This policy supports the Rights Respecting principles adopted by Lady Margaret Primary School and is particular relevant to the following articles:
UNICEF – Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Article 2
The Convention applies to every child whatever their ethnicity, gender, religion, abilities, whatever they think or say, no matter what type of family they come from.
Article 19
Governments must do all they can to ensure that children are protected from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and mistreatment by their parents or anyone else who looks after them.
Article 3
The best interests of the child must be a top priority in all things that affect children.
Article 12
Every child has the right to say what they think in all matters affecting them, and to have their views taken seriously.
Article 15
Every child has the right to meet with other children and young people and to join groups and organisations, as long as this does not stop other people from enjoying their rights.
Article 29
Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.
At Lady Margaret Primary School, we believe that every pupil has the right to learn in a safe, caring and nurturing environment. Therefore we take bullying very seriously. No one person or group, whether pupil or staff, should have to accept bullying behaviour. Only when all issues of bullying are addressed will the pupils be best able to benefit from all the opportunities available at school.
As a school, we take bullying and its impact seriously. Pupils and parents should be assured that known incidents of bullying will be responded to.
Bullying will not be tolerated. The school will seek ways to counter the effects of bullying that may occur within school or in the local community. The ethos of our school fosters high expectations of outstanding behaviour and we will consistently challenge any behaviour that falls below this
– All governors, teaching and non-teaching staff, pupils and parents should have an understanding of what bullying is.
– All governors, teaching and non-teaching staff should know what the school policy is on bullying, and follow it when bullying is reported.
– All pupils and parents should know what the school policy is on bullying, and what they should do if bullying arises.
All of us have encountered bullying at some point in our lives, but we all deal with it differently. The aim of this policy is to work together to ensure that our school is a safe place for children and adults to be; whether the school community is directly or indirectly affected by bullying or not.
The stopbullying.gov.uk websites states:
“In order to be considered bullying, the behaviour must be aggressive and include:
– An imbalance of power: children who bully use their power – such as: physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity – to control or harm
others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.
– Repetition: Bullying behaviours happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.
Bullying includes actions such as: making threats, spreading rumours, attacking someone physically or verbally and excluding someone from a group or purpose.
There are 3 types of bullying:
Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean things.
Verbal bullying includes:
Social bullying, sometimes referred to as relationship bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships.
Social bullying includes:
Physical bullying involves hurting a person’s body or possessions.
Physical bullying includes:
Bullying may be related to:
Bullying affects everyone, not just the bullies and the victims. It affects those who watch bullying take place and friends and family of the bullies and the victims. Bullying is not and should never be an inevitable part of school life or a necessary part of growing up. Online bullying is a concern and we educate staff, children and parents regarding this.
A child may indicate by signs or behaviour that he or she is being bullied. Adults should be aware of these possible signs and that they should investigate if a child:
These signs and behaviours could indicate other social, emotional and/or mental health problems, but bullying should be considered a possibility and should be investigated along with incidents, sanctions and reconciliation.
Pupils may begin to bullying:
At LMPS, we have weekly circle times to address issues or concern pupils may have. These are also addressed through our Beliefs and Values and Rights Respecting curriculum (see curriculum policies).
In addition to this, we have a worry box which children can use to write their concerns. These are viewed weekly and addressed by members of the SLT, as necessary. We also educate staff, children and parents about online abuse and bullying so that they can protect themselves and address it as swiftly as possible. Children are educated through regular online safety lessons through our computing curriculum and through our weekly themes about how to keep themselves safe and parents have the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops through the school year. Staff are also trained to address incidents of online bullying.
We also encourage positive behaviours through the LMPS boards in the classroom, LMPS phase displays, values and achievement assemblies, the use of rights respecting stickers and house points rewards.
Friendship ambassadors, school council and house/vice captains are used to promote positive playground behaviours and work with children to encourage positive play.
We offer lunch time sports activities, from Fit for Sport and games clubs for pupils to join and develop friendship groups and skills.
SMSAs have received training on dealing with playground incidents and how to encourage pupils to join in games.
We have playground rules displayed for the children to follow.
All cases of alleged bullying should be reported to the class teacher in the first instance who will then liaise with the SLT. In any case of alleged bullying, the member of staff should first establish the facts, and build an accurate picture of events over time, through speaking to the alleged perpetrator(s), victim(s) and adult witnesses, as well as parents and pupil witnesses if necessary and appropriate.
If the allegation of bullying is upheld, the Headteacher (or senior leader) should seek to use a restorative approach with the perpetrator(s) and victim(s) together. The perpetrator(s) should fully understand the consequences of their actions on the victim(s), and apologise without reservation. Both parties should be clear that a repeat of these behaviours will not be acceptable.
All bullying incidents must be recorded, using the school behaviour systems. Parents of both parties should be informed.
If the situation does not improve, the Headteacher (or senior leader) should meet with the parent(s) of the bullying child(ren) and agree clear expectations and boundaries which would be shared with the pupils involved. Any further incidents should lead to intervention (e.g. through outside agencies), further monitoring, support and punitive sanctions as deemed necessary. Any necessary action should be taken until the bullying has stopped.
Anti-bullying Alliance – the alliance brings together over 60 organisations into one network with the aim of reducing bullying. Their website has a parent section with links to recommended organisations who can help with bullying issues.
Kidscape on 020 7730 3300
Childline – advice and stories from children who have survived bullying on 08000 1111
Bullying online and Parentline Plus is now called Family Lives
Parents against Bullying on 01928 576 152 – useful resource of information
CEOP – one of the first websites set up in this area, for young people, providing advice around preventing and taking action against cyberbullying – their website is called thinkuknow.
Know it all for Parents – a range of resources for primary and secondary schols by Childnet International. Has a sample family agreement.
Governing Body Sub Committee:
Published:
Review Date: