Anti-Bullying Policy
- In accordance with the requirements of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 and the code of behaviour guidelines issued by the NEWB, the Board of Management of Donoughmore National School has adopted the following anti-bullying policy within the framework of the school’s overall code of behaviour. This policy fully complies with the requirements of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools which were published in September 2013.
- The Board of Management recognises the very serious nature of bullying and the negative impact that it can have on the lives of pupils and is therefore fully committed to the following key principles of best practice in preventing and tackling bullying behaviour:
(a) A positive school culture and climate which
- is welcoming of difference and diversity and is based on inclusivity;
- encourages pupils to disclose and discuss incidents of bullying behaviour in a non-threatening environment; and
- promotes respectful relationships across the school community.
- acknowledges the right of each member of the school community to enjoy school in a secure environment.
- acknowledges the uniqueness of each individual and his/her worth as a human being.
- promotes positive habits of self-respect, self-discipline and responsibility among all its members.
- prohibits vulgar, offensive, or other aggressive behaviour or language by any of its members.
- has a clear commitment to promoting equity in general
- has the capacity to change in response to pupils’ needs.
- identifies aspects of curriculum through which positive and lasting influences can be exerted towards forming pupils’ attitudes and values.
- takes particular care of “at risk” pupils and uses its monitoring systems to facilitate early intervention where necessary and it responds to the needs, fears or anxieties of individual members in a sensitive manner.
- recognises the need to work in partnership with and keep parents informed on procedures to improve relationships on a school-wide basis.
- recognises the role of other community agencies in preventing and dealing with bullying.
- promotes habits of mutual respect, courtesy and an awareness of the interdependence of people in groups and communities.
- promotes qualities of social responsibility, tolerance and understanding among all its members both in school and out of school.
- Staff members share a collegiate responsibility, under the direction of the Principal, to act in preventing bullying/aggressive behaviour by any member of the school community.
Positive School Culture & Climate
The following are actions that have and will be taken, to aid in maintaining a positive school culture and climate, in order to help prevent and tackle bullying behaviour.
- Model respectful behaviour to all members of the school community at all times.
- Explicitly teach pupils what respectful language and respectful behaviour looks like, acts like, sounds like and feels like in class around the school.
- Display key respect messages in classrooms, in assembly areas and around the school. Involve pupils in the development of these messages.
- Catch them being good – notice and acknowledge desired respectful behaviour by providing positive attention e.g. Act of Kindness
- Consistently tackle the use of discriminatory and derogatory language in the school – this includes homophobic and racist language and language that is belittling of pupils with a disability or SEN.
- Give constructive feedback to pupils when respectful behaviour and respectful language are absent.
- Have a system of encouragement and rewards to promote desired behaviour and compliance with the school rules and routines – individual class room rewards systems.
- Explicitly teach pupils about the appropriate use of social media at appropriate class level.
- Positively encourage pupils to comply with the school rules on Internet use. Follow up and follow through with pupils who ignore the rules.
- Actively involve parents and/or the Parents’ Association in awareness raising campaigns around social media.
- Actively promote the right of every member of the school community to be safe and secure in school.
- Highlight and explicitly teach school rules in pupil friendly language in the classroom and in common areas.
- All staff will actively watch out for signs of bullying behaviour.
- Ensure there is adequate playground/school yard/outdoor supervision.
- School staff can get pupils to help them to identify bullying “hot spots” and “hot times” for bullying in the school.
- Hot spots tend to be in the playground/school yard/outdoor areas, changing rooms, corridors and other areas of unstructured supervision.
- Hot times again tend to be times where there is less structured supervision such as when pupils are in the playground/school yard or moving classrooms.
(b) Effective leadership
(c) A school-wide approach
(d) A shared understanding of what bullying is and its impact
(e) Implementation of education and prevention strategies (including awareness raising measures) that-
- build empathy, respect and resilience in pupils; and
- explicitly address the issues of cyber-bullying and identity-based bullying including in particular, homophobic and transphobic bullying;
- effective supervision and monitoring of pupils;
(f) Effective supervision and monitoring of pupils
(g) Supports for staff
(h) Consistent recording, investigation and follow up of bullying behaviour (including use of established intervention strategies); and
(i) On-going evaluation of the effectiveness of the anti-bullying policy.
- In accordance with the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools bullying is defined as follows:
Bullying is unwanted negative behaviour, verbal, psychological or physical conducted, by an individual or group against another person (or persons) and which is repeated over time.
The following types of bullying behaviour are included in the definition of bullying:
- deliberate exclusion, malicious gossip and other forms of relational bullying,
- cyber-bullying and
- identity-based bullying such as homophobic bullying, racist bullying, bullying based on a person’s membership of the Traveller community and bullying of those with disabilities or special educational needs.
Isolated or once-off incidents of intentional negative behaviour, including a once-off offensive or hurtful text message or other private messaging, do not fall within the definition of bullying and should be dealt with, as appropriate, in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.
However, in the context of this policy, placing a once-off offensive or hurtful public message, image or statement on a social network site or other public forum where that message, image or statement can be viewed and/or repeated by other people will be regarded as bullying behaviour.
Negative behaviour that does not meet this definition of bullying will be dealt with in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.
Additional information on different types of bullying is set out in Section 2 of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools.
Examples of bullying behaviours
General behaviours which apply to all types of bullying
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Harassment based on any of the nine grounds in the equality legislation e.g. sexual harassment, homophobic bullying, racist bullying etc. Physical aggression or threatened ·Damage to property Verbal abuse – anonymous or otherwise · Aggessive or obscene language ·Humiliation – Name calling, reference to academic ability ·The production, display or circulation of written words, pictures or other materials aimed at intimidating another person ·Offensive graffiti/jokes Intimidation Insulting or offensive gestures Invasion of personal space Threats including demands for money A combination of any of the types listed. |
Cyber
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·Denigration: Spreading rumors, lies or gossip to hurt a person’s reputation Harassment: Continually sending vicious, mean or disturbing messages to an individual Impersonation: Posting offensive or aggressive messages under another person’s name Flaming: Using inflammatory or vulgar words to provoke an online fight Trickery: Fooling someone into sharing personal information which you then post online Outing: Posting or sharing confidential or compromising information or images Exclusion: Purposefully excluding someone from an online group ·Cyber stalking: Ongoing harassment and denigration that causes a person considerable fear for his/her safety ·Silent telephone/mobile phone call ·Abusive telephone/mobile phone calls ·Abusive text messages ·Abusive email ·Abusive communication on social networks e.g. Facebook/Ask.fm/ Twitter/You Tube or on games consoles ·Abusive website comments/Blogs/Pictures ·Abusive posts on any form of communication technology |
Identity Based Behaviours Including any of the nine discriminatory grounds mentioned in Equality Legislation (gender including transgender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community). |
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Homophobic and Transgender
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·Spreading rumours about a person’s sexual orientation ·Taunting a person of a different sexual orientation Name calling ·Physical intimidation or attacks ·Threats |
Race, nationality, ethnic background and membership of the Traveller community |
·Discrimination, prejudice, comments or insults about colour, nationality, culture, social class, religious beliefs, ethnic or traveller background ·Exclusion on the basis of any of the above |
Relational
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This involves manipulating relationships as a means of bullying. Behaviours include: Malicious gossip Isolation & exclusion Ignoring Excluding from the group ·Taking someone’s friends away ·Spreading rumours ·Breaking confidence ·Talking loud enough so that the victim can hear ·Use or terminology such as ‘nerd’ in a derogatory way |
Sexual |
Unwelcome or inappropriate sexual comments or touching Harassment |
Special Educational Needs, Disability |
Name calling Taunting others because of their disability or learning needs Taking advantage of some pupils’ vulnerabilities and limited capacity to recognise and defend themselves against bullying Taking advantage of some pupils’ vulnerabilities and limited capacity to understand social situations and social cues. Mimicking a person’s disability Setting others up for ridicule |
- The relevant teacher(s) for investigating and dealing with bullying is (are) as follows:
The Relevant Teachers in this school are:
Any teacher may act as a relevant teacher if circumstances warrant it. |
- The education and prevention strategies (including strategies specifically aimed at cyber-
bullying, homophobic and transphobic bullying) that will be used by the school are as follows:
Education and prevention strategies
School-wide approach ·A school-wide approach to the fostering of respect for all members of the school community. ·The promotion of the value of diversity to address issues of prejudice and stereotyping, and highlight the unacceptability of bullying behaviour. The fostering and enhancing of the self-esteem of all our pupils through both curricular and extracurricular activities. Pupils will be provided with opportunities to develop a positive sense of self-worth through formal and informal interactions. Whole staff professional development on bullying to ensure that all staff develops an awareness of what bullying is, how it impacts on pupils’ lives and the need to respond to it-prevention and intervention. An annual audit of professional development needs with a view to assessing staff requirements through internal staff knowledge/expertise and external sources Professional development with specific focus on the training of the relevant teacher(s) School wide awareness raising and training on all aspects of bullying, to include pupils, parent(s)/guardian(s) and the wider school community. Supervision and monitoring of classrooms, corridors, school grounds, school tours and extra- curricular activities. Non-teaching and ancillary staff will be encouraged to be vigilant and report issues to relevant teachers. Supervision will also apply to monitoring student use of communication technology within the school. Development and promotion of an Anti-Bullying code for the school to be included in student journals and displayed publicly in classrooms and in common areas of the school. The school’s anti-bullying policy is discussed with pupils and all parent(s)/guardian(s) can view the policy on the school website and/or given a hard copy on request, as part of the Code of Behaviour of the school. The implementation of regular whole school awareness measures e.g. a dedicated notice board in the school and classrooms on the promotion of friendship, and bullying prevention; annual Friendship Week to include station teaching by Learning support/Resource teachers within the classroom, regular school assemblies by principal. Encourage a culture of telling, with particular emphasis on the importance of bystanders. In that way pupils will gain confidence in ‘telling’. This confidence factor is of vital importance. It should be made clear to all pupils that when they report incidents of bullying they are not considered to be telling tales but are behaving responsibly. Ensuring that pupils know who to tell and how to tell, e.g.:
Parent(s)/guardian(s) to approach the school, teacher firstly and thereafter the Principal if necessary, if they suspect that their child is being bullied, by means of an appointment or note. Acceptable Use Policy to be followed to ensure that the access to technology within the school is strictly monitored. Implementation of curricula: The full implementation of the SPHE and the RSE and Stay Safe Programmes. Continuous Professional Development for staff in delivering these programmes. School wide delivery of lessons on bullying from evidence based programmes, e.g. Stay Safe Programme, The Walk Tall Programme, Sean Fallon Anti Bullying Campaign – www.antibullyingcampaign.ie The school should list every resource related to the SPHE curriculum: as listed in the SPHE policy. Delivery of the Garda SPHE Programmes at primary. These lessons, delivered by Community Gardai, cover issues around personal safety and cyber-bullying The school will specifically consider the additional needs of SEN pupils with regard to programme implementation and the development of skills and strategies to enable all pupils to respond appropriately. The school will implement the advice in RSE Primary, see booklet. Links to other policies School policies, practices and activities that are particularly relevant to bullying, e.g. Code of Behaviour, Child Protections policy, Supervision and Lunchtime, Acceptable Use policy, Attendance, Policy on Tours/Outings, Policy on use of ICT.. |
- The school’s procedures for investigation, follow-up and recording of bullying behaviour and the established intervention strategies used by the school for dealing with cases of bullying behaviour are as follows:
Procedures for Investigating and Dealing with Bullying The primary aim in investigating and dealing with bullying is to resolve any issues and to restore, as far as is practicable, the relationships of the parties involved (rather than to apportion blame); The school’s procedures must be consistent with the following approach. Every effort will be made to ensure that all involved (including pupils, parent(s)/guardian(s)) understand this approach from the outset. Reporting bullying behaviour Any pupil or parent(s)/guardian(s) may bring a bullying incident to any teacher in the school. All reports, including anonymous reports of bullying, will be investigated and dealt with by the relevant teacher. Teaching and non-teaching staff such as secretaries, special needs assistants (SNAs), bus escorts, caretakers, cleaners must report any incidents of bullying behaviour witnessed by them, or mentioned to them, to the relevant teacher; Investigating and dealing with incidents: Style of approach (see section 6.8.9) In investigating and dealing with bullying, the relevant teacher will exercise his/her professional judgement to determine whether bullying has occurred and how best the situation might be resolved; Parent(s)/guardian(s) and pupils are required to co-operate with any investigation and assist the school in resolving any issues and restoring, as far as is practicable, the relationships of the parties involved as quickly as possible; Teachers should take a calm, unemotional problem-solving approach. Where possible incidents should be investigated outside the classroom situation to ensure the privacy of all involved; All interviews should be conducted with sensitivity and with due regard to the rights of all pupils concerned. Pupils who are not directly involved can also provide very useful information in this way; When analysing incidents of bullying behaviour, the relevant teacher should seek answers to questions of what, where, when, who and why. This should be done in a calm manner, setting an example in dealing effectively with a conflict in a non-aggressive manner; If a group is involved, each member should be interviewed individually at first and a signed/dated written account taken from those directly involved. Thereafter, all those involved should be met as a group. At the group meeting, each member should be asked for his/her account of what happened to ensure that everyone in the group is clear about each other’s statements; Each member of a group should be supported through the possible pressures that may face them from the other members of the group after the interview by the teacher; It may also be appropriate or helpful to ask those involved to write down their account of the incident(s) In cases where it has been determined by the relevant teacher that bullying behaviour has occurred, the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the parties involved should be contacted at an early stage to inform them of the matter and explain the actions being taken. The school should give parent(s)/guardian(s) an opportunity of discussing ways in which they can reinforce or support the actions being taken by the school and the supports provided to the pupils; Where the relevant teacher has determined that a pupil has been engaged in bullying behaviour, it should be made clear to him/her how he/she is in breach of the school’s anti-bullying policy and efforts should be made to try to get him/her to see the situation from the perspective of the pupil being bullied; It must also be made clear to all involved (each set of pupils and parent(s)/guardian(s)) that in any situation where disciplinary sanctions are required, this is a private matter between the pupil being disciplined, his or her parent(s)/guardian(s) and the school; Follow up and recording In determining whether a bullying case has been adequately and appropriately addressed the relevant teacher must, as part of his/her professional judgement, take the following factors into account:
Follow-up meetings with the relevant parties involved should be arranged separately with a view to possibly bringing them together at a later date if the pupil who has been bullied is ready and agreeable. Where a parent(s)/guardian(s) is not satisfied that the school has dealt with a bullying case in accordance with these procedures, the parent(s)/guardian(s) must be referred, as appropriate, to the school’s complaints procedures. ( must be reviewed and communicated to parents) In the event that a parent(s)/guardian(s) has exhausted the school’s complaints procedures and is still not satisfied, the school must advise the parent(s)/guardian(s) of their right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman for Children. Recording of bullying behaviour It is imperative that all recording of bullying incidents must be done in an objective and factual manner. The school’s procedures for noting and reporting bullying behaviour are as follows: Informal- pre-determination that bullying has occurred All staff must keep a written record of any incidents witnessed by them or notified to them in A4 notebook. Each class teacher and Learning Support/Resource teacher will receive an A4 notebook to be kept in the classroom discreetly. Each notebook will be collected and stored in the strong room at year end and handed over at the beginning of the following school year at handover time, on return from school holidays. All incidents must be reported to the relevant teacher While all reports, including anonymous reports of bullying must be investigated and dealt with by the relevant teacher, the relevant teacher must keep a written record of the reports, the actions taken and any discussions with those involved regarding same The relevant teacher must inform the principal of all incidents being investigated. Formal Stage 1-determination that bullying has occurred If it is established by the relevant teacher that bullying has occurred, the relevant teacher must keep appropriate written records which will assist his/her efforts to resolve the issues and restore, as far as is practicable, the relationships of the parties involved. All records – A4 notebook and reports attached- will be stored in the classroom/Learning Support/Resource room in a discreet place and returned to the Strong Room at year end. Formal Stage 2-Appendix 3 The relevant teacher must use the recording template at Appendix 3 to record the bullying behaviour in the following circumstances: a) in cases where he/she considers that the bullying behaviour has not been adequately and appropriately addressed within 20 school days after he/she has determined that bullying behaviour occurred; and b) The school has decided as part of its anti-bullying policy that in certain circumstances bullying behaviour must be recorded and reported immediately to the Principal or Deputy Principal as applicable. The behaviours that must be recorded and reported immediately to the Principal are in line with the school’s code of behaviour – Level 2 Behaviours When the recording template is used, it must be retained by the relevant teacher in question and a copy maintained by the principal. The A4 notebooks/reports – records will be stored in line with school reports. Established intervention strategies Teacher interviews with all pupils Negotiating agreements between pupils and following these up by monitoring progress. This can be on an informal basis or implemented through a more structured mediation process Working with parent(s)/guardian(s)s to support school interventions No Blame Approach Circle Time The Procedures mention the following intervention strategies and reference Ken Rigby; www.bullyingawarenessweek.org/pdf/BullyingPreventionStrategiesinSchools Ken Rigby.pdf · The traditional disciplinary approach · Strengthening the victim · Mediation |
- The school’s programme of support for working with pupils affected by bullying is as follows
All in-school supports and opportunities will be provided for the pupils affected by bullying to participate in activities designed to raise their self-esteem, to develop friendships and social skills and build resilience e.g. – Teacher/Staff Support – Group work such as circle time -Implementation of the SPHE Curriculum. – Classroom seating arrangements. If pupils require counselling of further supports the school will endeavour to liaise with the appropriate agencies to organise same. This may be for the pupil affected by bullying or involved in the bullying behaviour. Pupils should understand that there are no innocent bystanders and that all incidents of bullying behaviour must be reported to a teacher. |
- Supervision and Monitoring of Pupils
The Board of Management confirms that appropriate supervision and monitoring policies and
Practices are in place to both prevent and deal with bullying behaviour and to facilitate early intervention where possible.
- Agreed appropriate supervision practices are in the school
- Bullying danger hot spots have been identified
- All internet sessions are supervised by a teacher
- The school does monitor pupils’ internet usagePrevention of Harassment
9. Prevention of Harassment
The Board of Management confirms that the school will, in accordance with its obligations under equality legislation, take all such steps that are reasonably practicable to prevent the sexual harassment of pupils or staff or the harassment of pupils or staff on any of the nine grounds specified i.e. gender including transgender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community.
- This policy was adopted by the Board of Management on 18th March 2014.
- This policy has been made available to school personnel, published on the school website, otherwise readily accessible to parents and pupils on request and provided to the Parents’ Association. A copy of this policy will be made available to the Department and the patron if requested.
- This policy and its implementation will be reviewed by the Board of Management once in every school year. Written notification that the review has been completed will be made available to school personnel, published on the school website, otherwise readily accessible to parents and pupils on request and provided to the Parents’ Association. A record of the review and its outcome will be made available, if requested, to the patron and the Department.