Park View Primary School

Anti – bullying Policy

At Park View Primary School we are committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all of our pupils so that they can learn in a relaxed and secure atmosphere.

• Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at our school
• Bullying is never justifiable
• No one person has the right to bully another
• If bullying does occur, all pupils should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively.

We are a TELLING school. This means that anyone who knows that bullying is happening is expected to tell a member of staff – this is not telling tales.

Watching someone being bullied and doing nothing about can suggest support for the bully.

What is bullying?

Bullying is the intentional and repetitive hurting of one person by another. It results in pain and distress to the other person.

Bullying can be:

• Physical
• Verbal
• Emotional

Bullying can include:

• Kicking/punching/shoving
• Name calling
• Spreading rumours
• Racist comments
• Excluding people
• Making threats
• Giving nasty looks

Bullying can be done:

• Face to face
• Through someone else
• By text/email

Why is it important to respond to bullying?

Bullying hurts. It has a damaging and harmful impact on the lives of thousands of children and young people each year.

Bullying can affect children’s ability to learn, their relationships and their enjoyment of life.

No-one deserves to be a victim of bullying. Everyone has the right to be treated with respect.

Pupils who are bullying need to learn different ways of behaving

Objectives:

• All governors, teaching and non-teaching staff, pupils and parents should have an understanding of what bullying is.
• All teaching and non-teaching staff should know the school policy on bullying and follow it when bullying is reported.
• All pupils should know what the school policy is on bullying and what they should do if bullying occurs
• As a school we take bullying seriously. Pupils and parents should be assured that they will be supported when bullying is reported.

Procedures for Managing incidents of bullying:

• Report bullying incidents to staff.
• The bullying behaviour or threats of bullying must be investigated and the bullying stopped quickly.
• In cases of serious bullying, the incidents will be recorded on the appropriate form.
• In serious cases parents of both parties should be informed. If their child is being bullied or is bullying, it is important that they are involved.

Outcomes:

1. The bully/bullies may be asked to apologise. Other consequences may take place.
2. An attempt will be made to help the bully change their behaviour.
3. If possible the pupils will be reconciled.
4. After the incident has been dealt with, each case will be monitored to ensure that repeated bullying does not take place.

Preventing bullying:

Bullying in school is everyone’s problem. Staff, parents and children must be aware that bullying can exist but by encouraging a policy of openness and providing an environment where children feel safe enough to speak about bullying to each other and to adults, incidents of bullying should become fewer and be dealt with much more quickly and effectively.

Work around bullying will take place across all year groups and will include the following:

• Themed assemblies
• Circle Time
• Role play
• Reading/listening to stories
• Writing stories/poems
• Drawing pictures
• Regular PSHE lessons
• Activities before and during ‘Anti-Bullying week’, using the SEAL resources ‘Say no to Bullying’.

Building on the school’s existing policies:

The school’s Mission Statement, Behaviour Policy, Home-School Agreement, anti-Racist Policy, Equal Opportunities Policy and Classroom Code of Conduct have very clear guidelines regarding what constitutes acceptable/unacceptable behaviour towards other people. The Anti-bullying initiatives reflect the principles contained in these documents.