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Anti-Bullying Policy

 

 

SPRINGFIELD SCHOOL

Wakefield Pupil Referral Units

Sharing values, celebrating differences, embracing success.

 

Vision

To enable all our learners to achieve personal success by becoming productive, resilient, responsible members of society.

 

 

Anti-Bullying Policy

 

Approved By:

The IMB

Version:

1.0

Created on:

February 2023

Amended on:

 

Next review date:

February 2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contents

 

  1. Aims and Objectives

 

  1. Definition

 

  1. Prevention

 

  1. Evaluation

 

  1. Documentation

 

  1. Consequences

 

  1. Hate Crime and Bullying

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aims and Objectives

 

All pupils within The Springfield Centre have the absolute right to be educated in a safe and secure environment and to be protected from anyone who wishes to harm, degrade or abuse them. The Springfield Centre has a responsibility to respond to incidents of bullying and to emphasise to staff, pupils, their parents/carers and all other stakeholders the Centre’s commitment to thoroughly investigate all incidents of bullying so that all pupils can enjoy a safe learning environment. To this end, The Springfield Centre will:

 

  • Fulfill their statutory responsibility to respect the rights of children and to safeguard and protect their welfare;
  • Address the problem of bullying through the implementation of The Springfield Centre’s policies and procedures;
  • Raise awareness among staff, pupils, parents/carers and wider stakeholders about the issue of bullying to create an environment where bullying is seen as unacceptable;
  • Be proactive in the prevention of bullying and demonstrate to bullies that their behaviour is unacceptable and reassure victims that action will be taken to keep them safe;
  • Make staff, pupils, parents/carers and wider stakeholders aware of what actions to take when an incident of bullying has occurred, including access to current training to ensure best practice;
  • Accurately record all incidents of bullying and monitor the effectiveness of strategies implemented when bullying has occurred;
  • Address the behaviour of the bullies in a fair manner in line with the behaviour policy and provide guidance and support so that they can change their behaviour;
  • Ensure that victims of bullying are fully supported by trusted adults within the school environment.  

 

Definition

 

School bullying can be defined as:

 

 “the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It can happen face to face or online.”

 

Reference: The Anti-Bullying Alliance 2017 www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk

 

Bullying can be physical, verbal, emotional, sexual, online/cyber and indirect. Examples of bullying behaviour can be:

 

  • Physical – pushing, poking, kicking, hitting, biting, pinching etc.
  • Verbal – name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, threats, teasing, belittling.
  • Emotional – isolating others, tormenting, hiding books, threatening gestures, ridicule, humiliation, intimidating, excluding, manipulation and coercion.
  • Sexual – unwanted physical contact, inappropriate touching, abusive comments, homophobic, bi-phobic or transphobic abuse, exposure to inappropriate films etc.
  • Online/cyber – posting on social media, sharing photos, sending nasty text messages, social exclusion.
  • Indirect – can include the exploitation of individuals.

 

Reference: The Anti-Bullying Alliance 2017 www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk

 

Prevention

 

Staff

All staff will be made aware of The Springfield Centre’s stance on bullying through staff meetings and staff training. Staff will apply the Centre’s anti-bullying policy consistently when episodes of bullying are witnessed by them or reported to them. Staff will regularly reinforce the message to pupils that bullying is unacceptable and will take positive action to prevent it.

 

Pupils

The issue of bullying will be raised with pupils on a number of levels including the following:

 

  • Upon referral to The Springfield Centre and during the initial visit to the school;
  • At whole school level through nurture activities, school council and regular drop-down events;
  • At regular intervals throughout the academic year during assemblies, weekly interventions and other timetabled activities;
  • Personalised interventions where needed to address any individual concerns.

 

Parents and Carers

Parents/carers and pupils will be regularly consulted about their views on the effectiveness of anti-bullying strategies at our school through surveys at parent showcase events and pupil voice sessions. 

 

Evaluation

 

Analysis of the gathered data from all stakeholders will be used to inform the development of future anti-bullying strategies and initiatives. Recording of incidents, intervention and implementation of the anti-bullying policy will be quality assured by the Designated Safeguarding Lead and the Head Teacher. The Anti-Bullying Policy will be reviewed every three years.

 

Documentation

 

All episodes of bullying reported to staff either verbally or in writing will be recorded by trained staff on Integris. Any safeguarding issues which arise from these incidents will be logged on CPOMs, which will automatically alert all Designated Safeguarding Leads and members of the Senior Leadership Team.

Consequences

 

Incidents of bullying will be resolved by staff who have positive relationships with the pupil(s). A sanction will be imposed which may include any of the following:

 

  • A restorative meeting between the parties involved;
  • Eliciting an apology, verbal or written from the perpetrator of the bullying to the victim;
  • Contacting parents/carers, social workers;
  • Removal of break or lunch time of the perpetrator for a set period of time;
  • Asking another adult to mediate between the bully and the victim;
  • Intervention programme delivered to the perpetrator and/or the victim.

 

Repeated, or more serious incidents of bullying behaviour may result in:

 

  • Referral to the Senior Leadership Team for further action;
  • 1:1 targeted intervention work either on site or off site;
  • Internal Exclusion (as an alternative to a Suspension) to undertake a bespoke intervention;
  • Suspension.

 

Hate Crime and Bullying

 

Definition

In accordance with the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, the definition of hate crime is:

 

“any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race or perceived race;

religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation;

disability or perceived disability and any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender.”

 

There is a distinction between a hate crime and a hate incident. A hate incident is “any incident in which the victim, or anyone else, thinks is based on someone’s prejudice towards them because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or because they are transgender.” 

 

However, a hate incident does not necessarily break the law. Where a hate incident amounts to a criminal offence and is based on one of the five protected characteristics, it is known as a hate crime.

 

The type of conduct that will be considered as a hate incident is wide ranging and includes the following:

 

Verbal abuse; harassment; bullying or intimidation; physical attacks; threats of violence; hoax calls, abusive phone or text messages, hate mail; online abuse; displaying or circulating discriminatory literature or posters; graffiti; arson; throwing rubbish in a garden; malicious complaints.

 

Reference: The Anti-Bullying Alliance 2017 www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk

 

Recording

Incidents of bullying with a racist, faith targeted, homophobic, bi-phobic or transphobic content will be recorded Integris and be referred to the Designated Safeguarding Leads and the Senior Leadership Team.

 

Reporting

If a hate crime has been committed, this will be reported to the police. For hate incidents where a crime has not been committed, perpetrators will be sanctioned in accordance with the school’s Behaviour Policy and an intervention programme undertaken.

 

If an incident raises concerns about a student’s welfare, behaviour or circumstances including expressing extremist ideas/terminology, the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead may complete a referral to the PREVENT team after investigation. PREVENT is one strand of the UK’s overall counter terrorism strategy, known as CONTEST.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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