Greatham
Church of England Primary School

Greatham C.E. Primary School

Bullying Policy

What is Bullying?

“Bullying is a long standing violence, physical or psychological, conducted by an individual or a group and directed against an individual who is not able to defend him/herself in the actual situation” (Roland 1989).

Attitudes Towards Bullying:

Parents/teachers often urge “victims” to change their behaviour in some way.  They try to “stand up for themselves”, “hit back”, “walk away”, pretend it did not matter and each time their failure to act in a way which ends their misery just makes it worse.  They feel it is their own fault that this is happening.  IT IS NOT.

Whatever their own inadequacy or difficulty it is not their fault and it is not their responsibility to stop it.  It is OUR responsibility to stop it and we must give them that message loud and clear if we are not to compound their unhappiness.

“Pupils don’t care what you know, until they know you care”.

All adults dealing with pupils in our school must recognise that we want children to develop a responsible and independent attitude.  Pupils must be taken seriously and teaching staff and supervisors must be prepared to listen to them.  An atmosphere must be created where children feel secure in their relationships with staff and can confide in whoever they feel comfortable with.  Speaking out about bullying is not “tale telling” and on no account are we to dismiss it as such.  There is no such thing as acceptable bullying.

Our anti-bullying policy is both active and practical and one that demonstrates our commitment to providing a safe, caring and protective environment for all our children.

Detecting Bullying:

Danger Areas:

Bullying can happen at any time, on the way to school, lunchtime or going home.  It may occur in lightly supervised situations, toilets, walkways and parts of the playground/field.  Our policy requires such areas to be regularly supervised.  Once the danger areas are exposed, the bully’s power has been eroded.

Identifying Danger Areas:

Staff should talk to children about areas of the playground and school they like  to be in and don’t like to be in.  The use of drama and Circle Time may be appropriate and maps of the playground/field may identify problem areas. 

Stereotypes need to be avoided, although there do tend to be indicators which suggest to the alert teacher that bullying may be taking place.

Parents and teachers need to be able to recognise the signs of distress which may indicate a child is the victim of bullying:-

*          Cuts, bruises, aches and pains which are not adequately explained.

*          Clothes or possessions which are damaged or lost.

*          Requests for extra money or theft.

*          The child starts going to or returning from school at an earlier/later time or starts using a different route.  

*          Refusal/reluctance to go outside at break times.  Refusal/reluctance to stay for school dinner

*          Refusal/reluctance to attend school.

Any marked change in a child’s behaviour, especially in an established pattern of behaviour, may indicate that a child is under stress.

*          The child’s behaviour may become immature i.e. reverting to previous behaviour of thumb sucking,  tantrums, etc.

*          The child may become withdrawn, clingy, moody, aggressive, unco-operative or non-communicative.

*          Concentration spans and school performance may deteriorate.

*          There may be sleep/appetite problems.

With the co-operation of parents, who often see and hear more about school problems and situations and with the policy of open talk, bullying should be more easily detected and prompt, effective action taken.

Immediate response to bullying:

*          Bullying cannot be condoned.  Attempts to rationalise behaviour by bullies need to be exposed i.e. “It    was only a joke!”  “I didn’t really hurt him/her!”  “He/she asked for it!”  “I was in a bad mood!”   Bullies are always responsible for their actions and bullying is never acceptable. 

*          Remain calm and stay in charge.  If it is difficult to deal with the incident at the time, tell the bully that       you will see them at an appointed time and place, whilst ensuring the victim’s security and feeling of   well being.  Do not “entertain” the class if the situation arises within the classroom.

*          All incidents of reported bullying must be investigated and the outcomes communicated to those  involved.

*          Take an account from the victim and really listen.  Talk to the child about his/her feelings.  The child may write and/or draw a picture about how they feel which may be shown to the bully(ies).

No Blame Approach:

How can teachers respond when they know bullying is occurring?

·      Convene a meeting of those involved; including bystanders.

·      Explain the problem; talk about fears and what the victim feels.

·      Don’t blame anybody; group can do something about it.

·      Ask the group to make suggestions; apologise, share sweets, walk home with him/her, include him/her in games.

·      Leave it up to them.  Arrange to meet them at a future date.

·      Interview individuals (including the victim).  What has been happening?  What have they been doing?

In serious cases of bullying, the teacher may make a written or verbal report of the discussions held and actions taken to the Head Teacher.  The Head Teacher then investigates the incident(s) by talking to the children involved.  Parents/carers of the children are informed of the situation and asked to help in its resolution.

Children Who Are Bullied:

The majority of victims are passive children who lack physical strength and self-confidence and tend to be unpopular with other children.  It is stressed, however, that these characteristics may be consequences of as well as the cause of bullying.  A major concern is to ensure the safety of these children.  They are not responsible for being bullied but the actions they take do influence whether or not the bullying continues.

Advice for children on keeping safe:

·      Suggest  that they always tell a teacher, parent or some other person they trust when the have been bullied.

·      Suggest that they avoid situations and places where the bullying is likely to occur.

·      Suggest they stay close to other children or adults who may provide protection.

·      Suggest that trying to buy off bullies by giving them things seldom works.  The bully is likely to ask for more.

·      Suggest that they should be wary of fighting back.  The bully is likely to win and it may well make the situation worse.

·      Advise against them staying off school.  This is more likely to make the problem worse.

·      Tell them that they must not start bullying other children as a response to being bullied.  All children have the right to go to school without being bullied.

·      Suggest that, when possible, they should walk away from the bullying, looking as confident as they can, towards an adult.  If they make a fuss e.g. shouting, or show they are frightened e.g. crying, the bully will know they are unsure of themselves and is more likely to keep on bullying.

Strategies That May Be Employed:

·      If it appears that the bullying is not serious, try to establish whether the child will be able to cope by him/herself, with advice and support from you.

·      If it appears that the bully is serious contact the Head Teacher who may contact the parents/carers of other children.  Take measures to protect the child from further bullying.

·      Re-assure the child that it will be possible to do something that will help.  Do not tell the child to “Just put up with it”.

·      Find ways of developing the child’s self-confidence and self-esteem e.g. use of leisure activities, drama work, circle time.

·      Teach friendship skills.

·      Show by your behaviour that you view the victim in a positive light.  Reward the whole group if the victim achieves success in something.

·      Help the child to establish a support network - victims of bullying may offer support for each other.  Ask a dominant non-bullying pupil to befriend the victim.

·      Some children provoke the bullying by their own behaviour.  Steps should be taken to discourage the provocative behaviour and encourage appropriate behaviour.

·       Demonstrate that it is their own behaviour that is provoking the aggression.  Once this is accepted, steps can be taken to discourage the provocative behaviour and to encourage appropriate behaviour.

Children Who Bully:

·      Do not bully the bully.  The use of strong-arm tactics will confirm the bully’s belief that “Might is right”.

·      Take action to discourage the bullying.  Where possible, use sanctions that are ‘a natural consequence’ of the behaviour.  For example, if the bullying took place at breaktime, ask the child to stay by a teacher or supervisor for a number of breaktimes.

·      Direct the disapproval at the behaviour and not the child.

·      Take steps to ensure that there is monitoring of whether further bullying takes place.

·      In addition to taking action to discourage the bullying, employ a range of measures to encourage appropriate non-bullying behaviour.

·      So far as possible within school, curtail exposure to aggressive models and provide examples of admired people who do not bully, e.g. a local celebrity.

·      Encourage other children to disapprove of bullying.

·      Try to change the way bullies view themselves.

·      Break up bullying gangs by not allowing the children to sit, eat or play together.

·      Develop their ability to empathise with others, e.g. provide clear feedback on the extent of the distress their behaviour has caused.

·      Give reasons for the actions you take.

Preventing Bullying:

The whole school ethos repudiates bullying.  The Code of Conduct emphasises positive attitudes towards each other and encourages the development of respect, trust, caring and consideration of others.

·      Ensure that the classroom rules specify desired behaviour and that everyone knows what these are.

·      Regularly review seating arrangements in the class.  It may be appropriate to separate a bully from a victim.

·      Incorporate discussion of bullying into both the academic and PSE (Personal and Social Education) curriculum.  Use might be made of appropriate study materials to stimulate discussion.  Strategies for coping with bullying might be role-played or acted.  Requiring the bully to role-play the part of the victim might encourage the bully to view the victim as an individual.

·      Other techniques might be incorporated into the PSE curriculum.  Training in problem solving and in conflict resolution and assertiveness and social skills training might have an application.  These techniques ensure that bullying is brought into the open and made the subject of discussion.

Whole School Strategies:

·      All staff, both teaching and non-teaching, are involved.

·      Publicity of the policy to children and parents/carers to enlist their support.

·      Encourage the view that reporting incidents of bullying is taking responsible action and is not ‘tale-telling’.

·      Supervision of outside areas must take into account places where bullying is likely to take place.

·      Encourage non-academic as well as academic achievement and co-operative as well as competitive learning.

·      Establish a system that enables pupils to approach individual members of staff.