Oylegate N.S.
Anti-Bullying Policy
1. In accordance with the
requirements of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 and the code of behaviour
guidelines issued by the NEWB, the Board of Management of Oylegate NS has
adopted the following anti-bullying policy within the framework of the school’s
overall code of behaviour. This policy fully complies with the requirements of
the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools which
were published in September 2013.
2. The Board of Management
recognises the very serious nature of bullying and the negative impact that it
can have on the lives of pupils and is therefore fully committed to the
following key principles of best practice in preventing and tackling bullying
behaviour:
Ø A positive school culture and climate which-
·
is welcoming of
difference and diversity and is based on inclusivity;
·
encourages pupils
to disclose and discuss incidents of bullying behaviour in a non-threatening
environment; and
·
promotes
respectful relationships across the school community;
Ø Effective leadership;
Ø A school-wide approach;
Ø A shared understanding of what bullying is and its
impact;
Ø Implementation of education and prevention strategies
(including awareness raising measures) that-
·
build empathy,
respect and resilience in pupils; and
·
explicitly
address the issues of cyber-bullying and identity-based bullying including in
particular, homophobic and transphobic bullying.
Ø Effective supervision and monitoring of pupils;
Ø Supports for staff;
Ø Consistent recording, investigation and follow up of
bullying behaviour (including use of established intervention strategies); and
Ø On-going evaluation of the effectiveness of the
anti-bullying policy.
3. In
accordance with the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary
Schools bullying is defined as follows:
Bullying is unwanted negative behaviour, verbal,
psychological or physical conducted, by an individual or group against another
person (or persons) and which is repeated over time.
The following
types of bullying behaviour are included in the definition of bullying:
·
deliberate
exclusion, malicious gossip and other forms of relational bullying,
·
cyber-bullying
and
·
identity-based
bullying such as homophobic bullying, racist bullying, bullying based on a
person’s membership of the Traveller community and bullying of those with
disabilities or special educational needs.
Isolated or
once-off incidents of intentional negative behaviour, including a once-off
offensive or hurtful text message or other private messaging, do not fall
within the definition of bullying and should be dealt with, as appropriate, in
accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.
However, in
the context of this policy, placing a once-off offensive or hurtful public
message, image or statement on a social network site or other public forum
where that message, image or statement can be viewed and/or repeated by other
people will be regarded as bullying behaviour.
Negative
behaviour that does not meet this definition of bullying will be dealt with in
accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.
Additional
information on different types of bullying is set out in Section 2 of the Anti-Bullying
Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools.
4. The
relevant teachers for investigating and dealing with bullying are as follows:
Initially, the
child’s class teacher.
Then:
Mark Kelly,
Principal.
Caitríona
Whelehan, Deputy Principal
5. The
education and prevention strategies (including strategies specifically aimed at
cyber- bullying and identity-based bullying including in particular, homophobic
and transphobic bullying) that may be used by the school are as follows:
·
Bullying
in general: Stay Safe programme, Walk Tall, RSE, Circle Time, SALT, Prim-Ed
Bullying series of books
·
Cyberbullying:
www.webwise.ie, www.internetsafety.ie, www.digizen.org, Get With It programme, Garda visits
·
Identity-based
Bullying:Walk Tall – Ways of Seeing, Feelings modules
6. The
school’s procedures for investigation, follow-up and recording of bullying
behaviour and the established intervention strategies used by the school for
dealing with cases of bullying behaviour are as follows:
Child to Child Bullying
1. The primary aim for
the relevant teacher in investigating and dealing with bullying is to resolve
any issues and to restore, as far as is practicable, the relationships of the
parties involved (rather than to apportion blame);
2. In investigating
and dealing with bullying, the teacher will exercise his/her professional
judgement to determine whether bullying has occurred and how best the situation
might be resolved;
3. All reports,
including anonymous reports of bullying must be investigated and dealt with by
the relevant teacher. In that way pupils will gain confidence in ‘telling’.
This confidence factor is of vital importance. It should be made clear to all
pupils that when they report incidents of bullying they are not considered to
be telling tales but are behaving responsibly;
4. Non-teaching staff
such as secretaries, special needs assistants (SNAs), bus escorts, caretakers,
cleaners must be encouraged to report any incidents of bullying behaviour
witnessed by them, or mentioned to them, to the relevant teacher;
5. Parents and pupils
are required to co-operate with any investigation and assist the school in
resolving any issues and restoring, as far as is practicable, the relationships
of the parties involved as quickly as possible;
6. It is very
important that all involved (including each set of pupils and parents)
understand the above approach from the outset;
7. Teachers should
take a calm, unemotional problem-solving approach when dealing with incidents
of alleged bullying behaviour reported by pupils, staff or parents;
8. Incidents are
generally best investigated outside the classroom situation to ensure the
privacy of all involved;
9. All interviews
should be conducted with sensitivity and with due regard to the rights of all
pupils concerned. Pupils who are not directly involved can also provide very
useful information in this way;
10. When analysing
incidents of bullying behaviour, the relevant teacher should seek answers to
questions of what, where, when, who and why. This should be done in a calm
manner, setting an example in dealing effectively with a conflict in a
non-aggressive manner;
11. If a group is
involved, each member should be interviewed individually at first. Thereafter,
all those involved should be met as a group. At the group meeting, each member
should be asked for his/her account of what happened to ensure that everyone in
the group is clear about each other’s statements;
12. Each member of
a group should be supported through the possible pressures that they may face
them from the other members of the group after interview by the teacher;
13. It may also be
appropriate or helpful to ask those involved to write down their account of the
incident(s);
14. In cases where
it has been determined by the relevant teacher that bullying behaviour has
occurred, the parents of the parties involved should be contacted at an early
stage to inform them of the matter and explain the actions being taken (by
reference to the school policy). The school should give parents an opportunity
of discussing ways in which they can reinforce or support the actions being
taken by the school and the supports for their pupils;
15. Where the
relevant teacher has determined that a pupil has been engaged in bullying
behaviour, it should be made clear to him/her how he/she is in breach of the
school’s anti-bullying policy and efforts should be made to try to get him/her
to see the situation from the perspective of the pupil being bullied;
16. It must also be
made clear to all involved (each set of pupils and parents) that in any situation
where disciplinary sanctions are required, this is a private matter between the
pupil being disciplined, his or her parents and the school;
17. Follow-up
meetings with the relevant parties involved should be arranged separately with
a view to possibly bringing them together at a later date if the pupil who has
been bullied is ready and agreeable. This can have a therapeutic effect;
18. In cases where
the relevant teacher considers that the bullying behaviour has not been
adequately and appropriately addressed within 20 school days after he/she has
determined that bullying behaviour has occurred, it must be recorded by the
relevant teacher in the recording template at Appendix A
19. In determining
whether a bullying case has been adequately and appropriately addressed the
relevant teacher must, as part of his/her professional judgement, take the
following factors into account:
a. Whether the
bullying behaviour has ceased;
b. Whether any issues
between the parties have been resolved as far as is practicable;
c. Whether the
relationships between the parties have been restored as far as is practicable;
and
d. Any feedback
received from the parties involved, their parents or the school Principal or
Deputy Principal;
20. Where a parent
is not satisfied that the school has dealt with a bullying case in accordance
with these procedures, the parents must be referred, as appropriate, to the
school’s complaints procedures;
21. In the event
that a parent has exhausted the school's complaints procedures and is still not
satisfied, the school must advise the parents of their right to make a
complaint to the Ombudsman for Children.
Bullying by Adults
In the case of intra-staff
bullying, Oylegate
National School
will adopt the procedures outlined in Section C (c2) of the INTO booklet:
‘Working Together: Procedures and Policies for Positive Staff Relations’. A copy of this document is available for free
download on the INTO website.
In the case of Teacher – Child
bullying, a complaint should in the first instance be raised with the
teacher in question by the parent/guardian of the child if possible and then if
necessary referred to the Principal.
Where it has not been possible to agree a framework for resolution, the
matter should be referred in writing by both parties to the Board of Management
for investigation.
In the case of Parent – Teacher bullying,
the Principal should be informed in the first instance, and if deemed necessary
the Board of Management should subsequently be informed in writing. The process
will continue in line with the school policy on Parental Communication.
In the case of Parent/Visitor to
the school – Child bullying, the complaint should be referred in the first
instance to the child’s class teacher and subsequently to the Principal if
unresolved.
In the case of Principal – Parent/ Child bullying, the matter
should be raised with the Principal if possible, or referred to the Chairperson
of the Board of Management.
7. The
school’s programme of support for working with pupils affected by bullying is
as follows (see Section 6.8 of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and
Post-Primary Schools) :
Responding to Bullying
Support will be provided for
anyone who is bullied by offering them an immediate opportunity to talk about
their experience with their teacher or other teacher, along with continuing
support when they feel they may need it. A victim will be assured that the
school community will help them and put monitoring procedures in place to
safeguard them.
The school will inform parents/guardians of what has happened and of the
measures being taken to help them, encourage them to report further incidences
if they occur.
Help and support will be sought for a bully.
This will include speaking with them to discover why they became involved, informing their
parents/guardians and continuing to work with them in order to modify their
behaviour. The school code of behaviour applies to bullying. The bully will be
helped to see things from the victim’s point of view. Bullies may be excluded
from the playground at lunch break or subject to special monitoring procedures
and if bullying continues they may be suspended in accordance with procedure.
Any pupil who is involved in retaliation against a pupil who reports
bullying will be subject to the school code of discipline. Incidents of
bullying will be used as opportunities for re-enforcing the anti-bullying
policy of the school. Follow-up meetings may be arranged to assess progress
and/or restore relationships.
8.
Supervision and Monitoring of Pupils
The Board of
Management confirms that appropriate supervision and monitoring policies and
practices are in place to both prevent and deal with bullying behaviour and to
facilitate early intervention where possible.
9.
Prevention of Harassment
The Board of
Management confirms that the school will, in accordance with its obligations
under equality legislation, take all such steps that are reasonably practicable
to prevent the sexual harassment of pupils or staff or the harassment of pupils
or staff on any of the nine grounds specified i.e. gender including
transgender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability,
race and membership of the Traveller community.
10. This
policy was adopted by the Board of Management on ________________ [date].
11. This
policy has been made available to school personnel, published on the school
website (or where none exists, is otherwise readily accessible to parents and
pupils on request) and provided to the Parents’ Association (where one exists).
A copy of this policy will be made available to the Department and the patron
if requested.
12. This
policy and its implementation will be reviewed by the Board of Management once
in every school year. Written notification that the review has been completed
will be made available to school personnel, published on the school website (or
where none exists, be otherwise readily accessible to parents and pupils on
request) and provided to the Parents’ Association (where one exists). A record
of the review and its outcome will be made available, if requested, to the
patron and the Department.
Signed: ________________________Signed:
___________________________
(Chairperson
of Board of Management) (Principal)
Date:
______________ Date:
__________________
Date of
next review: _______________
Appendix A