BALLINTEER COMMUNITY SCHOOL ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

 

Introductory Statement:

 

This is the Anti-Bullying Policy for Ballinteer Community School and

was initiated by Ms. Joanne Logue, Ms. Patricia Lynch, Ms. Laura

Nolan, Ms. Margaret O’Brien, Mr. Kevin O’Connor, Ms. Bridie

O’Sullivan and Ms. Carmel Wolohan. All the members of the school

community: the Board of Management, the entire school staff,

parents and students collaborated in the creation of this policy. This

policy is printed in Verdana Font to facilitate accessibility by all our

students.

 

This policy aims to establish the framework within which the whole

school community will manage issues relating to bullying and the

school’s strategies to prevent bullying behaviour. It will determine

its scope, rationale, and relationship to the characteristic spirit of

the school. The goals, objectives and key measures of this policy

will be linked to other policies in the school and to curriculum

development such as in SPHE, Friendship Week etc. This code

operates in conjunction with the Teaching Council’s Code of

Professional Practice, the ACCS/TUI/ASTI Codes of Practice and all

relevant Department of Education and Skills legislation. The

implementation arrangements such as the date and details, roles

and responsibilities, ratification and communication, monitoring the

policy and reviewing and evaluating it will also be included.

 

Our aim is to produce a policy which is both usable and achievable.

Although an idealistic policy may sound preferable on paper, it is

unattainable in practice and we, therefore, feel that a more practical

approach is desirable for the optimum benefit to the school as a

whole.

 

Scope

 

The policy deals primarily with any form of bullying – physical,

mental, emotional or verbal – of any person in our school

community.

 

The policy applies to a variety of time periods/activities as follows:

 

· School times (including break times),

· Going to and from school,

· School outings and trips,

· Corridors,

· Extra curricular activities.

 

Furthermore the policy applies outside the school if the behaviour

impacts on any person’s participation in our school.

 

It deals with negative behaviours and attitudes which arise or occur

in school and which affect the progress and sense of emotional wellbeing

of students or other people at the school. The policy will

outline the necessary steps to be taken when a bullying incident is

reported.

 

Rationale

 

1. To increase awareness of bullying behaviour in the school

community.

2. The role of all members of the school community-

management, teaching, secretarial and auxiliary staff, parents

and students is to care for each other and to provide everyone

with a safe environment.

3. By law it is the responsibility of schools to develop an Anti-

Bullying policy.

4. As a staff it is considered a priority issue.

Relationship to the Characteristic Spirit of the School’s

Mission, Vision and Aims.

 

Ballinteer Community School is a co-educational school. Ballinteer

Community School is committed to providing quality education to its

students. The school is dedicated to imparting to them strong moral

values, a love of learning, concern for others and the skills

necessary to lead purposeful and meaningful lives in their

communities.

 

The ethos of the school is promoted in an inclusive way so that

students, according to their religious traditions, have a strong

conviction of their Faith and an intellectual curiosity and religious

commitment to develop and deepen their knowledge of it.

 

An Anti-Bullying policy is essential to promote mutual respect and

inclusion between all students and staff.

 

Goals and Objectives

 

1. To ensure students learn in a supportive, caring and safe

environment, without fear of being bullied.

2.To create a school ethos which encourages students to

disclose and discuss incidents of bullying behaviour.

3. To raise awareness of bullying as an unacceptable form of

behaviour with school management, teachers, non-teaching

staff, students and parents/guardians.

4. To create a school ethos that acknowledges, accommodates

and respects a diversity of people across the nine grounds

covered by the equality legislation.

5. To take practical actions to prevent incidents of bullying

behaviour.

6. To develop procedures for investigating and dealing with

incidents of bullying behaviour.

7. To develop procedures for noting and recording incidents of

bullying behaviour.

8. To develop a programme of support for those affected by or

involved in bullying behaviour.

Key Measures

 

Definition of Bullying

 

Bullying is typically a repeated action by an individual or a group

against others. Such actions may be verbal, psychological, physical

or electronic. A once-off incident may be bullying if it leaves the

person in ongoing fear and affects their daily well-being.

 

This may not be confused with the good natured banter that goes

on as part of the normal social interchange between students or the

normal professional classroom management by teachers.

 

Sexual Harassment: any form of unwanted conduct in relation to

any of the nine grounds named in the equality legislation that has

the purposed effect of violating a person’s dignity and creating an

intimidating, hostile, degrading or offensive environment for the

victim.

 

All members of the school community are subject to this code,

particularly the following relationships:

 

• Student to Student,

• Student to any Staff member,

• Staff member to Student,

• Parent to Staff member,

• Staff member to Parent,

• Staff member to Staff member.

The following are some examples of unacceptable behaviour. This

list is not an exhaustive list. Similar unacceptable behaviours may

be considered as bullying.

Types of Examples of Behaviour:

 

Bullying:

These may be physical, verbal or psychological in nature,

and may target any of the 9 areas of possible

discrimination covered by the Equal Status Acts 20002008:

Gender, Marital Status, Family Status, Sexual

Orientation, Religion, Age, Race, Membership of the

Travelling Community, Disability.

 

General

• Harassment,

• Humiliation ,

• Threatening language,

• Physical aggression,

• Damage to property,

• Name calling/ slagging/ ridicule of personal characteristics,

• Criticism of person’s clothes or possessions,

• Graffiti,

• Extortion,

• Intimidation/ Victimisation,

• Gestures/ Expressions,

• Invasion of personal space,

• Prolonged nagging e.g. kicking the back of a chair etc.,

• Organised fights,

• Spreading rumours /telling lies,

· Isolation.

Cyber

• Silent telephone/mobile phone calls,

• Abusive telephone/ mobile phone calls,

• Abusive text messages/ email,

• Taking/sending photographs by electronic device,

• Creating sites about a particular person,

• Abusive website comments/ blogs/ pictures,

• Video recording.

Homophobic

• Spreading rumours about a person’s sexual orientation, 

• Taunting a person of a different sexual orientation,

• Name calling e.g. ‘Gay’,

• Exclusion based on a person’s sexual orientation.

• Discrimination, prejudice, comments or insults about

Racial

 

colour, nationality, culture, social class, religious

beliefs, employment, ethnic or traveller background,

 

•

Exclusion, 5

· Imitating accents.

Relational This involves manipulating relationships as a means of

 

NB: A false claim of bullying against a member of the school

community will be treated as a very serious misbehaviour in

our school.

 

Identifying Actions to Prevent Bullying Behaviour

 

Publishing and Publicising an Anti-Bullying Policy

 

•

Excerpts from the Anti-Bullying Policy will be visible

throughout the school in corridors and classrooms.

•

It will be published on the school web-site, in the students’

journal and in the school Code of Behaviour.

•

The Anti-Bullying Policy will be promoted at various occasions

e.g. parents’ nights, first year enrolment and open nights.

Noting and Recording Instances of Bullying

 

•

A folder with spare forms will be kept in the class/staff room.

•

Any incidents of bullying will be recorded and filed by staff in

this folder.

•

The relevant Dean or Tutor will then decide on what action is

to be taken.

•

The reports will be collected by the Deputy Principal on a daily

basis and added to both the school records and the student’s

file.

Supervision and Monitoring

 

•

Bullying “black spots” within the school will be identified and

monitored during break times.

•

Staff will be vigilant and follow the above procedures as

incidents arise.

•

A questionnaire will be given to students every term. This will

give students an opportunity to voice concerns. Every student

must write something down.

•

Social networking sites will continue to be blocked. The Anti-

Bullying Policy operates in conjunction with the school’s

Acceptable Use Policy.

Student Involvement

 

•

Senior students will continue to assist newcomers to the

school through the “Buddy” programme, thus helping the new

student to “settle in”.

 

· The Student Council will play an important role in both the

organisation and implementation of “Friendship Week”.

Inclusion in the Curriculum

 

 

•

SPHE: The “Cool School” Anti-Bullying lesson plans and/or

similar plans will be implemented in SPHE class and/or

Friendship Week.

•

CSPE: Linkages can be made within the “Human Dignity” and

“Rights and Responsibilities” section of the curriculum that will

encourage positive behaviour between students.

•

Guidance and Counselling Service: Interviews will be held with

First Year students to assess how they are settling into the

school.

•

The Chaplaincy service will continue to provide a trusting and

confidential facility for students.

•

Friendship Week: The topic of bullying will be explored in

varying ways across all year groups in a variety of different

subjects.

Involving Parents and the Wider Community

 

•

Awareness of the Anti-Bullying Policy will be raised on

parents’ nights e.g. First Year enrolment and open nights.

•

A text will be sent to Parents/guardians when the

questionnaires are being distributed to the students. This will

give them an opportunity to discuss their son/daughter’s

responses with them.

•

There will be continued involvement with the local community

to gain awareness of any existing problems. Contact will be

made with shop owners, An Garda Siochána and residents’

associations among others.

Friendship Week

 

•

Friendship Week will be an integral part of the school’s Anti-

Bullying programme.

•

It will be a cross-curricular initiative.

•

It will involve the wider community and will provide a forum

for guest speakers to contribute.

•

It will send a clear message to all that Ballinteer Community

School is pro-active in alleviating the problem of bullying.

Friendship Week Proposal

 

 

•

The first lesson of each day will concentrate on an Anti-

Bullying theme, and all the other lessons during the week will

incorporate an Anti-Bullying message.

•

Different Year Groups will undertake an activity that promotes

the values of friendship and respect.

•

Proposed activities include a table quiz (based on the themes

of friendship, respect, bravery etc), a poster campaign, drama

and the making and wearing of friendship bracelets (This

would give students an opportunity to outwardly display their

support for this programme).

•

The Student Council will also play a role in making

presentations to students on how to deal with bullying and

recognising the signs of bullying in others.

The Steps to be taken in Dealing with Bullying Incidents:

 

Reporting procedures for Students:

 

•

Who to tell?

o

Parents,

o

Friends, who will speak on your behalf,

o

Principal,

o

Deputy Principal,

o

Tutor,

o

Dean,

o

Guidance Counsellor,

o

Chaplain,

o

Student’s Council,

o

Student ‘Buddy’,

o

Any staff member with whom the student feels

comfortable.

•

How to tell?

o

Talk to the person you want to tell,

o

Get a parent or friend to tell on your behalf,

o

Write it down in the questionnaire which will be given

out once a term to all students1 ,

o

Hand up a note at roll call/with homework,

o

By email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . The student must

give their name and the email will be responded to.

 

•

How can parents tell?

o

They can phone the Principal, Deputy Principal, Dean or

Tutor.

o

They too can use the email.

o

They can make an appointment to visit the school.

o

They can write to the school Principal

Procedures for Investigating and Resolving Bullying

 

1. Initial report/disclosure of bullying behaviour to a staff

member in the first instance:

Action

taken

by

Staff

Member

Tutor

Procedure Support and/or sanction

may include

Listen to the student and refer

to Tutor or Dean immediately

Have them write down the

behaviours and how it is

affecting them as early as

possible.

Talk with alleged bully re

their behaviour and their

experiences of incidents

mentioned.

Have the alleged bully write

down an account of their

behaviours and their effects

asap.

Challenge bullying behaviour

as being unacceptable.

Discuss possible solutions

with both parties separately

/together if appropriate.

The guidance councillor or

chaplain may be involved if

appropriate.

Write down a record of all

conversations.

Inform the Dean of the

complaint.

Refer complainant/others to

Chaplain/ Guidance

Make further appointment to

discuss situation with

complainant and/or other

 

 

relevant individuals.

 

Record details of complaint on

official form for DP Appendix 1

 

If a second incident of bullying

occurs with either student/s,

refer matter to Care

Team/Dean/Deputy Principal /

Principal

 

It is vital that the person reporting the incident is protected from

victimisation. Whoever is dealing with the incident must be discreet

and careful. Staff will support students who report bullying by

conducting follow-up meetings with them.

 

New staff must also be made familiar with the policy during their

induction.

 

2. Subsequent report /disclosure:

Action taken by Procedure Support and/or

sanction may include:

Any teacher, Incident investigated by the Serious talk with the

Tutor, Dean Dean using Cool School student re: behaviour and

involved Restorative Approach. future behaviour.

Member of the Principal/ Deputy Principal Sign written agreement re

Care Committee informed. future behaviour.

may be involved.

Both sets of parents Parents/Guardians sign

informed by the Dean written agreement re

future behaviour.

Keep a record.

Parents of /and students

Dean follows up progress involved in the incident

with victim and bully, speak with school

bystanders or others counsellor.

involved by interview.

Detention /other agreed

sanction from school’s

Code of Behaviour.

Monitor future behaviour

 

10

 

 

 

of all involved by follow up

interviews.

of all involved by follow up

interviews.

3. Where bullying behaviour persists / serious incidents of

bullying:

Action taken by: Procedure Support and/or

Sanction

Principal or Deputy Parents and student Detention / Suspension

Principal involved meet with Principal / / other agreed sanction

Deputy Principal. from school’s Code of

Dean Behaviour.

Use Cool School

Restorative Approach Parents are met and

Care Committee may be conditions set

involved. Feedback to Dean. regarding student’s

future behaviour.

The incident may be Record kept.

referred to the Board of Counselling offered.

Management at the Follow up progress with

discretion of the victim and bully, Referral to child

Principal. bystanders or others psychologist/ Garda

involved and continue to Juvenile Liaison

monitor the situation. Officer.

Contact with other

support agencies e.g.

re anger management.

The future of the

student in the school

may be considered.

 

Note:

 

•

Records of bullying incidents will be kept in this school for 5

years after all involved in the incident have left the school.

11

 

 

· All serious incidents of bullying (e.g. an assault or long term

exclusion) should be reported to the Principal straight away.

Links to other policies

 

School policies need to be consistent with one another and within

the framework of the overall School Plan. Relevant school policies

already in place or being reviewed should be examined by reference

to the Anti-Bullying Policy and any implications which it has for

them.

 

The following policies may be among those considered:

Admissions Policy

Attendance Policy

Child Protection Guidelines

Code of Behaviour

Critical Incident Policy

Guidance Counselling Policy

Health and Safety Policy

Induction for new staff and students

Internet Safety: Acceptable Use Policy

Policy on Illegal Substances

 

S.E.N. Policy

SPHE/RSE Policy

Implementation Arrangements, Roles and Responsibilities

 

 

The Anti-Bullying policy shall indicate the individual roles,

responsibilities and obligations of staff, students and parents. These

roles and responsibilities shall be clearly outlined to existing staff

and shall be communicated to all new staff at induction.

 

Students shall be made aware of their own individual roles and

responsibilities during pastoral sessions.

 

The people who have responsibility for implementing each action

and their roles are outlined as follows:

 

1. The Principal and Deputy Principal shall be responsible for the

implementation of the Anti-Bullying Policy.

2. The implementation

of the policy will take place after the

Board of Management meeting with the date to be confirmed.

When this date is confirmed the policy will be implemented

through the following actions, group assemblies, induction of

new staff and students, correspondence to parents, parent

teacher meetings and the school website. For each of the

above the Principal and Deputy Principal will implement a date

and procedure for assuring that the policy is accepted and

widely recognised by the school’s staff, students and

parents/guardians.

The roles for each individual are as follows:

 

•

Principal: The Principal shall have overall control and

responsibility for the implementation of the policy including its

publicity at staff meetings, parent teacher meetings and

assemblies. He/she will be responsible for its ratification.

•

Deputy Principal: The Deputy Principal shall have the same

responsibilities as the Principal. He/she shall have the

responsibility of carrying out consistent surveys on anti-

bullying. Also he/she shall liaise with staff on a regular basis

regarding bullying behaviour. A file of incident reports shall be

collected on a daily basis so as to develop a profile on bullying

behaviour.

•

Care Team: The Care Team shall be responsible for

developing awareness of anti-bullying and of the importance

of reporting. The Care Team will run an awareness week

(Friendship week) to enable the publicity of the anti bullying

policy in the school. The Care Team shall also be responsible

for the care of both the injured party and the accused so as to

attempt to eliminate further episodes of bullying behaviour.

The Care Team shall be responsible for communicating

incidents of bullying behaviour to the relevant teacher, tutor

or parent .

 

•

Dean: Will be responsible for the disciplinary action of any

student accused of bullying behaviour. Where necessary they

will be responsible for contacting parents and the relevant

authorities. The Dean will be responsible for the recording of

all information regarding all incidents and meetings.

•

Class Tutor: The class tutor, in conjunction with the relevant

Dean shall be responsible for the disciplinary action and

reporting of all incidents of bullying behaviour.

•

Class Teacher: Must report all incidents of bullying behaviour

to the relevant tutor or member of the Care Team. The

teacher must document all incidents of bullying behaviour

within their classroom or outside of it e.g. corridors etc. This

written report shall be submitted to the Deputy Principal.

Teachers will fully participate and facilitate meetings and

promotion of the anti bullying policy. All teachers must be

constantly vigilant of any bullying behaviour with the children

under their care.

•

SPHE Coordinator: The SPHE coordinator shall along with the

SPHE teachers promote the awareness of what bullying is in

SPHE classes. The coordinator shall also be an integral part of

the promotion of Friendship week within the school. Speakers

including the Gardaí should be called upon to facilitate

awareness within the school body.

•

Guidance Counsellor: The Guidance Counsellor shall be

responsible, along with the Care Team, for highlighting

awareness of anti-bullying initiatives and of bullying behaviour

within the school and related activities. He/she will also have

the responsibility of reporting incidents and dealing with the

counselling of the relevant student/s.

•

Home School Community Liaison Co-ordinator: This person

shall organise parenting skill programmes as well as

assertiveness and communication skills programmes

•

Board of Management: Shall have the overall responsibility for

implementing the anti-bullying policy. They will facilitate the

promotion and awareness of it throughout the school.

•

Student: The student will have the responsibility of complying

with the anti-bullying policy. The student will also have the

responsibility of reporting incidents of bullying that they are

subject to or have witnessed. The student will also have the

responsibility to participate actively in anti-bullying initiatives.

•

Parent/Guardian: The parent or guardian will have the

responsibility of upholding the recommendations within the

policy and accepting the sanctions held within it. Where

incidents of bullying are occurring to their child, they will have

the responsibility of reporting this to the relevant Dean or

Tutor. The parent/guardian will have the responsibility of

 

signing the anti-bullying policy on behalf of their child and

therefore agreeing to be bound by it.

 

•

Staff members: shall have the responsibility of reporting all

incidents of bullying behaviour that they have witnessed or

are aware of.

Ratification and Communication

 

Board of Management

 

After the consultation process, Ballinteer Community School’s policy

on Anti-Bullying was submitted to the Board of Management for

ratification. This policy was ratified on June 30th 2011.

 

Staff

 

After ratification at a Board of Management meeting, a staff

meeting will be called to familiarise everyone fully with the content

of the policy and the procedures agreed within it.

 

They need to be aware of any changes in school rules and sanctions

that have been agreed and may impact on their day-to-day lives in

school.

 

New staff must also be made familiar with the policy during their

induction. (Staff will already have been invited to submit their

proposals to the Anti-Bullying Policy up to a certain date and

thereafter will be bound to act within the policy guidelines).

 

Students

 

A class session will be held with each class group to familiarise them

with the policy. It is important that each student is familiar with and

agrees to the sanctions and rules held within this documentation.

 

Parents/Guardians

 

A meeting will be called for current parents/guardians to brief them

on the Policy. A copy of the policy should be sent to the homes of all

students and parents/guardians should then be asked to sign a

 

 

statement indicating that they have read the policy and agree to be

bound by it.

 

Prospective parents/guardians and students should be informed of

the Anti-Bullying Policy at enrolment. The parents/guardians will be

asked to sign the Anti-Bullying Policy to indicate that they

understand, support and accept it. Signing of this document is a

prerequisite for admission to Ballinteer Community School

 

Implementation Date

 

June 30th 2011

 

Monitoring and Implementation of the Policy

 

The implementation of the policy will be monitored by looking at the

records of how the school has dealt with cases of bullying. The Care

Team will do this annually and produce a written report to be

considered by The Board of Management.

 

To facilitate this process:

 

•

Student questionnaires will be given by the Deputy Principal

to Class Tutors and distributed once a term (3 times a year).

These will be returned to the Class Tutors for analysis and

referred onto the Dean or Deputy Principal if the need arises.

•

A file/folder containing blank incident report forms will be

located in the staff room for teachers to fill in and be returned

to the file for collection by the Deputy Principal each day.

Forms will be kept on student files in Deputy Principal’s office.

•

Staff will be reminded of carrying out the surveys by the

Deputy Principal beforehand or at staff meetings.

Reviewing and Evaluating the Policy

 

The policy will be reviewed and evaluated every two years to ensure

it is being adhered to and that it continues to meet the needs of the

school. Ongoing review should be in line with any changing

information or guidelines (e.g. from the Department of Education

and Skills or the NEWB), legislation and feedback from

parents/guardians, students, staff members and others. The policy

will be revised as necessary in the light of such review and

evaluation and within the framework of school planning. The

 

 

following evaluation tools may be used to review and evaluate the

Anti-Bullying policy.

 

Possible methods of review:

 

o

Questionnaire,

o

Random Surveys,

o

Staff meetings,

o

Parents meetings,

o

Feedback from the student body,

o

SPHE class.

Ballinteer Community School Anti-Bullying Policy.

 

A. Student Section.

I (student’s name in block capitals) _________________________

have read the Anti-Bullying policy and I agree to act in accordance

with it.

 

Signed: _________________________ Date: ___________

 

Parent’s/ Guardian’s Section.

 

I (parent’s/ guardian’s name) _____________________________

have read the Anti-Bullying Policy and I agree that my child/ the

young person in my care will be bound by its rules.

 

Signed: __________________________ Date: __________