Anti-Bullying Policy

1. In accordance with the requirements of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 and the code of behavior guidelines issued by the NEWB, the Board of Management of Divine Mercy SNS has adopted the following anti-bullying policy within the framework of the school’s overall code of behavior. This policy fully complies with the requirements of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools which were published in September 2013.

2. The Board of Management recognizes 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.

(a) 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 in promoting a positive school culture in Divine Mercy SNS

The school promotes a positive school culture by putting emphasis on the school code of behavior “Discipline for Learning”.

The multi-cultural and diverse pupil enrolment trend promotes culture whereby mutual respect, courtesy and an awareness of the interdependence of people thrives.

All staff members are aware of the ethos of the school whereby care values are promoted and supported.

The school principal and other relevant personnel are made aware of concerns regarding pupils and families and take particular care of “at risk” pupils.

Good links are maintained by the school with relevant outside agencies.

(b) Effective leadership

(c) A school-wide approach

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

(e) Implementation of education and prevention strategies (including awareness raising measures) that:

• build empathy, respect and resilience in pupils;
• explicitly address the issues of cyber-bullying and identity-based bullying including in particular, homophobic bullying
• effective supervision and monitoring of pupils
• (f) Effective supervision and monitoring of pupils
• (g) Supports for staff
• (h) Consistent recording, investigation and follow up of bullying behaviour (including use of established intervention strategies);
• (i) On-going evaluation of the effectiveness of the anti-bullying policy.

3. In accordance with the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools bullying is defined as follows:

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 behavior are included in the definition of bullying:

• Deliberate exclusion, malicious gossip and other forms of relational bullying,
• Cyber-bullying and
• 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 behavior, 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.

Additional information on different types of bullying is set out in Section 2 of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary School.

 The list of examples below in non-exhaustive, and Divine Mercy S.N.S. may wish to add behaviours which reflect its own circumstances. 

Examples of Bullying Behaviour

General behaviours which apply to all types of bullying i

• Harrassment 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
• 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
• Invasion of personal space

Cyber (See Cyber Bullying Policy)

• Denigration: Spreading rumors, 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
• 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 member-ship 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
• Physical intimidation or attacks
• Threats
•   Discrimination, prejudice, comments or insults about colour, nationality, culture, social class, religious beliefs, ethnic or traveller background.

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 rumors
• Breaking confidence
• Talking loud enough so that the victim can hear
• 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 recognize 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

4. The relevant teachers in this school are: the class teacher of the victim, class teacher of the alleged bully, learning support teachers, members of the Care Team, School Principal and Deputy Principal.

Any teacher may act as a relevant teacher if circumstances warrant it.

5. The education and prevention strategies (including strategies specifically aimed at cyber-bullying, homophobic and transphobic bullying) that will be used by the school are as follows (see Section 6.5 of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools):

Sample 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 behavior.
• 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.
• Whole staff professional development on bullying to ensure that all staff develops an awareness of what bullying is, how it impacts on pupils’ lives and the need to respond to it- prevention and intervention.
• An annual audit of professional development needs with a view to assessing staff requirements through internal staff knowledge/expertise and external sources
• Professional development with specific focus on the training of the relevant teacher(s)
• School wide awareness raising and training on all aspects of bullying, to include pupils, parent(s)/guardian(s) and the wider school community.
• Supervision and monitoring of classrooms, corridors, school grounds, school exit strategies, school tours and extra- curricular activities. Non-teaching and ancillary staff will be encouraged to be vigilant and report issues to relevant teachers. Supervision will also apply to monitoring student use of communication technology within the school.
• Development and promotion of an Anti-Bullying code for the school to be included in student journals and displayed publicly in classrooms and in common areas of the school.
• The school’s anti-bullying policy is discussed with pupils and all parent(s)/guardian(s) are given a copy or access to a copy as part of the Code of Behaviour of the school (every year).
• The continuance of regular (e.g. per year/per term/per month/per week) whole school awareness measures e.g. regular school or year group assemblies by principal, deputy principal, post holders.
• 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, e.h:
• Direct approach to teacher at an appropriate time, for example, after class
• Hand not up with homework.
• Make a phone call to the school or to a trusted teacher in the school.
• Anti-bullying, Niggle Box or Worry Box?
• Get a parent(s)/guardian(s) or friend to tell on your behalf.
• Administer a confidential questionnaire once a term to all pupils.
• Ensure bystanders understand the importance of telling if they witness or know that bullying is taking place.
• Identify clear guidelines to encourage parent(s)/guardian(s) to approach the school if they suspect that their child is being bullied. The protocol should be developed in consultation with parents.
• The development of an Acceptable Use Policy in the school to include the necessary steps to ensure that the access to technology within the school is strictly monitored, as is the pupils’ use of mobile phones.
• The listing of supports currently being used in the school and the identification of other supports available to the school and the identification of other supports available to the school, e.g.GLEN www.glen.ie BeLonGTo www.belongto.org

Implemenatation of Curricula.

•   The full implementation of the SPHE and CSPE curricula 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 programmers, e.g. Cool School Lessons, #UP2US, Stay Safe Programme, The Walk Tall Programme, On My Own Two Feet.
• School wide delivery of lessons on Relational aggression (Cool School Programme: A Friend in Deed), Cyber Bullying (#UP2US, Be Safe-Be Web wise, Think Before you Click, Let’s Fight it Together, Web wise Primary teachers’ resources), Homophobic and Trans phobic Bullying (Growing up LGBT, Stand Up Program, The Trust pack )Diversity and Inter culturalism, Yellow Flag Program. The school should list every resource related to the SPHE curriculum, and make a list of supports.
• Delivery of the Garda SPHE Programs .These lessons, delivered by Community Gardai, cover issues around personal safety and cyber-bullying
• 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.
• The school will implement the advice in “Sexual Orientation advice for schools” (RSE Primary, see booklet).

Links to other policies

• List school policies, practices and activities that are particularly relevant to bullying, e.g. Code of Behavior, Child Protections policy, Supervision of pupils, Acceptable Use Policy, Attendance, Sporting activities.

6. The school's procedures for investigation, follow-up and recording of bullying behaviour and the established intervention strategies used by the school for dealing with cases of bullying behaviour are as follows:

Procedures for Investigating and Dealing with Bullying

The primary aim in investigating and dealing with bullying is to resolve any issues and to restore, as far as is practicable, the relationships of the parties involved (rather than to apportion blame).

The school’s procedures must be consistent with the following approach. Every effort will be made to ensure that all involved (including pupils, parent(s)/guardian(s)) under- stand this approach from the outset.

Reporting Bullying Behaviour

• Any pupil or parent(s)/guardian(s) may bring a bullying incident to any teacher in the school.
• All reports will be investigated and dealt with by the relevant teacher.
• Teaching and non-teaching staff such as secretaries, special needs assistants (SNAs), bus escorts, caretakers, cleaners must report any incidents of bullying behavior witnessed by them, or mentioned to them, to the relevant teacher.

Investigating and dealing with incidents: Style of approach.

In investigating and dealing with bullying, the (relevant) teacher will exercise his/her professional judgment 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 analyzing incidents of bullying behavior, the relevant teacher should seek answers to questions of what, where, when, who and why. This should be done in a calm manner, set- ting 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 behavior 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 behavior, it should be made clear to him/her how he/she is in breach of the school’s anti- bullying policy and efforts should be made to try to get him/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.

• Follow up and recording :
• In determining whether a bullying case has been adequately and appropriately addressed the relevant teacher must, as part of his/her professional judgment, take the following factors into account:- Whether the bullying behavior 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 Deputy 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.
• Recording of bullying behavior
• 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 behavior are as follows: Informal- pre-determination that bullying has occurred
• All staff must keep a written record of any incidents witnessed by them or notified to them. Consideration needs to be given to where the records will be made e.g. incident book. All incidents must be reported to the relevant teacher
•    While all reports must be investigated and dealt with by the             relevant teacher, the relevant teacher must keep a written record of the reports, the actions taken and any discussions with those involved regarding same.

          The relevant teacher must use the recording template at Appendix 3 to record the bullying behavior in the following circumstances:

1. a) in cases where he/she considers that the bullying behavior has not been adequately and appropriately addressed within 20 school days after he/she has determined that bullying behavior occurred; and
2. b) Where the school has decided as part of its anti-bullying policy that in all circumstances bully-ing behavior must be recorded and reported to the Principal or Deputy Principal as applicable. The school should list behaviors that must be recorded and reported immediately to the principal. These should be in line with the school’s code of behavior.

When the recording template is used, it must be retained by the relevant teacher in question and a copy maintained by the principal. Due consideration needs to be given to where these records are kept, who has access to them, and how long they will be retained. Decisions around record keeping should be noted in this policy.

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(s)/guardian(s)s to support school interventions
• No Blame Approach
• Circle Time
• Restorative interviews
• Restorative conferencing
• Peer mediation where suitable training has been given The Procedures mention the following intervention strategies and reference Ken Rigby.

           The school’s program 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. - Pastoral care system - Outside agencies- HSE - Care team.- Group work such as Circle Time
• If pupils require counseling of further supports the school will endeavor to liaise with the appropriate agencies to organize same. This may be for the pupil affected by bullying or involved in the bullying behavior.
• Pupils should understand that there are no innocent bystanders and that all incidents of bullying behavior must be reported to a teacher.

Supervision and Monitoring of Pupils

The Board of Management confirms that appropriate supervision and monitoring policies and Practices are in place to both prevent and deal with bullying behavior and to facilitate early intervention where possible.

Here is an agreed time from which pupils are supervised within the school. There are agreed policies regarding supervision practices within the school. There is an agreed method of entering and exiting the school which teachers are expected to adhere to. Danger spots such as exiting the school are supervised.CCTV is installed and reviewed whenever necessary for relevant incidents. Appropriate filter systems are in place to restrict access to the internet.  All internet usage in the school is monitored by the teachers being present in the room.

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.

This policy was adopted by the Board of Management on ________________

This policy has been made available to school personnel, published on the school website (or where none exists, is otherwise readily accessible to parents and pupils on request) and provided to the Parents’ Association (where one exists). 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 once in every school year. Written notification that the review has been completed will be made available to school personnel, published on the school website (or where none exists, be otherwise readily accessible to parents and pupils on request) and provided to the Parents’ Association (where one exists). A record of the review and its outcome will be made available, if requested, to the patron and the Department.