ST ANNE’S INFANTS’ SCHOOL

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

RATIONALE

Everyone at St Anne’s Infants school has the right to feel welcome, secure, happy, and safe. Our school is committed to actively working to prevent all forms of bullying and ensuring all members of the school community can flourish. This policy has been written with due regard to our obligations under the public sector equality duty.

AIMS

1. To ensure that all people (children and adults) in the school community are able to work in a safe, secure environment where everyone is treated with kindness and respect.
2. To clarify for all members of the school community that bullying is not acceptable and must be totally discouraged.  Everyone must act in a positive way to ensure that bullying is challenged and reported.
3. To ensure that all pupils, parents/carers, staff, governors, and others are aware of this policy and know that appropriate action will be taken.

WHAT IS BULLYING?

Children across the school were asked to define bullying. Here are their thoughts:

“When people pull your hair or hurt you loads of times”

“Threatening people so saying if you go and tell I will hurt you”

“saying mean things to people maybe about how they look – it makes you sad”

Bullying is repeated behaviour of one or more children which makes other people feel uncomfortable or threatened.  Bullying is about power.  Victims feel powerless to stop it.  Others, such as parents, for instance, may feel powerless to know how to help.

Bullying can take many forms, but may be:

1. Physical e.g. hitting, kicking, taking, or hiding belongings.
2. Verbal e.g. name-calling, teasing, insulting, unkind or offensive remarks (including comments about someone’s appearance)
3. Emotional e.g. spreading rumours, excluding from groups, tormenting, staring.
4. Cyber: bullying via the internet or text messages

Any of these may also have contexts that discriminate in relation to a person's 'protected characteristics (age, gender, disability, ethnicity, religion or beliefs, sexual orientation, transgender, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy, and maternity or socio-economic background). See equalities policy.

SIGNS OF BULLYING:

Pupils may be reluctant to tell anyone they are being bullied, but often there are signs that we can look for:

• Obvious distress, such as tearfulness or persistently looking unhappy
• Unwillingness to come to school
• Frequent headaches, stomach aches, or complaints of feeling unwell
• Isolation from other children/not “joining in”
• A sudden deterioration in the standard of work
• Reluctance to leave the classroom at the end of the day
• A tendency to stay close to staff during breaks
• Uncharacteristic behaviour
• General unhappiness/anxiety/fear
• Speaking negatively about, or behaving negatively towards themselves

ACTIONS TO TACKLE BULLYING

What the children say:

We, first of all, say “Stop I don’t like it” The next thing if they don’t stop is to say “I’m telling” then if they still don’t stop we tell a grown-up.

At St Anne’s Infants we are vigilant for signs of bullying and always take reports of incidents seriously.

All reported incidents of bullying will be:

• Investigated and taken seriously by staff members.
• Recorded on a bullying incident form. A member of staff will complete the incident form and will pass it to the Head Teacher to investigate.
• Effectively monitored on a regular basis – all incidents and actions are logged.

The exact course of action will vary with each situation, but the main objectives will be:

• The bully’s behaviour is unacceptable and the bullying must stop.
• If a child feels they are being bullied they can talk to their class teacher or another adult they feel comfortable with.
• The school will work with parents of both the victim and the bully.
• Support will be available for the victim.
• The application of sanctions will depend on the individual circumstances of each incident.
• The school will work with the bully and their family to identify any possible reasons for their behaviour.
• Support will be available for the bully to help change his/her behaviour.
• The parents/carers of bullies and their victims will be informed of an incident and the action that has taken place and asked to support strategies proposed to tackle the problem.
• Any child who needs support with social and friendship skills will be offered help and support in order to learn appropriate social interaction

WHOLE SCHOOL ETHOS

To reinforce the positive ethos of the school and help pupils to develop strategies to combat bullying-type behaviour we also:

• Prevent and raise awareness of bullying through the curriculum: through PSHE lessons, assemblies, and support from playground leaders. The school follows the Jigsaw scheme of work. Jigsaw aims to support children to develop the personal and social skills of self-awareness, managing their feelings, empathy, and social skills. Every school year we have a week with an anti-bullying focus as part of the curriculum. We believe that this approach will better equip the children to express and understand emotions thereby supporting them to resist attempts at bullying and reduce conflict between children overall.
• At break times, staff work to ensure effective supervision of all areas and a stimulating environment as a preventative measure.
• Constructive play opportunities are offered inside and outside.
• Through computing, teachers ensure their lessons contain information on e-safety to ensure children remain safe and responsible when working online. See E-safety policy

A school anti-bullying statement/charter has been written in consultation with the school council and is actively promoted in assemblies and shared with home.

TACKLING DISCRIMINATION

Harassment on account of a person's 'protected characteristics' is unacceptable and is not tolerated within the school environment. 

All staff are expected to deal with any discriminatory incidents that may occur. They are expected to know how to identify and challenge prejudice and stereotyping; and to support the full range of diverse needs according to an individual's circumstances. The procedure below will be followed:

• Member of staff to investigate further (if incident reported) or challenge behaviour immediately. 
• Record actions and findings on the relevant form.
• Respond to victim and family, respond to perpetrator and family.
• Follow up with a written summary.
• Complete and file incident form.
• Take action to address issues with class/year group/school if necessary. 
• Complete and file incident form. 
• Report incidents to governing body on a termly basis. 

CHILD ON CHILD ABUSE                    

Children can abuse other children. This is generally referred to as child-on-child abuse and can take many forms. This can include (but is not limited to) bullying (including cyberbullying); sexual violence and sexual harassment; physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm.

Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges

Sexual violence and sexual harassment can occur between two children of any age and sex. It can also occur through a group of children sexually assaulting or sexually harassing a single child or group of children.  Children who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment will likely find the experience stressful and distressing. This will, in all likelihood, adversely affect their educational attainment.

Sexual violence and sexual harassment exist on a continuum and may overlap, they can occur online and offline (both physical and verbal) and are never acceptable. It is important that all victims are taken seriously and offered appropriate support. Staff should be aware that some groups are potentially more at risk. Evidence shows girls, children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities, and Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender children are at greater risk. 

Staff at St Anne’s Infants’ are aware of the importance of: 

• making clear that sexual violence and sexual harassment is not acceptable, will never be tolerated, and is not an inevitable part of growing up;

• not tolerating or dismissing sexual violence or sexual harassment as “banter”, “part of growing up”, “just having a laugh” or “boys being boys”; and

• challenging behaviours (potentially criminal in nature), such as grabbing bottoms, breasts, and genitalia and lifting up skirts.

Dismissing or tolerating such behaviours risks normalising them. If anyone has concerns about child-on-child abuse taking place, they should report their concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The role of the members of staff

All members of staff take any form of bullying seriously and take prompt and effective action. All incidents of bullying will be handled in a confidential manner.

Teachers support all children in their class and create a climate of trust and respect for all.

The role of the children

Children are taught how to deal with inappropriate behaviour for example by supporting the victim and telling an adult. Children are taught that by being a bystander they may be contributing to the bullying. Children are taught about the importance of telling and sharing concerns either directly to an adult they feel comfortable with or through circle time as part of PSHE sessions.

The role of the Parents/carers

Parents who are concerned that their child might be being bullied should:

• Speak initially to the child’s class teacher
• Speak with the Deputy Head Teacher if the bullying carries on
• Share concerns with school staff rather than discuss it with another child’s parents especially if their child might be involved
• Parents/carers should support the school’s anti-bullying policy and do all they can to actively encourage their child to be a positive member of the school community.

The role of the Headteacher

• To ensure all school staff, pupils and parents are made aware of the anti-bullying policy
• To foster an ethos that ensures pupils feel safe and confident

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

The policy and procedures will be monitored and the effectiveness will be evaluated in the light of:

• Numbers of pupils being bullied.
• Staff vigilance and response to bullying behaviour.
• Numbers of pupils and parents feeling secure about the school’s response to bullying.

Data will be gathered through the anti-bullying log as well as parent/carer and pupil surveys.

This policy has links with other school policies:

• Confidentiality
• Equalities Policy
• Child Protection and Safeguarding
• Positive Relationships and Behaviour
• PSHE

This policy was written taking into consideration “Anti-bullying guidance” published by Bristol City and the views of staff and Governors in the behaviour steering group.