• Frosses National School recognises the very serious nature of bullying and the negative impact that it can have on the lives of pupils and is therefore fully committed to the following key principles of best practice in preventing and tackling bullying behaviour:

1.  A positive school culture and climate which

·         is welcoming of difference and diversity and is based on inclusivity;

·         encourages pupils to disclose and discuss incidents of bullying behaviour in a non-threatening environment; and

·          promotes respectful relationships across the school community;

Key elements of a Positive School Culture:

·         We acknowledges the right of each member of the school community to enjoy school in a secure environment

·         We acknowledge the uniqueness of each individual and their worth as a human being

·         We promote positive habits of self- respect, self -discipline and responsibility among all its members.

·         We actively prohibits vulgar, offensive, sectarian or other aggressive behaviour by any of its members

·         We have a clear commitment to promoting equity in general and gender equity in particular in all aspects of its functioning

·         We have the capacity to change in response to its pupils needs

·         We identify aspects of its curriculum through which positive and sustainable influences can be exerted towards forming pupils attitudes and values

·         We take particular care of ‘at risk’ pupils and uses its systems to identify needs and facilitate early intervention where necessary –thus responding to       the needs, fears & anxieties of individual members in a sensitive manner

WE recognises the need to work in partnership with and keep parents informed on procedures to improve relationships within the school community

·         We recognise the right of parents to share in the task of equipping pupils with a range of life skills.

·         We recognise the role of other community agencies in preventing and dealing with bullying

·         We promote habits of mutual respect, courtesy and an awareness of the interdependence of people in groups and communities

·         We promote qualities of social responsibility, tolerance and understanding among its members both in school and outside of school

·         Staff members share a collegiate responsibility, under the direction of the Principal, to act in preventing bullying/aggressive behaviour by any member of the school community

 (a) Effective leadership

·         The B.O.M. has overall responsibility to ensure that this policy is effective, sustainable and measured. The B.O.M. must ensure that accountability is of the highest standard and frequently appraise the outcomes of the strategies and measures contained within the policy

·         The Principal of as key leader strongly influences attitudes and sets standards in relation to dealing with bullying

·         All teachers have a clear role to act in a leadership capacity within the school community, stimulating a whole school approach to preventing and tackling bullying and modelling best practice

·         Teachers must act as good role models and not misuse authority, but be fair, clear and consistent in their disciplinary measures.

(b) A school-wide approach

·         A whole community approach to the problem of bullying is required and Frosses School community comprises of management, teachers, non-teaching staff, pupils, parents/guardians

·         Beyond the school community, bullying behaviour may extend to outside of school. Where this negatively impacts on a school, parents and pupils have a responsibility to support the school in helping to address the issue. This applies particularly (but not exclusively) to cyber bullying.

·         The assistance of Gardaí, Tusla and Community Workers may be required in some cases

·         Collective vigilance is needed throughout the whole school community sector to identify and deal with issues around bullying in a fair and equitable manner

 (c) A shared understanding of what bullying is and its impact

Frosses N.S. endeavours to put in place appropriate systems to ensure that all relevant members of the school community (parents, pupils, staff and the wider community) have a shared understanding of what constitutes bullying behaviour as defined in this policy.

(d)Education and prevention strategies

·         build empathy, respect and resilience in pupils

·         explicitly address the issues of cyber-bullying and identity-based bullying

·         effective supervision and monitoring of pupils

(e) Effective supervision and monitoring of pupils

·         Staff members have a distinct responsibility to ensure that supervision of pupils in class is effective and consistent

·         Supervision in playground areas must be managed and conducted effectively

·         Non teaching  Staff are well placed to inform ,if any behaviour which may constitute bullying is noticed

(f) Supports for staff

·         Regular discussion and review of policy and procedures is essential to support staff on a continuous basis 

·         All staff must have a uniform interpretation of what is expected in relation to bullying, how to identify possible bullying behaviours, how to manage disclosures and how to deal effectively with incidents of bullying within the classroom context

·         Staff must be aware that supporting one another is a key aspect of prevention and new/inexperienced members of staff must be given every opportunity to discuss concerns and model best practice 

2. Definition:

Bullying is unwanted negative behaviour, verbal, psychological or physical conducted, by an individual or group against another person (or persons) and which is repeated over time.

The following types of bullying behaviour are included in the definition of bullying:

·         Deliberate exclusion, malicious gossip and other forms of relational bullying,

·         Cyber-bullying

·         Identity-based bullying such as homophobic bullying, racist bullying, bullying based on a person’s membership of the Traveller       community and bullying of those with disabilities or special        educational needs.

Isolated or once-off incidents of intentional negative behaviour, including a once-off offensive or hurtful text message or other private messaging, do not fall within the definition of bullying and should be dealt with, as appropriate, in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.However, in the context of this policy, placing a once-off offensive or hurtful public message, image or statement on a social network site or other public forum where that message, image or statement can be viewed and/or repeated by other people will be regarded as bullying behaviour.Negative behaviour that does not meet this definition of bullying will be dealt with in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour
 

Bullying Behaviors which Frosses N.S. has identified as relevant to our context:  

General behaviours which apply to all types of bullying	Harassment based on any of the nine grounds in the equality legislation e.g. sexual harassment, homophobic bullying, racist bullying etc. ·           Physical aggression ·           Damage to property ·           Name calling ·           Slagging ·           The production, display or circulation of written words, pictures or other materials aimed at intimidating another person ·           Offensive graffiti ·           Extortion ·           Intimidation ·           Insulting or offensive gestures ·           The “look” ·           Invasion of personal space ·           A combination of any of the types listed.
Cyber	·           Denigration: Spreading rumours, lies or gossip to hurt a person’s reputation ·           Harassment: Continually sending vicious, mean or disturbing messages to an individual ·           Impersonation: Posting offensive or aggressive messages under another person’s name ·           Flaming: Using inflammatory or vulgar words to provoke an online fight ·           Trickery: Fooling someone into sharing personal information which you then post online ·           Outing: Posting or sharing confidential or compromising information or images ·           Exclusion: Purposefully excluding someone from an online group ·           Cyber stalking: Ongoing harassment and denigration that causes a person considerable fear for his/her safety ·           Silent telephone/mobile phone call ·           Abusive telephone/mobile phone calls ·           Abusive text messages ·           Abusive email ·           Abusive communication on social networks e.g. Facebook/Ask.fm/ Twitter/You Tube or on games consoles ·           Abusive website comments/Blogs/Pictures ·           Abusive posts on any form of communication technology Identity Based Behaviours
Including any of the nine discriminatory grounds mentioned in Equality Legislation (gender including transgender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community).
Homophobic and Transgender	·           Spreading rumours about a person’s sexual orientation ·           Taunting a person of a different sexual orientation ·           Name calling e.g. Gay, queer, lesbian...used in a derogatory manner ·           Physical intimidation or attacks ·           Threats
Race, nationality, ethnic background and membership of the Traveller community	·           Discrimination, prejudice, comments or insults about colour, nationality, culture, social class, religious beliefs, ethnic or traveller background ·           Exclusion on the basis of any of the above
Relational	This involves manipulating relationships as a means of bullying. Behaviours include: ·           Malicious gossip ·           Isolation & exclusion ·           Ignoring ·           Excluding from the group ·           Taking someone’s friends away ·           “Bitching” ·           Spreading rumours ·           Breaking confidence ·           Talking loud enough so that the victim can hear ·           The “look” ·           Use or terminology such as ‘nerd’ in a derogatory way
Sexual	·           Unwelcome or inappropriate sexual comments or touching ·           Harassment
Special Educational Needs, Disability	·         Name calling ·         Taunting others because of their disability or learning needs ·         Taking advantage of some pupils’ vulnerabilities and limited capacity to recognise and defend themselves against bullying ·         Taking advantage of some pupils’ vulnerabilities and limited capacity to understand social situations and social cues. ·         Mimicking a person’s disability ·         Setting others up for ridicule

 

 

 

3. The relevant teachers for investigating and dealing with bullying

·         Principal

·         Assistant  Principal 

·         All class teachers

·         Special Education Teachers

·          

 

5. Education and prevention strategies   School-wide approach ·         A school-wide approach to the fostering of respect for all members of the school community. ·         The promotion of the value of diversity to address issues of prejudice and stereotyping, and highlight the unacceptability of bullying behaviour. ·         The fostering and enhancing of the self-esteem of all our pupils through both curricular and extracurricular activities. Pupils will be provided with opportunities to develop a positive sense of self-worth through formal and informal interactions. ·         School wide awareness raising and training on all aspects of bullying, to include pupils, parents/guardians and the wider school community. ·         Supervision and monitoring of classrooms, corridors, school grounds, school tours and extra- curricular activities. Non-teaching and ancillary staff will be encouraged to be vigilant and report issues to relevant teachers. ·         The school’s anti-bullying policy is discussed with pupils and all parents/guardians are given a copy as part of the Code of Behaviour of the school on enrolment. ·         The implementation of regular whole school awareness measures on the promotion of friendship, and bullying prevention; annual Anti bullying Week and student surveys. ·         Encourage a culture of telling, with particular emphasis on the importance of bystanders. In that way pupils will gain confidence in ‘Telling’. This confidence factor is of vital importance. It should be made clear to all pupils that when they report incidents of bullying they are not considered to be telling tales but are behaving responsibly. ·         Ensuring that pupils know who to tell and how to tell. ·         Make a phone call to the school   ·         Get a parent/guardian or friend to tell on your behalf. ·         Ensure bystanders understand the importance of telling if they witness or know that bullying is taking place. ·         Identify clear protocols to encourage parents/guardians to approach the school if they suspect that their child is being    bullied. The protocol should be developed in consultation with parents.   4.Implementation of curricula The full implementation of the SPHE and the RSE and Stay Safe Programmes.  Continuous Professional Development for staff in delivering these programmes. School wide delivery of lessons on bullying from evidence based programmes.   The school will specifically consider the additional needs of SEN pupils with regard to programme implementation and the development of skills and strategies to enable all pupils to respond appropriately.  5.Links to other policies Here under is a List of school policies that are particularly relevant to bullying: ·         Code of Behaviour , ·         Code of Conduct, ·         Child Protection Policy, ·         Anti Cyber Bullying Policy, ·         Supervision Policy, ·         Internet Usage Policy, ·         SEN Policy,

6. Reporting bullying behaviour

•   Any pupil or parent(s)/guardian(s) may bring a bullying incident to any teacher in the school.

•   All reports, including anonymous reports of bullying, will be investigated and dealt with by the relevant teacher.

•   Teaching and non-teaching staff such as secretaries, special needs assistants (SNAs), must report any incidents of bullying behaviour witnessed by them, or mentioned to them, to the relevant teacher;

 

7.Investigating and dealing with incidents:

•   In investigating and dealing with bullying, the relevant teacher will exercise her professional judgement to determine whether bullying has occurred and how best the situation might be resolved;

•   Parent(s)/guardian(s) and pupils are required to co-operate with any investigation and assist the school in resolving any issues and restoring, as far as is practicable, the relationships of the parties involved as quickly as possible;

•   Teachers should take a calm, unemotional problem-solving approach.

•   Where possible incidents should be investigated outside the classroom situation to ensure the privacy of all involved;

•   All interviews should be conducted with sensitivity and with due regard to the rights of all pupils concerned. Pupils who are not directly involved can also provide very useful information in this way;

•   When analysing incidents of bullying behaviour, the relevant teacher should seek answers to questions of what, where, when, who and why. This should be done in a calm manner, setting an example in dealing effectively with a conflict in a non-aggressive manner;

•   If a group is involved, each member should be interviewed individually at first. Thereafter, all those involved should be met as a group. At the group meeting, each member should be asked for his/her account of what happened to ensure that everyone in the group is clear about each other’s statements;

•   Each member of a group should be supported through the possible pressures that may face them from the other members of the group after the interview by the teacher;

•   It may also be appropriate or helpful to ask those involved to write down their account of the incident(s)

 

•   In cases where it has been determined by the relevant teacher that bullying behaviour has occurred, the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the parties involved should be contacted at an early stage to inform them of the matter and explain the actions being taken (by reference to the school policy). The school should give parent(s)/guardian(s) an opportunity of discussing ways in which they can reinforce or support the actions being taken by the school and the supports provided to the pupils;

•   Where the relevant teacher has determined that a pupil has been engaged in bullying behaviour, it should be made clear to her how she is in breach of the school’s anti-bullying policy and efforts should be made to try to get her to see the situation from the perspective of the pupil being bullied;

•   It must also be made clear to all involved (each set of pupils and parent(s)/guardian(s)) that in any situation where disciplinary sanctions are required, this is a private matter between the pupil being disciplined, his or her parent(s)/guardian(s) and the school;

 

8.Follow up and recording

•   In determining whether a bullying case has been adequately and appropriately addressed the relevant teacher must, as part of her professional judgement, take the following factors into account:

-     Whether the bullying behaviour has ceased;

-     Whether any issues between the parties have been resolved as far as is practicable;

-     Whether the relationships between the parties have been restored as far as is practicable;

-     Any feedback received from the parties involved, their parent(s)/guardian(s)s or the school Principal or Assistant Principal

•   Follow-up meetings with the relevant parties involved should be arranged separately with a view to possibly bringing them together at a later date if the pupil who has been bullied is ready and agreeable.

•   Where a parent(s)/guardian(s) is not satisfied that the school has dealt with a bullying case in accordance with these procedures, the parent(s)/guardian(s) must be referred, as appropriate, to the school’s complaints procedures.

•   In the event that a parent(s)/guardian(s) has exhausted the school's complaints procedures and is still not satisfied, the school must advise the parent(s)/guardian(s) of their right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman for Children.

 

9. Recording of bullying behaviour

It is imperative that all recording of bullying incidents must be done in an objective and factual manner.

 

The school’s procedures for noting and reporting bullying behaviour are as follows:

 Stage 1 Determination that bullying has occurred

·         If it is established by the relevant teacher that bullying has occurred, the relevant teacher must keep appropriate written records which will assist her efforts to resolve the issues and restore, as far as is practicable, the relationships of the parties involved.

·         The school in consultation with the relevant teacher/s should develop a protocol for the storage of all records retained by the relevant teacher.

 

Stage 2

The relevant teacher must use the recording template attached to record the bullying behaviour in the following circumstances:

 

a)   in cases where she considers that the bullying behaviour has not been adequately and appropriately addressed within 20 school days after she has determined that bullying behaviour occurred; and

b)   All confirmed instances of bullying behaviour must be recorded and reported immediately to the Principal or Assistant Principal as applicable.

 

The recording template must be retained by the relevant teacher in question and a copy maintained by the principal.

 

Teachers records are retained in a secure space in the teachers classroom. All report templates given to the Principal will be retained in the filing cabinet in the Secretary’s  Office.

 

Established intervention strategies

•   Teacher interviews with all pupils

•   Negotiating agreements between pupils and following these up by monitoring progress. This can be on an informal basis or implemented through a more structured mediation process

•   Working with parent/guardian to support school interventions

•   No Blame Approach

•   Restorative interviews

•   Restorative conferencing

 

10. The school’s programme of support for working with pupils affected by bullying is as follows

 

·         All in-school supports and opportunities will be provided for the   pupils affected by bullying to participate in activities designed to raise their self-esteem, to develop friendships and social skills and build resilience e.g.         - SPHE Lessons         - Stay Safe Programme         - Walk Tall         - NEPS programmes on www.neps.ie         - Anti Bullying Week           ·         If pupils require counselling or further supports the school will endeavour to liaise with the appropriate agencies to organise same. NEPS  will also be contacted for advice ·         Pupils should understand that there are no innocent bystanders and that all incidents of bullying behaviour must be reported to a teacher.

11. Prevention of Harassment

The Board of Management confirms that the school will, in accordance with its obligations under equality legislation, take all such steps that are reasonably practicable to prevent the sexual harassment of pupils or staff or the harassment of pupils or staff on any of the nine grounds specified i.e. gender including transgender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community.

 

12. Availability and Review

This policy has been made available to school personnel and is published on our school website.  A copy of this policy will be made available to the Department and the patron if requested. This policy and its implementation will be reviewed by the Board of Management at regular intervals. A record of the review and its outcome will be made available, if requested, to the patron and the Department.

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