Anti-bullying policy

Al Mustaqbal School

Anti-Bullying Policy

Al Mustaqbal School is committed to providing its students with a caring environment within which each individual can flourish, allowing them, without hindrance, to live their lives to the full in as many spheres as possible. Everyone has the right to be treated with kindness and respect and to be properly supported if they are not. Bullying of any kind is deemed unacceptable and will always be taken seriously and acted upon.

Aims

To ensure a safe environment for all students at Al Mustaqbal School
To emphasis the fundamental importance of establishing and maintaining a positive, caring ethos within the school
Further aims are to establish an atmosphere where bullying is regarded as unacceptable, to raise general awareness so that the whole school community can play its part in recognising bullying and to take action where it occurs by preventing or responding appropriately to it.

Objectives

To ensure that all students, parents, teaching and non-teaching staff and governors can recognise what bullying is, know what the school policy is on bullying and what to do if it occurs
To conduct staff and governor training to maintain the high profile of the anti-bullying policy and to introduce new initiatives
Toi build understanding and discussion of anti-bullying and related taopics into the school educational programme
To confirm frequently through the actions of all, that pupils will always be supported if bullying is reported.

Definitions

Bullying is behaviour by an individual or a group, repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally. Bullying can take many forms (for instance, cyber bullying via text messages or the internet), and is often motivated by prejudice against particular groups, for example on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or because a child has been adopted or orphaned or has caring responsibilities. It might be motivated by actual differences between people, or perceived differences. Stopping violence and ensuring immediate physical safety is obviously a school’s first priority but emotional bullying can be more damaging than physical; teachers and schools have to make their own judgements about each specific case.

Preventing and Tackling Bullying: Advice for School Leaders, Staff and Governing Bodies 2014.

All members of the school’s staff should be alert to the possibility of signs of bullying. In some cases, bullying is unwitting and not consciously done, in others it is a wilful and conscious desire to hurt, threaten or frighten someone. Bullying does affect all in the school and as such is a serious matter; bullying may cause physical or psychological damage (and in some cases suicide) and could in some cases lead to breaking the law.

All students should be responsible for bringing bullying to the attention of any adult member of staff. It is also true that teachers may (unwittingly) be bullies. It is also true that staff may be subjected to bullying from students (and/or parents) and staff are responsible for bringing this to the attention of their line manager. Equally it may be true that staff may be subjected to bullying from other staff.

We may define bullying as the following occurring over a period of time:

Physical – hitting, pushing or any act that invades personal space
Verbal – name calling, teasing and taunting. Racial and sexual harassment.
Social – exclusion by groups or individuals. Discrimination on the grounds of religion, culture, race, gender, disability or sexuality.
Cyber – intimidation and abuse via electronic means (text, email, social networking sites).

Anti-Bullying Strategy

Al Mustaqbal School is committed to working with all students and staff to prevent bullying where possible, and to ensure that when incidents do occur, they are dealt with quickly and sensitively. There are several ways in which students are supported. Students may speak with tutors, teachers, the school counsellor or medical staff. Al Mustaqbal School delivers the message that bullying is not normal part of life and should not be allowed to flourish. All students are encouraged to speak with members of staff immediately if they feel bullying is occurring, either as a victim, witness or the person responsible.

Meetings of the School Council is an avenue for students to make their feelings on bullying in the school and also the school’s approach to bullying via their council representatives. Meetings are regular, and minutes are kept.

All students have the opportunity to speak with key members of staff about their concerns. The form tutor will be the first point of contact but this relationship is supported by the school counsellor.

The Head of School holds a bullying log to monitor instances of bullying and patterns of bullying. The bullying log is informed by events noted by Heads of Department and subject teachers and form tutors.

Anti-bullying is addressed in whole school staff training sessions and as part of Al Mustaqbal School’s induction process. The policy is kept under constant review by the Senior Leadership Team and Board of Governors and changes can be made at any time.

Where there is a significant update of the Anti-Bullying policy all staff will receive a copy of the new policy.

Action Against Bullying in the School

Allegations of bullying

If an allegation of bullying is made by a student, then the member of staff receiving the allegation should establish the level of anxiety. If the level of anxiety is low, then staff should restore cordiality through verbal communication with the complainant and the accused. It is advantageous to bring students together at this point. If an allegation is made by a parent, then the member of staff should make it clear that the best way for the matter to be resolved is for staff to speak with the student in question and establish the level of anxiety.
If the level of anxiety is significant, a written statement may be taken from the student (signed and dated) by the member of staff fielding the allegation. If suspicions are raised by staff or parents, this should also be recorded in writing.
The allegations and evidence should then pass to the relevant form tutor(s).
Form tutors should offer to conduct a full investigation into the matter. The investigation will include witness statements and the questioning of the alleged person responsible.
Form tutors may seek the advice and support of the Head of School during the investigation and must refer the case to the Director of Education in the case of serious bullying being proven.
In most cases the Form tutors will agree the appropriate course of action.
The Head of School will decide appropriate sanctions for the person responsible (in line with the Behaviour Management Policy) and both the form tutor and the Head of School will agree on and instigate support for both the victim and the person responsible.
Parents should be informed throughout the process and often will be invited to the school to discuss the matter and its resolution.

All staff are to make accurate records of interviews and also record the process followed in each case
Counselling may form an important part of any bullying case, both for the bully and the bullied. Staff should seek guidance from the school counsellor as to the efficacy of counselling in cases of bullying.

This policy must be reviewed annually or more frequently where appropriate.

Appendix 1 – Advice to all (staff, parents and pupils) on Bullying

Signs of bullying

Changes in behaviour that may indicate that a student is being bullied include:

Unwillingness to return to school
Displays of excessive anxiety, becoming withdrawn or unusually quiet
Failure to produce work, or producing unusually bad work, or work that appears to have been copied, interfered with or spoilt by others
Books, bags and other belongings suddenly go missing or are damaged
Change to established habits (e.g. giving up extra-curricular activities, change to accent or vocabulary)
Diminished levels of self-confidence
Frequent visits to the school nurse with symptoms such as stomach pains, headaches etc.
Unexplained cuts and/or bruises
Frequent absence, erratic attendance, late arrival to class
Choosing the company of adults
Displaying repressed body language and poor eye contact
Difficulty in sleeping, experiencing nightmares etc.
Talking of suicide or running away

Although there may be other causes of some of the above symptoms, a repetition of, or a combination of these possible signs of bullying should be investigated by parents and teachers.

Even if you are unsure, it is better to raise the issue with a responsible adult. We encourage parents to contact Al Mustaqbal School when they have concerns.

Appendix 2 – Advice to Staff on Bullying

Al Mustaqbal School staff must make a strong stand against bullying. They should:

Not allow it anywhere
Support children who are being bullied
Help the bullies to change their behaviour
Tell children to ‘tell’ and back them up
Take bullying seriously and find out the facts when told about an incident of bullying
Ensure that children, parents and teachers take responsibility for any bullying that goes on
Break up groups of bullies by not allowing them to play, sit, eat, etc., together
Use peer pressure against bullying behaviour

What to do when confronted with a report of bullying?

Listen carefully and record all incidents
Question but do not ask leading questions
Meet the bully and the bullied separately
Offer the victim immediate support and help by explaining and putting the school’s procedures into action immediately
Consider the need for medical treatment/examination/counselling

Al Mustaqbal School is committed to reinforcing the messages below at every available opportunity

When someone is being bullied or is in distress, take action. Watching and doing nothing always suggests support for the bully
Students should inform an adult immediately if they do not wish to get involved at the scene of the problem
Do not tolerate bullies in the same social group

To counter cyber-bullying, students must be made aware that:

They must never share their password with anyone
They must not send pictures of others electronically
No student is allowed to take pictures or video on their phone of another student or member of staff on the school premises or during school sponsored activities off-site. Any pictures otherwise taken must not be shared electronically without the express permission of the person or persons in the picture or video.

Students are encouraged to develop

Acceptance
Patience
Respect for others, themselves, their learning
Trust
Empathy
Co-operation

Appendix 3 – Advice to Students on Bullying

Some things students should do if they feel they are being bullied:

Tell an adult you trust
Tell yourself that you don’t deserve to be bullied
Get your friends together and say no to the bully
Stay with groups of people, even if they are not your friends. There is safety in numbers
Try to ignore the bullying
Try not to show that you are upset, which is difficult
If possible, avoid being alone in a place where bullying happens
Try to be assertive – shout ‘NO’ loudly
Walk quickly and confidently, even if you don’t feel that way inside
If you are in danger, get away. Do not fight to keep your possession
Fighting back my make it worse
If you are different in some way, be proud of it. It is good to be an individual

At Al Mustaqbal School students are encouraged to develop

Acceptance
Patience
Respect for others, themselves, their learning
Trust
Empathy
Co-operation
Understanding

If any student has a concern over bullying, whether it is happening to them or they have witnessed something that makes them feel uncomfortable, they can email beatbullying@mustaqbal.edu.ps to raise awareness.

August 2018