Dealing with Bullying

---

We worked with St Joseph's to develop a joint anti-bullying policy. All children in the school have been made aware of our strategies for dealing with incidences of bullying. These can be viewed by clicking here

---

Our school anti-bullying policy is as follows:

Anti Bullying Policy for St.Joseph's and Trinity St Mary's Schools
As a result of consultations between the whole staff of both schools during the Spring Term of 2006, the following anti-bullying policy was agreed.
Long term objectives:
1] That children will feel safe in school
2] That parents and carers will have confidence in our schools' policy and practice
3] That all staff will be familiar with and will implement the policy
4] That incidents will be dealt with effectively

Our definition of bullying is as follows:
1] Bullying is deliberate behaviour, creating fear in an individual.
2] It is defined as one sided, persistent attack which can be physical, psychological, social or verbal, with the intention of causing distress.

This child friendly version of the definition is to be approved by both school councils:

"Being bullied is when you are afraid of what someone keeps saying or doing to you."

How do we know when and if a bullying issue is serious?

Bullying is serious when it is perceived to be serious to the individual and when their well being at home and in school is affected.

Creating a Telling School
The anti bullying policy is for all pupils and all staff working within the school with support from carers and parents.

Despite all efforts to prevent it, bullying behaviour is likely to occur on occasion and we at St Joseph's and Trinity St Mary's schools recognise this. We are ready to expect and address this.

We acknowledge that we should conduct a survey to find the extent and type of bullying in our schools.

We must discuss the definition of bullying with all the children in the schools and explain aspects of confidentiality. It is agreed that staff have a right to access relevant information from children on a need to know basis and this must be communicated to the children.

Committing the school to action

Prevention of bullying will be undertaken by using a whole school approach.

All staff should model positive behaviour and should avoid:
a]Sarcastic comments
b]Derogatory nicknames
c]Dominating and humiliating behaviour
Staff will listen to pupils when they are willing to talk about bullying and will be sensitive to a pupil's need for privacy and respect, whilst also being aware of the schools' child protection policy.

Pupil Charter
We agree that young people have
*the right to be safe
*the right to learn and be taught
*the right to respect others and be respected

Responses to bullying behaviour
It is agreed that we use the Support Group Approach when dealing with an incident of bullying. This is defined as following a seven step procedure:

Step 1: talk with the targeted pupil
Step 2: convene a meeting with the people involved
Step 3: explain the problem to all those involved
Step 4: share responsibility
Step 5: ask the group members for their ideas
Step 6: leave it up to them
Step 7: meet them again

See Appendix 1 for detailed explanation of the Support Group Approach for adults.
See Appendix 2 for detailed explanation of the Support Group Approach for children
It is essential that all bullying incidents are recorded and kept in a secure place. All follow up work must also be recorded and kept in a secure place.