Anti-Bullying Policy

Introduction

The School takes the issue of bullying very seriously and has, in effect, a zero tolerance of it in all of its aspects, whether physical or mental.

Children and parents are well aware of the School's attitude when the subject is discussed at initial visit, Parents' Evenings or at Assemblies.

Although we have had little incidence of bullying at the School, we cannot afford to be complacent. Once the issue of how the School has adopted an anti-bullying stance, parents, pupils and staff feel more reassured.

The School is mindful of the document "Bullying, Don't Suffer in Silence", which all staff are encouraged to read. A copy of this document is available in the School Office. This policy states how we, as a school, take measures to counter bullying.

The Problem

Bullying by its very nature is insidious because children and young people are likely to feel that "telling" will only make matters worse for themselves, and leave them even more at the mercy of the bully/bullies.

Any strategy for dealing with bullying must ensure that it protects the child being bullied. For example, it is more appropriate for a member of staff to approach the bully on the basis "We know what is going on"rather than to say that it was the victim who brought the matter to their notice.

Definition

At Barnardiston Hall, we believe that bullying can be defined as inappropriate behaviour from an individual pupil or group of pupils towards another pupil which is deliberate, repeated over time and hard to defend against. It can take the form of physical actions, words or being excluded from a group for various improper reasons.

Examples of inappropriate bullying behaviour which pupils who board have identified include:

$1·       Hitting, kicking or punching another child

$1·       Spoiling someone else's belongings

$1·       Making sexist remarks

$1·       Calling names

$1·       Teasing

$1·       Giving nasty looks

$1·       Making racist remarks

$1·       Spreading rumours

$1·       Not letting someone join in a game

$1·       Making homophobic remarks

$1·       Not talking to someone or getting other people not to talk to an individual

The School is also aware of the problem of "cyber-bullying", either via the internet of mobile telephone. Pupils have monitored access to the internet and the use of mobile telephones is restricted to boarding children who have access to their telephones after supper each night and up until bed-time when they are returned to the House Master and kept in a locked drawer in his study.

Mr Bill Belsey, the creator of the website http://www.cyberbullying.org defined this unpleasant behaviour in the following terms:

"Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that it intended to harm others."

Cyberbullying can involve Social Networking Sites like Bebo, Facebook or Myspace, email or SMS messages / photographs via mobile telephones.

Barnardiston Hall promotes safe use of the internet and this is reinforced in PHSE lessons. Certain sites are blocked by our filtering system and our IT Department monitors pupils' use

We are aware of the

Emotional and physical symptoms linked to bullying.

Emotional

$1·       Lost confidence

$1·       Loss of self esteem

$1·       Irritability

$1·       Aggression

$1·       Anxiety

$1·       Panic attacks

$1·       Depression

$1·       Suicidal thoughts

$1·       Unwillingness to return to School

General

$1·       Failure to produce work, or producing unusually bad work, or work that appears to have been copied, interfered with or spoilt by others

$1·       Books, bags and other belongings suddenly go missing or are damaged.

$1·       Change to established habits (eg giving up music lessons, change to accent or vocabulary)

$1·       Frequent absence, erratic attendance, late arrival to class

$1·       Choosing the company of adults

$1·       Talk of suicide or running away

Physical

$1·       Sleeplessness

$1·       Nausea

$1·       Shaking

$1·       Heart-racing

$1·       Laziness

$1·       Skin complaints

$1·       Displays of excessive anxiety, becoming withdrawn or unusually quiet

$1·       Frequent visits to the Medical Centre with symptoms such as stomach pains, headaches.

$1·       Unexplained cuts and bruises

$1·       Displaying repressed body language and poor eye contact

$1·       Bed wetting

Although there may be other causes for some of the above symptoms, a repetition of, or a combination of these possible signs of bullying should be investigated by parents and teachers.

 

Factors

Whilst any child can be bullied, and noneof these characteristics can excuse it, the following factors may make bullying more likely.

$1·       Lacking close friends at School

$1·       Being shy

$1·       An over-protective family environment

$1·       Being from a different racial or ethnic group to the majority

$1·       Being different in some obvious way such as stammering

$1·       Behaving inappropriately, intruding or being a ˜nuisance".

$1·       Possessing expensive accessories such as mobile phones or computer games

Bullying and Disability

Pupils with disabilities are at risk of having their body language and behaviour misinterpreted by other children. This can lead them into difficulties as others may focus on their differences, or react to the individual's odd behaviour. Although we currently have no children at Barnardiston Hall with physical disabilities, we are aware of this.

The School's Response to Bullying

Staff vigilance is the most potent deterrent against bullying. Children who bully will then know that it will not be tolerated and the victims of bullying will have confidence for the same reason. Vigilance is required in both the School and during activities which take place within the local community and staff should report any incidents of bullying or harassment. The local Community Police Officer is PC Kayla Packman and she is happy to be contacted on 01284 774100 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. /police.uk The  Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) is Fiona Harris who can be contacted at 01473 260797 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Within the School, we believe that we have created a culture and communication network where children are easily able to confide in staff if they are being bullied. In addition, for any children who feel unable to speak out, a post box entitled "I Just Wanted to Tell You" is available for children to use to post a note giving details of their problem. This box is checked daily and any problems are dealt with immediately, sensitively and as discreetly as possible.

Staff at Barnardiston Hall have access to the anti-bullying policy and awareness of the issue is given priority. Within the classroom setting, anti-bullying work is addressed via the curriculum and in particular within PHSE lessons.

The School takes very seriously the need to adopt anti-bullying strategies and to acknowledge the important role that Prefects play in this work. Prefects will be given an induction into their prefect role.

Assemblies are held on the subject throughout the year.

The School believes that both the bullied and the bully are in need of support.

Dealing with Bullying.

Our guidelines are:

$1·       The School will not allow initiation ceremonies of any kind.

$1·       The School will actively encourage an environment in which bullying is seen to be totally unacceptable.

$1·       The School will encourage children to report any incident of bullying or unkindness to a member of staff and will make children aware that quick and appropriate action will be taken where appropriate.

$1·       Staff supervision will always be at a level where any instances of bullying will be quickly detected. All areas will be properly monitored by either staff or senior pupils.

$1·       It is the policy of Barnardiston Hall to ensure that there is a balance between male and female staff. However, this may not be equal in individual areas (ie academic areas in the Pre-Prep may have more female staff whilst the Prep School staff may have a larger percentage of male staff).

The procedure for the detection of bullying is:

$1·       The incident is reported to a member of staff who will take full details.

$1·       Individual children will be questioned regarding the incident and a full picture of the situation will be gathered. Staff should:

$1·       Be absolutely certain about the known facts.

$1·       Confront the bully with the allegations.

$1·       Make it clear that the behaviour is unacceptable.

$1·       See each bully separately if appropriate.

$1·       Be specific about sanctions if bullying does not stop.

Follow up to check that behaviour has ceased.

1. Depending on the seriousness of the incident, children will be punished either internally or, in a more serious case, will be suspended. Any incident of a serious nature will be reported to the parent(s) or guardian of both the child who is bullying and the child who has been bullied.

2. The child who is bullying will be encouraged to understand why their actions are unacceptable to both Barnardiston and to other children.

3. Staff members who suspect another staff member of bullying are actively encouraged to speak to the Headmaster. In the case of the Headmaster being involved, staff should speak to the Principal, Colonel Boulter.

4. A record of bullying which results in a punishment of any description will be recorded in the Punishment Record Book. In addition, the Form Teacher will be made aware of the problem and will assist in keeping a watchful eye on the situation in future.

Follow-up and Monitoring

It is an essential part of the policy to follow-up any incidents of bullying to ensure that it does not start again. Research shows that bullying is less likely to continue if all parties are aware that it is being checked. This should be done by the nominated Teacher within 2 weeks of the initial incident and thereafter for as long as deemed necessary.

An assembly will be held at the start of every new academic year which will make specific reference to bullying and to the School's approach to it. Children will be reminded of the policy.

Evaluation

We have a strong and experienced pastoral team of teachers, matrons, House Masters and House Mistresses who support the Pastoral Deputy Head, Mr Tim Dodgson and are trained in handling any incidents as an immediate priority and are alert to the possible signs of bullying.

Our trained School Councillor, Mrs Ann Mansfield, is an important part of our pastoral support service, providing specialist skills of assessment and counselling. She is available to give confidential advice and counselling support to pupils who are referred via The Bridge.

Posters are displayed throughout the School giving advice on where pupils can seek help, including details of confidential help lines.

All boarding children have a password to enable them to have access to a telephone line from any phone in the School.

The Headmaster is in frequent contact with parents and holds several discussion evenings each year during which parents are invited to discuss any points of concern or interest. Any comments relating to the School Policy regarding bullying are acted upon in conjunction with advice from the SMT and staff at the School and adjustments are made as necessary.