childish prank. We all have to learn how to deal with these situations and develop social skills to repair relationships.
All forms of bullying cause psychological, emotional and physical stress. Each child’s response to being bullied is unique. There is also a wider invisible impact on those that share an identity with a victim, even if they themselves may not have been targeted.
Some signs that may point to a bullying problem are:
These signs and behaviours could indicate other social, emotional and/or mental health
problems, but bullying should be considered a possibility and should be investigated.
All governors, teaching and non-teaching staff, pupils and parents should have an understanding of what bullying is.
All governors, teaching and non-teaching staff should know what the school policy is on bullying, and follow it when bullying is reported.
All pupils and parents should know what the school policy is on bullying, and what they should do if bullying arises.
As a school we take bullying seriously. Pupils and parents should be assured that they will be supported when bullying is reported.
Bullying will not be tolerated
A child may indicate by signs or behaviour that he or she is being bullied. Adults should be aware of these possible signs and that they should investigate if a child:
These signs and behaviours could indicate other problems, but bullying should be considered a possibility and should be investigated.
Homophobic bullying – Homophobic bullying occurs when bullying is motivated by a prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people and can be experienced by;
Staff will challenge casual homophobic language and will ensure anyone who makes persistent remarks is removed from the classroom and made to understand the consequences of their behaviour in terms of sanctions.
Sexist bullying is based on sexist attitudes that when expressed demean, intimidate or harm another person because of their sex or gender. These attitudes are commonly based around the assumption that women are subordinate to men, or are inferior.
Sexist bullying may sometimes be characterised by inappropriate sexual behaviours. Sexual bullying is behaviour that has a specific sexual dimension or a sexual dynamic and it may be physical, verbal or nonverbal/psychological.
Behaviours may involve suggestive sexual comments, including ‘sexting’ sexual bullying via a mobile device or innuendo including offensive comments about sexual reputation; or using sexual language that is designed to subordinate, humiliate or intimidate. It is also commonly underpinned by sexist attitudes or gender stereotypes. Sexual bullying can be seen as sexual harassment in schools.
Anti-Bullying and Hate Incidents Policy Both sexual and transphobic bullying may affect boys and girls although gender based violence primarily affect more women and girls. An example of gender based violence can included girls being sexually touched/assaulted or boys being subject to initiation/hazing violence.
Transphobic bullying – Transphobic bullying stems from a hatred or fear of people who are transgender. ‘Transgender’ is an umbrella term that describes people whose sense of their gender or gender identity is seen as being different to typical gender norms.
Where children and young people are perceived not to be conforming to the dominant gender roles that may be widely expected of them, the School will be alert for signs of bullying.
Transphobic bullying is commonly underpinned by sexist attitudes. Boys and girls may be equally affected. An individual may also experience transphobic bullying as a result of perceptions that a parent, relative or other significant figure displays gender ‘variance’ or is transgender. Bullying be by text message and mobile phones including ‘sexting’ –
Pupils who take photographs or videos on their phones with malicious intent will be dealt with in the same manner.
Bullying and incidents of hate outside School Premises Head teachers have a specific statutory power to discipline pupils for poor behaviour outside of the school premises. Section 89 (5) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 gives Head Teachers the power to regulate pupils’ conduct when they are not on school premises and are not under the lawful control or charge of a member of school staff. This can relate to any bullying incident occurring off the school premises, such as on school or public transport, outside
the local shops, or in a town centre. Where bullying outside school is reported to school staff, it will be investigated and acted on.
Cyberbullying When responding to cyberbullying concerns, the school will:
Children are encouraged to ‘Start Telling Other People’
They are encouraged to report possible bullying to any member of staff they trust, a friend or a member of their family.
Children may post a message in the worry box in each classroom to voice any concerns.
The boxes will be checked every week by the class teacher or a member of the leadership team.
Children who are ‘bystanders’ are encouraged to support their peers by reporting any
suspected bullying.
All incidents of suspected bullying will be dealt with by the member of staff it is reported to, usually the class teacher.
All staff are responsible for the health and wellbeing of the children and have a duty to respond seriously to any claim of bullying.
If they are unable to investigate the matter must be referred immediately to a senior member of staff.
The Head Teacher will also be informed and, if bullying is confirmed it will be logged on the school Bullying Incident form which is kept in the Head teachers office in the incident folder – all instances of bullying will be recorded and monitored for patterns of behaviour.
Behaviour records will also be monitored for any further patterns of behaviour.
Teaching assistants should report to a class teacher or Head Teacher if they have any concerns about potential bullying.
Lunchtime supervisors report to the Head Teacher where there are any concerns about
children’s behaviour.
Parents are encouraged to share any concerns with their child’s class teacher or a member of senior management.
In serious cases parents should be informed and will be asked to come in to a meeting to discuss the problem.
Victim:
The bullying behaviour or threats of bullying must be investigated immediately and the bullying stopped.
Victims will be reassured that they have done nothing to deserve the bullying and that what may have happened is not their ‘fault’.
The victim will be consulted with on how to rebuild relationships with the perpetrator if they want to do this and restorative practice may be used for this.
Referral to a counsellor may be considered appropriate.
Following investigations, staff will periodically ‘check in’ with children that have been the victim of bullying to ensure that the child feels happy and secure at school.
Perpetrator:
Most importantly, the perpetrator should be helped to realise that bullying will not be tolerated, that it must stop immediately and that there can be no re-occurrence, this will be done through a Restorative practice approach.
Children are helped to reflect upon their actions and to empathise with how the bullied child may feel. Children that have bullied are supported to modify their behaviour – this may be through a report card, structured lunchtimes including pastoral support and involvement of parents to reinforce the unacceptable nature of bullying.
Other consequences may take place such as loss of golden time or other ‘privileges’ in school. Exclusion may be considered if appropriate.
After incidents have been investigated and dealt with, each case will be monitored to ensure repeated bullying does not take place.
Parents:
Parents/ carers of both victim and perpetrator will be kept informed throughout the process.
Close contact will be maintained with the victim’s parents or carers to ensure that the victim adjusts positively back to school life as quickly as possible.
Parent views will always be considered but the school will stress that wherever possible reconciliation will be considered in order to provide clear resolution for all concerned while not condoning the bullying.
Reconciliation:
The perpetrator will be asked at a suitable point to genuinely apologise, in writing or in person.
Children will be encouraged to reconcile any issues over a period of time so that any injustice can be rectified.
All serious behaviour incidents are recorded on incident forms. These are kept in the Behaviour Incident Folder and on CPOMS and are periodically checked to see if there are patterns of behaviour that may be regarded as bullying. A report is given monthly to Governors.
Incidents recorded on a Bullying Behaviour Incident forms are checked for patterns of behaviour.
The Senior Leadership Team are responsible for co-ordinating the recording system, liaising with class teachers and other staff to ensure that incidents of bullying are not missed.
Periodic analysis of incident forms i.e. numbers of incidents, numbers of children involved, analysis of sanctions etc. will help staff to measure the success of our policies of poor or challenging behaviour
Teachers may also consult the Head Teacher, if they have any concerns about bullying behaviour, who will take notes or record it on an incident form as appropriate.
We aim to help children to prevent bullying. As and when appropriate, children may:
The Police – If urgent assistance is needed with regards to a hate crime call 101 or 999
Childline – Ring Freephone 0800 1111, or go to www.childline.org.uk. These are free and
confidential.
NSPCC – Free advice and support can be found at www.nspcc.org.uk
Young Minds – Bullying support for young people and advice about positive mental health
www.youngminds.org.uk/vsbullying Telephone: 0808 802 5544
Think you Know – Advice and information about social networking, E-Safety and reporting
online abuse https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/ Stop Hate – Advice with regards to hate
incidents and crimes www.sto phate.uk.org
Support is available from Victim Support for school guidance, and/or one-to-one support and advocacy with pupils and their families (0808 281 0112 www.victmsupp ort.org.uk )
Cyberbullying
Race, religion and nationality
SEND
