Anti-Bullying

What is Bullying?

The School views bullying to be the wilful and conscious desire to hurt, frighten or threaten another person.

It takes the form of repeated physical acts, spoken word or a silent gesture. The following actions are viewed as examples of such behaviour:

Hitting, kicking and spitting, including encouraging someone else to do so
Verbal insults and name calling
Threatening or obscene gestures
Spreading rumours
Removing/hiding belongings
Excluding people from groups
Malicious use of text messaging and other means of electronic communication.

If a member of staff witnesses a single incident of bullying behaviour they should inform the relevant Tutor as soon as possible.

Policy

Our aim is for every student to be able to attend school in safety and free from humiliation, oppression and abuse.

Everybody within the school community is responsible for ensuring that education takes place in an atmosphere which is caring and protective.

Students are encouraged to share any difficulties with friends, teachers and parents. All members of the school community have a responsibility for ensuring that unacceptable behaviour does not occur. This will be encouraged throughout the whole life of the School.

Every allegation of bullying will be treated seriously

Every effort will be made to patrol areas identified as bullying zones by an adult presence.

Procedure for Dealing with Incidents of Bullying

It is the duty of every member of staff to deal with incidents according to the policy and procedures of RGS.

No member of staff must let an incident of bullying pass by unreported, whether it is on or off the school site.

If bullying is suspected then the following procedure should be followed:

Details of the incident/s should be communicated to Form Tutors and/or Heads of Sections as soon as possible. The way to proceed will be decided upon by the Head of Section.
Each incident will be investigated in an appropriate manner ensuring that a record is kept on the Bullying Incident Form.
Parents may be contacted and a meeting may be arranged if deemed appropriate by the Head of Section to decide the strategy to be adopted. SM may be involved at this stage if thought appropriate.
The strategy will be added to the form which will be passed onto SM. SM will ensure that all Bullying Incident Forms are placed in the relevant files until the person bullied is 21 years old.

What can we do to prevent bullying at RGS?

As a school community we will not allow cases of bullying to go unreported but will speak up, even at risk to ourselves.

This requires staff to:

be positive role models in word and action at all times
be observant of signs of distress or suspected incidents of bullying
make efforts to remove occasions for bullying by active patrolling during supervision duty
take steps to help victims and remove sources of distress without placing the victim at further risk
take an active interest in their child's social life and acquaintances
not encourage retaliation

This requires students to:

refuse to be involved in any bullying situation. If you are present when bullying occurs:
if appropriate, take some preventative action
report the incident or suspected incident and help break down the code of secrecy

This requires the school to:

inform parents that it will not tolerate bullying
take a positive approach to educating students to combat bullying
recognise that both the bullied and the bullies need appropriate support
train any member of staff likely to come into contact with bullying in the policy and procedures, especially with regard to the monitoring of any strategies put in place
use PSHE lessons to explore the nature of bullying, the reasons it might occur and to suggest strategies for dealing with it

The School recommends that parents of anyone being bullied should:

watch for signs of distress in their child
take an active interest in their child's social life and acquaintances
advise their child to tell a member of staff about the incident. If possible allow students to report and deal with the problem themselves. (S)he can gain much respect through taking the initiative and dealing with the problem without parental involvement
inform the School if bullying is suspected
not encourage retaliation
be willing to attend interviews at the School if their child has been involved in any bullying incidents

The School recommends that parents of bullies should:

discuss the issues with their child
be willing to attend school for discussions
join with the school in any measures which are taken to resolve the matter

Sanctions

These will vary with the seriousness and the length of the offences but counselling, suspension and exclusion will be employed if deemed appropriate.

Review

The policy and procedure will be reviewed annually by the Heads of Section. A brief report will be given annually to the Governors.

Bullying Incident Form - 8k