PROCEDURES FOR DEALING WITH BULLYING AT SCHOOL

DEFINITION OF BULLYING

Bullying is a repeated and unjustified behaviour that:

May be physical, verbal and/or psychological
Is intended to cause fear, distress or harm to others
Is conducted by a more powerful individual or group against a less powerful individual who is unable to effectively resist.

PRINCIPLES

Bullying is a hidden problem and students can be reluctant to report bullying for fear of retribution
Bullying is a form of abuse
No student wants to be bullied
The majority of students support a program to reduce bullying
Incidents of bullying vary in complexity
Bystanders passively or actively contribute to bullying

SCHOOL STATEMENT

Ocean Reef Primary School community will:

Be alert to bullying incidents
Take all reports of bullying seriously and respond appropriately and in a timely manner as determined by the leadership of the school
Review staff training needs regularly
Work together with the school community to produce a safe, supportive and caring school environment.

RIGHTS

It is the right of all students, staff and parents at Ocean Reef Primary School to feel safe, valued and comfortable in and around the school during school hours and during school activities out of school hours

RESPONSIBILITIES

Children, staff and families of Ocean Reef PS have a responsibility to:

Provide suitable role models
Follow the provisions of the Bullying Procedures
Cooperate to combat bullying
Report bullying
Treat bullying seriously
Understand good practice in dealing with bullying

PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS OF SCHOOL

Parents can expect that Staff at Ocean Reef Primary School will:

have a clear understanding of what constitutes a bullying act
advise parents as quickly as possible if their child has been bullied
advise parents as quickly as possible if their child is thought to be bullying another child.
take reports of bullying seriously
follow school policy when bullying is reported
investigate instances of bullying in a timely and professional manner
cooperate with families to monitor children who have been identified as bullying other children and provide support for the child to change their behaviour
cooperate with families to monitor the children who have been identified as victims of bullying and provide support to restore a sense of safety for the child at school
report to parents the progress of children who have been bullied at school and
report to parents the progress of children who have been identified as bullying other children at school.

SCHOOL EXPECTATIONS OF FAMILIES

Staff of Ocean Reef Primary School expect that parents will:

have a clear understanding of what bullying is
report to staff if their child is being bullied
model appropriate behaviour, especially on school grounds
encourage their children to behave in a socially appropriate manner at school
encourage their children to deal with bullying in a non violent manner
encourage their children to report bullying to staff immediately if they are bullied
encourage their children to report bullying to staff if they see bullying occurring at school
monitor their children’s use of social networking sites on the internet
monitor their children’s use of mobile phones
work with school staff to make Ocean Reef Primary School a safe caring environment for children to able to learn and reach their potential
trust and support school staff to deal with bullying in a timely professional manner and
understand that in some cases bullying behaviour is very difficult to change, but this does not mean that the school is not trying to change the behaviour.

SCHOOL EXPECTATION OF STUDENTS

Staff of Ocean Reef Primary School expect that students will:

have a clear understanding of what bullying is
behave in a socially acceptable manner when on school grounds
accept and appreciate difference among the student group
report to staff if they are being bullied and/or if they see bullying occurring and
work with staff and parents to create a safe caring school environment.

STUDENT EXPECTATIONS

Students at Ocean Reef Primary School expect:

to attend school and be able to learn in a safe caring environment
to be treated with fairness and respect by school staff
to feel safe while on the grounds of Ocean Reef Primary during normal school hours
that all students will behave in a friendly safe manner at school
that difference among students will be accepted and appreciated and
that staff will follow school procedures when investigating complaints of being bullied.

REPORTING

Bullying can be reported to the class teacher, administration by an individual student or a parent.

If the administration team and/or teacher determine that an incident is characteristic of bullying behaviour, parents will be notified.

RECORDING

Investigated incidents of bullying and their outcomes will be recorded.

MONITORING

Monitoring may include the class teacher, duty teacher, Chaplain, school psychologist or administration team.

USEFUL RESOURCES

Bullying. No Way! provides information and ideas for students, parents

There is a lot of information for parents on the internet about cyberbullying. All students follow a programme of eSafety in their Digital Technology lessons and part of their Health Programme. A really good source of information is the e-Safety Commission website. They provide a lot of practical and sensible advice with upto date information.