Cramond Primary Anti bullying & Equalities policy May 2016 Download

Cramond Primary School: Equality, Diversity and Anti-Bullying Policy and Procedures 2015 – 2018 Revised and updated May 2016

Cramond Primary Anti-Bullying & Equalities Policy
OUR SCHOOL’S VALUES AND BELIEFS
 All pupils and staff have the right to feel happy, safe and included.
 Our shared values of mutual respect between staff and pupils, high expectations of success within a caring and supportive environment form the basis of our positive school ethos. Within our wider school community, we promote tolerance and understanding of one another and value diversity.
 We are committed to advancing equality of opportunity for all and we work actively towards eliminating all forms of bullying and discrimination.
 We recognise the effects that bullying and discrimination can have on pupils’ feelings of worth, on their school work and in the community. We actively foster good relations between diverse groups and individuals. We have transformed our playground in order that all learners have a positive playtime experience with opportunities for choice and variety of play experience. The play landscape (Our PLACE) supports group and individual play – offers creative, imaginative and team building opportunities in addition to competitive games. This reduces risk of emotional
upset or exclusion based on ability or interest. Positive, inclusive play is actively promoted at Cramond (See Our Place, policy and risk benefit/risk assessment documentation)
Bullying – a definition
Bullying is an abuse of (assumed) power. People who are bullied are very upset by something someone else has done or said to them or about them. They are likely to fear that this will happen again and feel powerless to stop it. Their own dignity or ‘agency’ has been diminished. Bullying is also a
breach of children’s rights under several articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Cyber-bullying is bullying behaviour that takes place via mobile phone or social media.
“Bullying … can make you feel frightened, threatened, left out and hurt. Something only needs to
happen once for you to feel worried or scared to go to school or other places you enjoy going to. Just
because someone doesn’t realise how hurtful their behaviour is doesn’t mean it’s not bullying”
(Respectme)
Equalities – a definition
We use the legal definition of ‘equalities’ which gives protection to people who have specific characteristics – for example being gay, lesbian or bisexual or from a minority ethnic group or disabled or old. It also includes boys and girls and anyone undergoing gender change, as well as those of particular faith groups. The Equality Act 2010 defines these as ‘protected groups’. Looked-after children, young carers and children and young people from poor backgrounds can also be included as equalities groups.
Racism
The Council uses the same classification as Police Scotland, taken from the MacPherson report on the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry that took place in 1999, i.e. “A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person”
While this is not absolutely definitive, it requires all allegations to be treated seriously from the outset, investigated and if substantiated dealt with and then recorded. This approach is in line with our antibullying
procedures and all forms of identity-based bullying.
Cramond Primary School: Equality, Diversity and Anti-Bullying Policy and Procedures
2015 – 2018 Revised and updated May 2016
2
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Head Teacher, Mrs Donaldson is responsible for introducing and implementing this policy. She is
also responsible for nominating an Equalities Coordinator who is familiar with Council equalities guidance, including the most recent guidance on Supporting Transgender young people. However all staff, all pupils and their parents have an active part to play in the development and maintenance of the policy, and in its success. The school regularly discusses being left out, isolated or picked on as part of weekly assembly, during class circle times and in Personal Social Health lessons. We have used visiting
theatre companies to support our use of media to promote discussion and awareness of inequality.
Our school mantra:
‘Wrong is wrong, even if EVERYONE is doing it,
Right is right, even if NO-ONE is doing it’
Pupils are encouraged to
 report all incidents of bullying and suspected incidents that other children may be afraid to report
 Support each other and to seek help to ensure that everyone feels safe, and nobody feels excluded or afraid in school.
Teachers are proactive, will treat all allegations seriously and keep records.
Parents can help by
 Supporting our anti-bullying policy and procedures.
 Encouraging their children to be positive members of the school community.
 Discussing with their child’s teacher any concerns that their child may be experiencing
 Helping to establish an anti-bullying culture outside of school.
 Speaking to the Head Teacher if their concerns are serious and ongoing.
Our Senior Leadership Team
o Monitor and report annually on the implementation of this policy
o Supervise the review and updating of this policy at least every four years.
CONCERNS, COMPLAINTS … AND COMPLIMENTS
In spite of our serious intent to eliminate bullying, there may be parents who feel that schools have not taken their concerns seriously or not dealt effectively with incidents affecting their children. If having spoken to the Head Teacher they remain dissatisfied, they may seek further advice or make a complaint to the Council as described below.
Please contact the school directly should you have any concerns or worries about your child. We endeavour to respond within the same day where at all possible, we can then arrange a meeting or talk on phone. Please contact the school office for an appointment or email / phone school directly.
We recognise that there may be times when parents feel that we have not dealt well with an incident of bullying and we ask that this be brought to the Head Teacher’s notice.
If the Head Teacher cannot resolve these concerns informally, parents can raise their concerns more formally in an official meeting where minutes are kept and shared.
If early resolution at this stage is not achieved, then the matter should be referred to the Advice and Complaints Service. Education advice & complaints. We are also pleased to receive compliments from parents when things have gone well.
Cramond Primary School: Equality, Diversity and Anti-Bullying Policy and Procedures
2015 – 2018 Revised and updated May 2016
3
PROCEDURES
PREVENTION
There are public, accessible welcoming messages throughout the school in a range of languages.
We remind pupils at least twice a year about how our school deals with bullying, including cyberbullying.
We use of the Council’s 2016 Guidance on supporting Transgender, Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual
Sex, Relationships and Parenting Education is provided that meets the needs of every learner including
LGB and T young people and always challenges sexism, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.
We use evaluation tools which measure ethos, relationships and confidence in schools, such as pupil
well-being questionnaires, pupil focus groups and bullying surveys.
We involve other agencies and partners in health, police and the voluntary sector.
There is a buddy system, especially at transition & Cramond supports nurture and friendship groups
Children in our school experience activities like Circle Time to share feelings and concerns
Playground supervision is regularly reviewed to be alert to bullying and discrimination.
Senior Leadership team meet weekly with our Pupil Support assistant team to discuss any pastoral notes
for individuals or share observations in class or playground.
.
Curriculum for Excellence is used to:
 Increase knowledge of children’s rights and responsibilities as responsible citizens
 Provide age-appropriate reading materials and resources that provide a balanced diversity, e.g.
family structures that include single parents, ethnic minorities, disabled people and same-sex
parents.
 Monitor and improve where needed the attainment and achievement of pupils in protected
groups to develop successful learners.
 Build resilience and empathy in young people as confident individuals

WHAT WE DO WHEN BULLYING OCCURS
A child may not be engaging consciously in bullying behaviour, but its impact is still felt and this is taken
seriously. The level of awareness of a child who is bullying is a significant factor in how it is dealt with.
 Pupils who experience bullying or discrimination will be listened to and supported.
 Pupils who engage in bullying behaviour or discrimination will be treated fairly and consistently
using a range of measures
Our support to pupils who are bullied or discriminated against
They are reassured that they do not deserve this and it is not their fault.
We assure them that it was right to report the incident.
We encourage them to talk about how they feel and try to ascertain the extent of the problem.
We engage them in making choices about how the matter may be resolved
We discuss strategies for being safe and staying safe
We ask them to report immediately any further incidents to us
We affirm that it can be stopped and that we will persist with intervention until it does
Cramond Primary School: Equality, Diversity and Anti-Bullying Policy and Procedures
2015 – 2018 Revised and updated May 2016
4
Our work with pupils who bully others:
 We interview the pupil (or pupils) involved in bullying separately.
 We listen to their version of events and talk to anyone who may have witnessed the bullying.
 We seek to understand and address the causes of their behaviour
 Where there is mutual will, we undertake restorative meetings
 We reinforce the message that bullying is not acceptable, and that we expect it to stop..
 We consider sanctions under our school’s Behaviour/Discipline Policy.
 When bullying occurs, we contact the parents of the pupils involved at an early stage.
 We follow up after incidents to check that the bullying has not started again.
Reporting and Recording Incidents
Pupils who have been bullied should report this to a trusted adult who will pass the information to
Senior Leadership Team and class teacher(s)
Pupils who see others being bullied should report this to a trusted adult who will pass the information
to Senior Leadership Team and class teacher(s)
Members of staff who receive reports that a pupil has been bullied should report this to Senior
Leadership Team. Records & Reports of bullying are logged by Senior Leadership Team
All incidents are recorded and acts of bullying or discrimination on ground of race, disability,
gender, faith and sexual orientation are of equal concern and are all clearly distinguishable
Cramond Primary, in line with City of Edinburgh policy, send annual summaries of incidents to Council
headquarters on request
Cyberbullying and bullying outside the school premises : We know that bullying can occur outside
the school gates and via mobile phones and social network internet sites. The bullying may be done by
pupils from our own school, by pupils from other schools or by people who are not at school at all.
Where a pupil or parent tells us of bullying off the school premises we will:
 Talk to pupils about how to avoid or handle bullying outside of school.
 Talk to the Headteacher of another school whose pupils are allegedly bullying.
 Consider additional support, police involvement and Child Protection procedures
PLANNING: We examine and use all available information to ensure that the promotion of equality and
anti-bullying issues are contained within our development plans.
EQUALITY IMPACTS ANALYSIS: When reviewing or creating any new policies or services within our
school, we give due regard to all protected groups and consider whether any individual or group might
experience a particularly positive or negative impact. We keep a record of this and where necessary we
take steps to reduce any negative impact.
INVOLVEMENT
We actively encourage all our young people to participate in school and extra-curricular activities and we
take positive action to make sure that the diverse school population is represented in all aspects of
school community life.