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Behaviour Policy Bullying

At St Andrew's Church of England Primary School we regard bullying as a serious offence and always take every possible action to eradicate it from our school.
We encourage children to work against it and to report any incidents of bullying.
Bullying can be physical, verbal or emotional by a single person or a gang and is the wilful, conscious desire to hurt, threaten or frighten someone else. Back to top

Incidents of bullying can include:-

. name calling
. malicious gossip
. damaging or stealing property
. coercion into acts they do not wish to do
. violence and assault
. pinching/kicking
. jostling
. teasing
. intimidation
. extortion of money or property
. ostracising
. damaging school work or equipment
. swearing Back to top

Reasons for being a victim may be:-

. race / sex / class
. new child in school / class
. lacking close friends
. child with family crises
. disability - or physical difference of any kind

Victims are often likely to be children who are not assertive (timid) unwilling to fight back, loners with few friends, anxious or fearful children, younger children and those outside a group. Back to top

Reasons for being a bully may be:-

. victim of violence or abuse
. enjoyment of power / creating fear
. copying behaviour at home or on T.V.
. lack of social skills
. spoilt rotten and expect everyone to do what they say
. feel insecure, inadequate, humiliated.

Bullying occurs in children from all backgrounds, cultures, races, sexes and ages Back to top

Early signs of distress:-

Early signs of distress:-
. withdrawn
. deterioration of work
. spurious illness
. isolation
. desire to remain with adults
. erratic attendance
. general unhappiness / anxiety / fear
. late arrivals
. bed wetting / nightmares Back to top

Framework for anti-bullying campaign:-

Prevention is better than cure, so we need to:
. encourage the caring and nurturing side of children
. work for a caring, co-operative ethos (home corner, paired, group work)
. discuss friendships
. ensure adequate supervision in playgrounds
. positively encourage caring and discourage bullying
. encourage the confidence to report or tell an adult
. tackle initially with a 'no blame' policy where blame is not given but where the underlying problem is discovered and the victim has a chance to voice how the bully's behaviour makes them 'feel' and visa versa Back to top

Recognise the difference between:

Bullying/Bossiness and Bullying/Boisterous behaviour. Back to top

Bullying

Bullying
Focused on younger, smaller and timid children increasingly relying on threat and force
Wilful conscious desire to hurt, threaten and frighten
Play spoiling other children's activities.
showing violence and hostility.
Rough intimidating behaviour Back to top

Bossiness

Bossing whoever is around at the time
Usually grows out of it as they mature and learn social skills. Back to top