ST MADOES PRIMARY SCHOOL

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY
Rationale

This policy on Anti-Bullying has been drawn up within the school’s ethos of promoting positive
behaviour.
St Madoes Primary School actively seeks to provide an environment that is safe from all forms
of intimidation.
Bullying at school can have a profound effect on children’s lives and can have a lasting effect on them
into adulthood. It can undermine their self-esteem and self-confidence and often results in them
becoming bullies themselves.

Definition

Perth & Kinross Education and Children’s Service define bullying as,

“ Repeated violence, physical or psychological, conducted over time by an individual or a group

against an individual who is not able to deal effectively with the actual situation.”

There are five identifying features of bullying:

• It is deliberate, hurtful behaviour
• It is often repeated over a period of time.
• It is often difficult for those being bullied to defend themselves.
• It is difficult for those who bully to learn new social behaviours.
• The bully has, and exercises power over the victim.

Bullying is NOT
• Children falling out over a minor difference
• Children who do not wish to play with each other
• A one off disagreement or fight between children
• A child deciding to no longer be a “best friend”

Bullying can take a number of forms:

• Physical - e.g: hitting, kicking, spitting, pushing and grabbing belongings
• Emotional or verbal - e.g: name calling, accusations, insulting and Racist remarks,
excluding, threatening and coercion
• Damage to property - e.g: taking belongings or money
• Indirect – e.g: spreading nasty stories, excluding from groups
• Cyber – bullying via text messages or e mail

All forms can be damaging to the victim

Extracted from - “What`s the Score on Bullying” - a series of Teachers Resources produced by Rowantree Group (2003)

St Madoes focuses on supporting our pupils to develop positive behaviours.

We aim to:
♦ To create an environment where all members of the School community feel safe,
respected and valued, and where bullying cannot flourish.
♦ To develop within the ethos and curriculum of our school attitudes, skills and activities which
will prevent all aspects of bullying.
♦ To foster trust among members of the school community so that bullying incidents can be
reported, discussed and dealt with appropriately.
♦ To encourage and foster active parental support in achieving those aims.
♦ To follow the guidance and advice from the Education and Childrens’ Services.

The underpinning values held at our school are found in our PSD, RME and Promoting Positive
Behaviour Policies and are set within our whole school aims; aims which help us develop “successful
learners”, “Confident individuals”, “responsible citizens” and “effective contributors”. We also discuss
many of these values in other curricular areas like Health, Citizenship and Religious and Moral
Education. We study bullying within our Health and PSD Programmes through Being Cool in School
and it also features in the various “pupils groups” that operate in school as well as in our whole school
assemblies.
“Being Cool in School” is a Restorative Behaviour Practive which aims to :- develop school ethos,
policies and procedures to reduce the possibility of conflict or harm arising: and restoring good
relationships where there has been conflict or harm.
Being Cool in School is a personal and social development programme whch helps children and young
people learn the skills of getting on with others, coping positively with everyday situations, and showing
sensitivity and respect while holding true to who they are. This approach encourages parents, staff and
pupils to work together to help children learn respect for themselves and others.

Dealing with Behaviour

Pupils are praised and rewarded for being well behaved and for showing consideration towards others.
There are clear procedures for dealing with inappropriate behaviour, either in or outwith class. (Refer to
Positive Behaviour Policy and Race Equality Policy). An advice sheet for all staff has been produced
to help them recognise and deal with incidents of bullying. (Appendix 1).

The Head Teacher keeps a record of incidents that are significant enough to be logged on paper. This
allows possible trends and patterns of behaviour to be identified. Parents are not generally contacted
over every issue, however will do should inappropriate behaviour continue after intervention strategies
have failed to impact.

Leaflets have been produced for pupils and parents on the above and are attached as appendices to
this Policy. (Appendices 2 & 3).

Roles & Responsibilities

Responsibility for implementation of this policy lies with the whole school community. This community
includes pupils, all teaching staff, support staff, kitchen staff, Parent Council and parent helpers, school
nurse, visiting specialist teachers and other regular school visitors.

Equal Opportunities & Special Needs

This policy, with other related policies, ensures that inclusion, equality for all and sensitivity towards the
needs and values of particular individuals is an integral part of all our procedures and dealings with
bullies and their victims. Some pupils with Additional Support Needs have anger management
problems and this must be taken into account.

Parental & Community Involvement

Parents have a responsibility for ensuring that they support their child in all aspects of school life. The
school expects parents and the community to uphold the ethos of initiatives, which are put in place for
positive behaviour, and raising attainment and achievement. With the support of the parents and the
community, the school should develop social and citizenship skills through a variety of contexts. The
Parent Council were involved in the writing of this policy.

Monitoring and Review

We will monitor and review our policy according to procedures in the school Quality Assurance,
Monitoring and Review policy and through the rolling programme of audit and review for the School
Improvement Plan.
The school will also monitor the effectiveness of the policy and strategies in place by the following
means

• Questionnaires to pupils and parents

• Recording incidents of bullying
• Monitoring frequency of reported incidents
• Feedback from parents, pupils and staff
 • Discussion with Pupil Council and Parent Council

Jane Sheldon Head Teacher 2009 To be reviewed January 2012

Reference/Resourcees:

“What’s the Score on Bullying” Rowantree Group N-P7 materials

“A Curriculum for Excellence”
St Madoes Policies – Positive Behaviour, Race Equality, PSD, Health and RME.
Let’s Stop Bullying. Scottish Executive (2005)
Respect me – anti bullying website – www.respectme.org.uk
How to stop Bullying – A Kisdscape Training Guide
www.bullying.co.uk
www.childline.org.uk

Being Cool in School - Fife Council Education @Service 2006

Promoting Positive Behaviour – Socttish Government
Restorative Practices in three Scottish Councils – Scottish Government 2004 - 2006

Appendix 1

Advice to Staff for dealing with “Bullying”

Signs which may indicate bullying - The child may:-

♦ Be unwilling to come to school

♦ Begin to do poorly in school work
♦ Become withdrawn
 ♦ Start acting out of character, by for example hitting other children
♦ Develop stomach aches or headaches
♦ Want to stay in at break-times
♦ Have a cut or bruise after playtimes

It is vital that our approach to bullying is consistently applied throughout the school by
all staff.

Procedures to follow if bullying is suspected:

♦ Report any incidence of bullying to the HT/ PT immediately

♦ Take each incident seriously & investigate immediately
♦ Remain calm and fair, listening and noting comments from all parties.
♦ Do not immediately jump to any conclusions
♦ Discuss the issues with your class & include opportunities for this discussion in PSD
time
♦ Be alert to any change of attitude in pupils
♦ Try to recognise potential victims & work to raise self-esteem and confidence
♦ Be aware of isolated children, and try to involve them in a sympathetic group.
♦ Keep a watchful eye on ‘rough and tumble’, to ensure that everyone is enjoying it!
♦ Try to help children talk though minor incidents - listen to both sides calmly
♦ Set aside “Bubble Time” to listen to individual pupil’s concerns
♦ Always make time to listen to children’s concerns, no matter how busy you are

A form will be completed by the member of staff who witnesses or receives any report of
bullying. This form ensures that details of incidents are logged as soon as possible.
Patterns of behaviour can also be identified and outcomes of investigation noted.
Forms, both blank and completed are held in the HT’s Office.

Please also be aware that other forms of bullying take place within a school e.g.

Pupil/Teacher Teacher/Pupil Teacher/Teacher Teacher/Parent Parent/Teacher

None of the above are acceptable and can be reported and dealt with via Authority
guidelines. Just as pupils should show respect at all times to all staff, staff must also
treat pupils, parents and other staff members with respect. Staff that act in an
unfriendly, dismissive or conspiratorial manner are just as guilty of bullying.
See main Anti Bullying Policy for useful resources

St Madoes Primary School – Pupil Information Leaflet

“What’s the Score on Bullying?”

Sometimes at school children can hurt each other by:

 ♦ name calling
♦ hitting, kicking, punching, throwing stones
♦ telling someone they are useless at something
♦ taking things without asking
♦ ’ganging up’ on people
♦ saying you’ll do something to someone if they don’t do what you want
♦ ignoring people or deliberately turning away from someone
♦ trying to take peoples’ things away from them, e.g. toys, money, sweets
♦ saying hurtful things about how someone looks, dresses or speaks
♦ saying hurtful things about someone’s family
♦ making up/or spreading stories about someone
♦ picking on someone because they have different interests or beliefs from you
♦ going too far in a game when things aren’t going their way

Bullying is when someone does any of these things

to another person more than once.

Bullying is not:
• Occasionally falling out with your friend/s
• When someone teases you sometimes
• Deciding that you do not want to play with someone every day
• Having a one off disagreement or fight with someone
• When someone finds a new best friend

This is what you must do if you are being bullied:

Use all the strategies you have learned in “Being Cool in School” lessons
• Tell your teacher, playground staff, parent or friend.
• If you are bullied outside of school tell your parents.
• Try to ignore silly comments or teasing – don’t say anything back – try to walk away.
• Tell people who are bullying you to ‘buzz off’, shout ‘NO!’ or ‘GO AWAY’.You must say it in a
“cool voice” and walk away immediately. Practice this in the mirror.
• Stay with friends when playing – you are more likely to be bullied if you are on your own.

All children should feel happy, safe and secure at school and we will do everything we can to make
sure that this happens for all our pupils.

St Madoes Primary School

Parent Information Leaflet- May 2009

“What’s the Score on Bullying?”

St Madoes Primary School actively seeks to provide an environment that is safe from all forms
of intimidation. Bullying at school can have a profound effect on children’s lives and can have a
lasting effect on them into adulthood. It can undermine their self-esteem and self-confidence and often
result in them becoming bullies themselves. Our programme of Health & Wellbeing includes teaching
the strategies of “Being Cool in School” which is way of showing how to deal with challenging situations
and being more resilient. Discussions on bullying are also part of this area of the curriculum.
There are five identifying features of bullying:

• It is deliberate, hurtful behaviour

• It is often repeated over a period of time.
• It is often difficult for those being bullied to defend themselves.
• It is difficult for those who bully to learn new social behaviours.
• The bully has, and exercises power over the victim.
Bullying is NOT
• Children falling out over a minor difference
• Children who do not choose to play with each other
A one off disagreement or fight between children
A child deciding to no longer be a “best friend”

Bullying can take a number of forms:

• Physical - e.g: hitting and kicking , spitting, pushing and grabbing

• Emotional or verbal - e.g: name calling, insulting and racist remarks, exclusion from
play, threatening and coercion. This can also includes abuse of Mobile Phones and e mail.
• Damage to property - e.g: taking lunches or destroying personal property
• Indirect – e.g: spreading nasty stories, excluding from groups
Early intervention is the key to dealing with any behaviour problem such as a child being
bullied.

 Encourage your child to talk about what has been going on in school, and talk through any minor
incidents calmly to ascertain what has happened.
 If you are worried that your child is being bullied, ask him/her directly.
 Find out the facts when told about an incident of bullying and inform the school immediately if you feel
there may be a bullying problem.
 Encourage him/her to use the Being Cool in School strategies he/she has been taught
 Encourage your child to tell a teacher or the playground supervisors if they or any of their friends are
experiencing difficulty in or out of school.
 Watch out for signs of stress in your child - headaches, sore stomachs, reluctance to come to
school - they can be indications that all is not well.
 Investigate if toys/ money start to go missing. Your child may be being asked for them.
 Take an active interest in friendships and out -of-school activities.
 Supervise situations where bullying may occur, e.g. walking to and from school.
 Avoid unsupervised exposure to violence on television / videos / computer games. Spend some time
discussing the different forms of violence - reality versus fantasy. Set a good example in the home.

What should parents do if their child IS the bully?

o Remain calm. Don’t bully or hit your child – this will make things worse.
o Try to find out why they need to exert this power, do they feel inadequate for some reason?
o Don’t hesitate to ask for help. The school can put you in touch with expert help.
o Talk to them about the Being Cool in Strategies they have learned in school
o Set realistic, firm guidelines and rules to help your child control his/her behaviour.
o Ensure that your child apologises, either in person or in writing to the child he/she has bullied.