Heymann Primary and Nursery School

Anti-Bullying Policy September 2015

STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLE At Heymann Primary and Nursery School we believe that every child has the right to learn in a safe, caring and friendly environment. We expect children to act safely and feel safe in school. Through our PSHE and SMSC curriculum, children are taught the issues relating to all forms of bullying including the importance of informing staff should they feel that they or others are unsafe. We also want parents/carers to feel confident that their children are safe and cared for in school and that incidents, when they do arise, are dealt with promptly and effectively. It is important that all members of our school community understand that bullying will not be tolerated. AIMS OF THE POLICY The aim of the anti-bullying policy is to ensure that pupils learn in a supportive, caring and safe environment without fear of being bullied. Bullying is anti-social behaviour and affects everyone; it is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Only when all issues of bullying are addressed will pupils be able to fully benefit from the opportunities available at school. WHAT IS BULLYING? Definition of Bullying: The repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological. It can happen face-to-face or through cyberspace. http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/about-us.aspx

Bullying is behaviour which:  Deliberately makes another person feel uncomfortable, distressed or threatened  Is repeated over time  Makes those being bullied feel powerless to defend themselves  Can include racist, sexist or homophobic, biphobic and transphobic behaviour.

Bullying may take many forms, such as:  Physical: for example, hitting, pushing, kicking

          

Name-calling and verbal abuse: face-to-face, in writing, by phone, on-line, or by text message Making racist, sexist, gender-based or sexual orientation-based comments, jokes or graffiti Making threats Taunting or mocking Spreading rumours Making jokes to make someone look ‘small’ Shutting out a person Ganging up on someone Refusing to cooperate with someone Hiding equipment or other possessions Demanding money

Cyberbullying: The increasing use of digital technology and the internet has also provided new and particularly intrusive ways for bullies to reach their victims. Whilst most incidents of Cyberbullying occur outside school, we will offer support and guidance to parents/carers and their children who experience online bullying and will treat Cyberbullying with the same severity as any other forms of bullying. Also see Cyberbullying Policy.

Cyberbullying can include:      

Hacking into someone’s accounts/sites Posting prejudice/hate messages Impersonating someone on line Public posting of images Exclusion Threats and manipulation Stalking

HOW WE WORK TO COMBAT BULLYING  Through the curriculum (especially in Personal, Social and Health Education) and assemblies we promote the values of respecting each other and co-operative behaviour. This is taught through direct teaching but also through appropriate use of group work in PSHE and SMSC lessons. Lessons include citizenship, anti-racism, say No to bullying/anti-bullying week, Stonewall resources  All children are taught safe ways to use the internet and our e-safety lessons promote safe and sensible online behaviour (see our e-safety policy). Children are taught what to do if they receive any form of cyberbullying.  We encourage pupils through the School Council and Stephen Lawrence Group to be involved in discussion and formulation of further anti-bullying work.  We teach children to take responsibility for their behaviour right from their first experiences at school, including challenging bullying behaviour eg: “I don’t like you doing that. I want you to stop it.”  We emphasise the need for bystanders to take an active stand against bullying eg: o Making sure people are not left out of games o Not smiling or laughing at bullying incidents o Telling a member of staff about what is happening o Encouraging the bullied pupil to join in with their activities/games o Telling the bully to stop what s/he is doing o Showing the bully that they disapprove of his/her actions  We ensure that the whole school community understands that presenting a firm stand against bullying is the responsibility of every member of the school – staff and pupils.  All staff are trained to be approachable and consider all reports of bullying carefully.  Our code of behaviour is shared with all staff involved in teaching or supervising children. Both teaching staff and supervisory staff support each other’s authority at lunchtime. There is daily verbal and, where appropriate, written feedback between the midday supervisors and teaching staff to monitor the quality of playtime activity.

ACTIONS FOR DEALING WITH BULLYING BEHAVIOUR     

We may suspect or find out about cases of bullying from a variety of sources: Seeing an incident ourselves Other adult or children’s eye witness accounts Complaints, comments from parents Requests for help from victims Children’s changed behaviour

 It is important when dealing with incidents of suspected bullying to listen carefully to all parties involved. It is useful to record the accounts of other children/bystanders to gain a fuller picture. Where it is clear that bullying has taken place or is continuing, intervention is necessary. A log of proven incidents of bullying will be kept by a senior member of staff and the Headteacher will be informed. These will be filed in both the victims and perpetrator’s Social Log. The following steps should be taken:  Offer the victim support and reassurance. Make it clear that s/he has done nothing wrong. Encourage him/her to take a positive stand against the behaviour of the bullying: “I don’t like what you are saying/doing. I want you to stop it.” Be specific about what has happened.  Make it clear to the bully that the behaviour is unacceptable and that any repetition will have serious consequences.  Encourage both parties to make a new start. Establish to both that the victim is expected to inform staff of any further incidents while the bullying pupil is expected to show a significant change in behaviour which ideally will demonstrate a positive attitude to the victim.  Make it clear to both pupils that parents will be informed by the head teacher or a senior member of staff.  The above procedure will normally be carried out by the Headteacher or a senior member of staff.  A prejudice bullying/race form is completed and submitted to the Local Authority if appropriate. ( Appendix 1)

Appendix 1 BULLYING/ PREJUDICE –BASED INCIDENT REPORT FORM Retain a copy of this form and send the original to [email protected] within 14 days of incident. SCHOOL DETAILS: RUSHCLIFFE: Heymann Primary and Nursery School TYPE OF REPORT: BULLYING/PREJUDICE-BASED INCIDENT (delete as appropriate) DATE OF INCIDENT:

REPORTED BY:

PERPETRATOR/S DETAILS NAME : YEAR GROUP: GENDER: ETHNIC ORIGIN: RELIGION: HOME LANGUAGE: HOME DISTRICT ( POST CODE ) REPEAT PERPETRATOR? YES/NO

TARGET/S* DETAILS *Some incidents may not have a target

Is the target vulnerable or especially distressed? Is the target safe (Consider arrangements travelling To/From school)? Has the target experienced this prejudice- based incident/bullying before?

NAME: YEAR GROUP GENDER : ETHNIC ORIGIN : RELIGION : HOME LANAGUAGE: HOME DISTRICT (POST CODE): REPEAT TARGET? YES/NO

Have the parents/carers of both parties been informed? YES/NO

Type of Race/Ethnicity Bullying/Incident Gender

Religion/Belief

Gender Reassignment

Disability/SEND Other (please specify) Sexual Orientation

Where did the incident/bullying take place? Bus Outside school Toilets/changing Classroom premises rooms To or from School Dining Hall Corridor school grounds

Other (please specify)

PLEASE GIVE A DESCRIPTION OF THE BULLYING/INCIDENT REPORTE

WHAT ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN:TO SUPPORT THE TARGET?

TO SANCTION/EDUCATE THE PERPETRATOR? Has the incident been reported to the police? YES/NO