Bullying is any behaviour which is intended to hurt someone in a sustained fashion and to make him or her uncomfortable or unhappy. This could be physical, verbal, emotional, personal or racial. This policy has been written in accordance with Bullying: don’t suffer in silence (DfES/0064/2000 and Safe to Learn: embedding anti-bullying work in schools. ( DCSF 2007).
The White House Prep and Woodentops Kindergarten and Day Nursery aims to teach the value of integrity, morality and a concern for others and to develop pupil’s self-confidence and independence so that they are well equipped to understand the community in which they live and will grow up in. All members of the school community should show courtesy, respect and consideration for others in their daily life at school. All members of the school should feel free from the fear of bullying. Everyone should feel able to speak out and report any concerns about bullying in the knowledge that they will be listened to and that the matter will be investigated. Bullying will not be tolerated.
Day Nursery and Kindergarten
As such, ‘bullying’ action requires the child to have a higher level of reasoning and thinking than most three years olds have. An outburst by a young child is therefore more likely to be a reflection of their emotional wellbeing, stage of development or behaviour that they have copied from someone else. Bullying at this age is a learnt action rather than deliberate behaviour. We take hurtful behaviour very seriously. Most children under the age of five will at some stage hurt or say something hurtful to another child, especially if their emotions are high at the time, but it is not helpful to label this behaviour as ‘bullying’. For children under five, hurtful behaviour is momentary, spontaneous and often without cognisance of the feelings of the person whom they have hurt.
Bullying can involve the persistent physical, emotional or verbal abuse of another child or children.
“Bullying may be defined as: Behaviour by an individual or group, repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group, either physically or emotionally“. Preventing and Tackling Bullying: Advice for School Leaders, Staff and Governing Bodies (see references).
Bullying
As has been stated before bullying will not be tolerated.
Bullying can be defined as “behaviour by an individual or group, repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally” (Guidance on Preventing and Tackling Bullying, Department for Education)
Put another way, bullying is the intentional hurting, harming or humiliating of another person by physical (including any threat of or use of violence of any kind), sexual, verbal (including via email, social media and SMS or other instant messages), and emotional (including by excluding, being sarcastic, name-calling, tormenting or spreading malicious rumours) means. It can involve 1 | Page manipulating a third party to tease or torment someone, or actions that fall short of direct participation, where someone encourages others to bully, or joins in with laughing at a victim. Bullying is often hidden and subtle. It can also be overt and intimidatory.
Bullying may involve actions or comments that are sexual or sexist, homophobic, racist, which focus on religion or cultural or family background, special educational needs, disabilities or physical attributes (such as hair colour or body shape). It may also be unpleasant in other ways.
Bullying can happen anywhere and at any time and can involve anyone – pupils, other young people, staff and parents.
It may include any of the following:
- Mental bullying:
- Name calling
- Taunting – verbal abuse
- Isolation – being sent to coventry
- Spreading rumours
- Threatening looks and gestures
- Writing unpleasant notes about someone else
- Racism
- Emotional abuse
- Physical bullying (including purposely damaging someone else’s property)
- Cyber Bullying
Cyberbullying can be defined as “the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that is intended to harm others”(Belsey, http://www.cyberbullying.org/). It is an aggressive, intentional act carried out repeatedly over time, often against a victim who cannot easily defend himself/ herself.
Cyber-bullying could involve communications by various electronic media, including for example:
- Texts, instant messages or calls on mobile phones;
- The use of mobile phone camera images to cause distress, fear or humiliation;
- Posting threatening, abusive, offensive or humiliating material or comments on websites (including blogs, personal websites and social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube);
- Using e-mail to message others in a threatening or abusive manner; or
- Hijacking/ cloning e-mail accounts.
BULLYING – PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
We take the following preventative measures in order to ensure that bullying does not become a problem which is associated with The White House Preparatory School and Woodentops Day Nursery.
Pupils
All new pupils [(including our youngest pupils)] are briefed thoroughly on the school’s expected standards of behaviour. They are told what to do if they encounter bullying. We 2 | Page guarantee that those who report bullying in good faith will not be punished and will be supported;
- We use appropriate assemblies to explain the school policy on bullying. Our PSHE programme is structured to give pupils an awareness of their social and moral responsibilities as they progress through the school. The programme is structured to enforce messages about community involvement and taking care of each other;
- Other lessons, particularly RE, English and Drama highlight the issue of bullying and reinforce this message by developing social skills and by teaching moral and spiritual values that show bullying to be unacceptable;
- All our pupils are encouraged to tell a member of staff at once if they know or suspect that bullying is taking place;
- We operate a peer House System , whereby older pupils are encouraged to offer advice and support to younger pupils;
- Anti-Bullying week is recognised and celebrated yearly with class work and assesmblies.
Staff
- Upon induction, all new members of staff are given guidance on the school’s anti-bullying policy and on how to react to and record allegations of bullying at The White House Preparatory School and Woodentops Day Nursery. All school staff understand the principles of the school policy, their legal responsibilities, actions to be taken to resolve and prevent problems and sources of further support;
- All reported incidents are recorded and investigated at once. We always monitor reported incidents. Records of any incidents are kept securely in the office in order that patterns of behaviour can be identified and monitored;
- Staff are always on duty at times when pupils are not in class and patrol the school site, particularly areas where bullying might occur. They are trained to be alert to inappropriate language or behaviour;
- The school has the right, and duty, to investigate incidents of bullying involving our pupils which take place outside school hours, on school visits and trips or that otherwise occur outside of school. The school has the right to take disciplinary measures in respect of such acts.
Parents
- We encourage close contact between the Class Teacher and parents/ guardians, and will always make contact if we are worried about a pupil’s well-being.
- We welcome feedback from parents and guardians on the effectiveness of our preventative measures and all other aspects and results of this anti-bullying policy
CYBERBULLYING – PREVENTATIVE MEASURE
For the prevention of cyber-bullying, in addition to the measures described above, The White House Preparatory School and Woodentops Day Nursery:
- Cyberbullying education and preventative measures are embedded into the E-Safety curriculum.
- Expects all pupils to adhere to its [policy for the safe use of the internet/ E-Safety Policy]. Certain sites are blocked by our filtering system and staff monitor pupils’ use;
- May impose disciplinary sanctions for the misuse, or attempted misuse, of the internet; 3 | Page
- Pupils do not have access to personal school email address. Access to social media sites and]personal email sites such as “hotmail” is not allowed from school computers/ tablets inside school;
- Offers guidance on the safe use of social networking sites and cyberbullying in ICT lessons, which covers blocking, removing contacts from “friend” lists and sharing personal data;
- Offers guidance on keeping names, addresses, passwords, mobile phone numbers and other personal details safe;
- Does not allow the use of mobile phones in classrooms, public areas of the school, or where they may cause annoyance to others; and Older children must hand in phones to teachers at the beginning of each day.
- Does not allow the use of cameras/ mobile phone cameras in toilets, washing and changing areas. Or at anytime when children are on their own with and adult.
Procedures for Dealing with Bullying in School
Bullying is much less likely to occur if everyone is open about it and therefore children are encouraged to “tell” if they are being bullied or know of someone who is being bullied. Any report of bullying will be taken seriously and the following procedures will be adopted as appropriate:
Establish facts by interviewing victims, witnesses and alleged bullies separately to begin with. Once facts are established bully and victim will be seen together by an appropriate adult so that the victim can have the opportunity of confronting the bully with the safety of an adult present (this needs careful handling and methods should be discussed with the Headteacher).
Parents of a bully may be called into school where bullying is serious or persistent and an action plan will be drawn up with appropriate sanctions.
When bullying is serious or persistent and sanctions are appropriate these will follow a similar hierarchy to those for other unacceptable behaviour.
If a child is showing bullying tendencies;
- We will intervene to stop the harming of the children.
- looking for a pattern or reason to behaviours
- We give reassurance to the children who have been hurt or upset.
- We help the child understand why his or her behaviour is inappropriate and the consequences.
- We promote an understanding of our emotions through empathy.
- We praise all children’s positive behaviour.
- Cases of suspected bullying will be investigated thoroughly and carefully. All those involved will be given the opportunity to talk about the matter with an appropriate person who will then take the appropriate action. A record of the investigation and its outcome will be made.
Pupils: If you are being bullied or you suspect that someone else is being bullied it is very important to tell someone who may be able to help. This may be a friend, a member of your House, a member of your family, your class teacher or anyone else that you feel able to confide in. It is important to share with another person any concern about bullying that is worrying you.
Staff: Staff who have concerns about bullying should tell an appropriate person. In most cases this 4 | Page will be the Principal, Head teacher or Head of Early Years. In the case of the Day Nursery this will be the Manager or the Principal.
Parents: Parents are encouraged to use our Complaints Procedure (which is published on our website) if they feel that any concerns about bullying (or anything else) are not being addressed properly. Parents of EYES children should be aware that they have the right to refer a complaint directly to Ofsted, if they are unhappy with the way in which their complaint has been handled. (The Complaints Procedure explains how to complain to Ofsted or ISI).
References
A Legal Requirement, an ISI Reporting Standard and OFSTED Standards for EYFS providers References: A. “Preventing and Tackling Bullying: Advice for School Leaders, Staff and Governing Bodies” DfE guidance B. ISI Handbook for the Inspection of Schools: The Regulatory Requirements, September 2010 C. Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework 2008 D. “Bullying”: An ISC Child Health and Wellbeing Working Party Guidance Update Five E. “Where You are NOT Alone” F. “Cyberbullying”- a briefing note on the ISBA web site by Farrer & Co G. “Child Protection and New Technologies” by Childnet International