- Physical Bullying: This type of bullying involves physical aggression, such as hitting, kicking, pushing, or damaging someone's property.
- Verbal Bullying: This type of bullying involves using words to hurt or humiliate someone, such as name-calling, teasing, insults, or spreading rumors.
- Social Bullying: This type of bullying involves manipulating relationships to exclude or humiliate someone, such as spreading rumors, ostracizing, or gossiping.
- Cyberbullying: This type of bullying involves using digital technology to harass, intimidate, or humiliate someone, such as sending threatening or insulting messages, spreading rumors on social media, or posting embarrassing photos or videos.
- Emotional – ignoring, being unfriendly, tormenting, threatening gestures
Mcron Hills International Schools is committed to providing a safe and secure learning environment for all students. The Academy recognizes that bullying, in any form, is a serious issue that can have long-lasting effects on students’ academic, social, and emotional well-being. Therefore, the Academy has adopted the following policy rules to prevent and address incidents of bullying:
WHAT IS BULLYING ?
- Bullying is defined as any intentional, repeated act of aggression or behavior, including physical, verbal, or cyberbullying, directed towards a student, who has difficulty defending themselves or is otherwise vulnerable, which causes physical or emotional harm, and is intended to cause fear, distress or harm to the victim.
If bullying is identified school staff will:
- Be proactive: Encourage a culture of respect and kindness in the classroom and school environment. Address any incidents of bullying or disrespectful behavior as soon as they occur, and promote positive interactions among students.
- Be vigilant: Watch for signs of bullying, such as changes in behavior, social withdrawal, or physical injuries. Take any reports of bullying seriously, and investigate thoroughly to determine the nature and extent of the problem.
- Provide support: Offer support to students who have been bullied, including counseling, academic support, and safety planning. Ensure that students feel safe and supported, and that they know where to turn for help.
- Communicate with parents: Inform parents about any incidents of bullying involving their child, and work together to find a solution. Encourage parents to be involved in preventing and addressing bullying, and provide resources and guidance as needed.
- Address cyberbullying: Educate students about the risks and consequences of cyberbullying, and take action to prevent and address incidents of online harassment. Encourage students to be responsible digital citizens, and to report any incidents of cyberbullying to a teacher or administrator.
- Use restorative justice: Consider using restorative justice practices as a way to address the underlying issues that led to the bullying incident. This approach focuses on repairing harm and building positive relationships, rather than punishment.
- Be a role model: Model respectful and inclusive behavior, and encourage students to do the same. Treat all students with kindness and respect, and intervene when necessary to prevent bullying or disrespectful behavior.
- Review and update policy: Review the school's bullying policy regularly, and update it as needed to reflect new research, best practices, and changing needs. Ensure that all staff members are familiar with the policy and their responsibilities in preventing and addressing bullying.
- Create ‘safe areas’ near staff on duty
- Ensure that situation is dealt with
- Physical injuries: Unexplained bruises, cuts, or other injuries.
- Emotional distress: Anxiety, depression, sadness, or anger.
- Changes in behavior: Withdrawal, loss of interest in activities, or changes in sleep or eating habits.
- Academic problems: Decline in grades, lack of focus or motivation, or absenteeism.
- Social isolation: Avoidance of social situations or friends, or loss of friendships.
- Low self-esteem: Negative self-talk, lack of confidence, or feelings of worthlessness.
- Self-harm: Engaging in self-harm behaviors, such as cutting or burning.
- Substance abuse: Using drugs or alcohol as a way to cope with bullying or emotional distress.
- Is afraid to use the internet
- Lonely – change in friendship groups
- Tell someone: If you are being bullied, it's important to tell a trusted adult, such as a teacher, counselor, or parent. They can help you to take action and find solutions.
- Stay calm: Try to stay calm and avoid reacting to the bully's behavior. Bullies often want to get a reaction from their victims, so by staying calm, you are taking away their power.
- Be assertive: Stand up for yourself in a calm and assertive way. Use confident body language, and calmly tell the bully that their behavior is unacceptable.
- Build a support network: Surround yourself with supportive friends and family members who can provide encouragement and help you to stay positive.
- Practice self-care: Take care of yourself by eating well, getting enough sleep, and engaging in activities that you enjoy. This can help you to feel better and more confident.
- Use available resources: Take advantage of resources provided by your school, such as counseling services or anti-bullying programs. These resources can provide support and guidance.
- Remember that it's not your fault: Bullying is never okay, and it's important to remember that you are not to blame for the bully's behavior. You deserve to be treated with respect and kindness.
- Investigate: The school will investigate all reports of bullying promptly and thoroughly, and will take appropriate action to address the situation.
- Provide support: The school will provide support to students who have been bullied, including counseling, academic support, and safety planning. The school will also work with parents to ensure that students have access to resources and support at home.
- Disciplinary action: The school will take disciplinary action against students who engage in bullying behavior, in accordance with the school's bullying policy.
- Education and prevention: The school will provide education and prevention programs to students, staff, and parents to promote a safe and respectful school environment. These programs may include training on bullying prevention, social-emotional learning, and conflict resolution.
- Restorative justice: The school may use restorative justice practices to address incidents of bullying, focusing on repairing harm and building positive relationships.
- Review and update policy: The school will regularly review and update its bullying policy to ensure that it reflects current research, best practices, and changing needs.
- Talk to your child: Talk to your child about bullying and encourage them to tell you or a teacher if they are being bullied or see someone else being bullied.
- Listen and provide support: If your child tells you that they are being bullied, listen to them and provide support. Let them know that they are not alone, and that you will help them to find a solution.
- Work with the school: Contact your child's teacher or school counselor to discuss the situation and work together to find a solution. Keep the lines of communication open with the school, and follow up regularly to ensure that the issue is being addressed.
- Teach your child assertiveness skills: Teach your child to be assertive and stand up for themselves in a calm and confident way. Encourage them to use "I" statements, and practice positive body language.
- Promote self-care: Encourage your child to take care of themselves by eating well, getting enough sleep, and engaging in activities that they enjoy. This can help them to feel better and more confident.
- Model respectful behavior: Model respectful behavior in your interactions with others, and teach your child to treat others with kindness and respect.
- Seek additional support: If your child is experiencing ongoing emotional distress or mental health issues as a result of bullying, consider seeking additional support from a mental health professional.
The ethos of the school postively promotes mutual respect, self discipline and social responsibility through:-
- Encourage inclusivity: Celebrate diversity and promote inclusivity by encouraging students from different backgrounds to work together, participate in activities and share their experiences.
- Foster a culture of respect: Model respectful behavior and encourage students to treat others with kindness and respect. Teach students the importance of empathy and understanding towards others.
- Promote positive relationships: Encourage students to build positive relationships with their peers, teachers and school staff. Foster a sense of community and belonging by encouraging positive interactions and creating opportunities for students to work together and support each other.
- Focus on social-emotional learning: Incorporate social-emotional learning into the school curriculum to help students develop self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.
- Empower students: Encourage student involvement in decision-making and leadership opportunities, including anti-bullying programs and initiatives.
- Address and resolve conflicts: Provide opportunities for students to learn conflict resolution skills and help them resolve conflicts in a respectful and positive manner.
In kind of atmosphere, we believe that the children will be able to work happily together and a high standard of discipline and learning will be achieved.
- Whole school involvement is essential:A clear policy to which staff, pupils and parents are committed, reduces bullying.
- The emphasis should be on prevention:Consideration needsto be given, for example, to the playground environment, movement around the building and early links with neighbourinbg schools and outside agencies, all of which contribute to the ethos of the school. Assemblies, Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education (PHSE) etc. Police Liaison
- Pupil perception is important:Reaching agreement about what counts as bullying is fundamental.
- The fear of bullying is even more widespread than bullying itself:The fear of bullying can have equally devastating effects on children’s personal and academic development.
- The needs of all pupils must be considered:Specific curriculum contributions broaden pupil perception of bullying and develop skills such as assertiveness and conflict resolution. Support mechanisms should be agreed not only for victims, but also bullies and bystanders ( those who witness bullying).
- Adults can be bullies too:Adults are in a powerful postion – they can endorse bullying by othetrs and collude in the isolation of pupils who are bullied. Teachers can and do make a difference when they constructively intervene. Bullying is an emotive issue. Parents should also show a good role model to children in dealing with the school on bullying and other issues.
- Make everyone in the school community aware of the policy and of our attitude
- Be sympathetic so that the victim knows they will be listened to.
- Consider ways in which the curriculum can teach victims to become assertive ans self confident through role play and discussion.
- Consider ways in which Ensure we have an effective policy to deal with the victim and the bully.
- The victim could be supported by others in the class or individually.
- Consider the use of outside agencies who may be able to support the victim.
- Involve the parents, with agreed strategies on what can be done to help
- Ensure that there are effective lines of communication to allow a victim to talk to a teacher, a supervising adult or a peer
- Be aware of changes in pupils’ patterns of behaivor.
- Always respond to a report of bullying.
- Use strategies to build self esteem.
- Ask the victim how they should suggest/like the incident to be dealt with.
Vulnerability is not always obvious to adults. So be aware. The sterotypical victim can be misleading. Victims may be pupils who:
- Are new to the class or school
- Are different in appearance, speech or background from other pupils
- Suffer from low self esteem
- Are not particularly assertive
- Are particularly nervous or anxious
- May simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Some groups of pupils can also be victims. Particularly able or studious children, pupils with special needs, pupils from minority ethnic groups, girls being bullied by boys or boys by girls.
Bullies comes from all races, cultures, home backgrounds and both sexes. They can be found throughout the whole Nursery and Primary age range. The problem can be made worse if the home background supports and encourages their behaviour. Bullies can be pupils who:
- Lack remorse; they believe the victim deserves the treatment
- Lack empathy, they cannot imagine how the victim may feel
- Have aggressive attitudes over which they show little control
- Have a clear policy on behaviour and bullying and ensure the pupils are aware of it
- Give the bully strategies for dealing with their behaviour, such as time out
- Set clear boundaries on behaviour that pupils know and understand
- Ensure we do not encourage bullying by bullying ourselves
- Encourage empathy situations in drama, Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education(PHSE), Assemblies and discussion, for example.
- Ensure the victim explains to the bully how they feel and the effect bullying has on them.
- Allow the bully times to discuss their feelings and the effect of their behaviour on others.
- Ask the bully what they intend to do to alleviate the victim distress.
- Never ignore bullying situations.
- Involve the parents
- Use peer pressure positively.
- Establish why the bully is picking on that particular victim. Attempt to reconcile and shift the power from bully to victim.
- Monitor the situation by having follow – up meetings to check on progress.
DO
- Remain calm. Do not over – react as you may add to the bully’s fun and control of the situation
- Take the report or incident seriously
- Take action as quickly as possible
- Think as to whether your reaction should be public or private
- Offer reassurance to the victim.do not make them feel foolish or inadequate.
- Offer help, advice and support to the victim(s)
- Make it clear to the bully that their behaviour is unacceptable
- Encourage the bully to see the victim’s point of view
- Punish the bully but do not over react. You could give out the message that it is acceptable to bully if you have the powers.
- Explain the punishment clearly and why you have given it
- Record all incidents on appropriate sheets. Circlate these to appropriate staff, including phase group leaders.
- Inform all staff if the incident arose out of a situation where everyone needs to be vigilant.
- Be aware of why/how the situation arose and plan ahead to try and prevent the incident happening again.
DON'T
- Be over protective and prevent the victims from helping themselves
- Keep the whole incident a secret because you have dealt with it
- Try and hide the incident from the parents of the victim or bully
- Speak to the prents until you have a clear plan of the way forward
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Counsel the victim and the bully -
Record the incident -
Communicate the incident to class teacher, phase group leader, deputy and head-teacher, teacher on duty, midday assistant as appropriate -
Monitor behaviour of victim and bully -
Involve parents where incidents are repeated of great concern -
Monitor incidents and patterns of behaviour and act appropriately