Rationale

In keeping with the school Vision and Mission and the National Safe Schools Framework, initiated by the Federal Government, which mandates that all Australian schools be safe and supportive environments and that it is the right of all school community members to feel safe, our anti-bullying policy has as its purpose to create a school that is a place where we love and care for one another and where we are responsible for our actions and accept the consequences for wrong doing. Every student and staff member has the right to feel safe within our learning and working environment. In keeping with our Catholic Ethos, we state that any form of bullying will not be condoned or supported.

Therefore, bullying or harassment is not accepted in any form. All members of our community are committed to ensuring a safe and supportive environment which promotes personal growth and fosters positive self-esteem for all. We aim to maintain a setting in which everyone feels valued and respected and where individual differences are appreciated, understood and accepted.

Policy framework

Our policy works within the framework of the School Vision and Mission Statement, Syllabus and Guideline documents (Religious Education, Personal and Social Development and HPE), the School Behaviour Management Plan, Brisbane Catholic Education Regulations and Guidelines and Brisbane Catholic Education Anti-Bullying Policy – see Appendix 1. The National Safe Schools Framework governs us in creating an anti-bullying policy, which promotes positive relationships. This policy and its procedures address, in the main, child to child bullying and common behavioural situations.

There is a need to consult the BCEC Student Protection Policy when the situation is one which involves adult-to-adult, adult to child or child to child abusive behaviours or harm. The Student Protection policy outlines BCEC policy and procedures with regard to these situations and contains direction to appropriate documentation for specific scenarios.(see Appendix 2) The Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Primary School, Anti-Bullying Policy and Procedures therefore works in conjunction with the BCEC Student Protection Policy and its accompanying “Feeling Safe Strategies" and “Reporting Processes".

There is a need to consult the Archdiocese of Brisbane, Workplace Bullying and Sexual Harassment Policy, Procedures and Guidelines when specifically addressing staff to staff, employer to employee or staff to parent situations involving bullying and harassment. This Workplace Health and Safety Policy may also be referred to in student-to-student situations in conjunction with the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Primary School, Anti-Bullying Policy and Procedures.

Bullying is defined as repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological behaviour that is harmful and involves the misuse of power by an individual or group towards one or more persons (National Safe School's Framework, 2011)

Bullying is

• when someone gains power over another person by hurting or harming that person, more than just once.
• intentional and there is an imbalance of power
• continuing to 'pick on' someone, torment them or exclude them, so that the person feels helpless.
• when others are bystanders and encourage bullying behaviour.
  

Forms of bullying:

• Physical: any form of violence or threat, intimidation
• Verbal: name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, persistent teasing, intimidation
• Emotional: excluding, tormenting, ridicule, humiliation, intimidation
• Racist: taunts, graffiti, gestures, intimidation
• Sexual: unwanted physical contact, abusive comments, intimidation
• Cyber: unwanted text messages, emails, information technology, intimidation 
   

What is NOT Bullying (referenced from BCE guidelines)

In keeping with the above definition, “one off" incidents involving social isolation, conflict, random acts of aggression/intimidation or meanness are not defined as bullying. 

SIGNS YOUR CHILD MAYBE BEING BULLIED

• Loss of interest in schoolwork
• Reluctance to attend school
• Diminished academic performance
• Reluctance to talk about school and activities
• Limited social contact with peers
• Mood swings, especially toward depression, irritability, unhappiness or outbursts of anger
• Reported headaches, stomach pains (frequently in the morning before leaving for school), poor appetite
• Loss of sleep
• Visible cuts, scratches, bruises
• Loss of personal property because of theft, extortion or damage to personal property

IMPLEMENTATION

At Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Primary School we will:-
Openly talk about bullying – what it is, how it affects individuals, groups and the community and what we can do about it.

• Provide our students with opportunities to develop skills, which will build their self-awareness and self-management skills.
• Encourage students to 'tell' of incidents of bullying or of being bullied.
• Establish 'telling' as acceptable and responsible behaviour valued in our community.
• If bullying is confirmed, then see actions (response) below.

Primary Prevention Programs

Programs used in the school that cover key concepts include:

• Beating Bully Bulldozer Program
• Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum
• Religious Education program
• Personal and Social Development Guidelines
• School Behaviour Management Program

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RESPONSE

Rights

• Every person has the right to feel safe.
• Every person has the right to be treated with respect and fairness.
• Every person has the right to learn.

At school, it is everyone's responsibility to take the necessary steps to stop bullying behaviour.

Responsibilities

Staff, students and parents have the following responsibilities:

Leadership Team:

• To promote the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Primary School Anti-bullying Policy and Procedures and the concepts involved.
• To teach and model appropriate behaviours.
• To teach and clarify for the student the terms, meanings and distinct differences between, bullying, social isolation, conflict, random acts of aggression/intimidation and meanness.
• To teach and promote resilience.
• To teach and model active listening so that all incidents are treated seriously
• To provide appropriate counselling and other support services as required.
• To provide support for parent/guardians through information sessions and newsletter inserts.
• To initiate and arrange meetings with stakeholders at the reporting stage of the procedure.
• To recognise and value the partnership between home and school. (It is the school's responsibility to contact parents of other students when incidents happen. It is the parent's responsibility to care for and support his or her own children)

All Teachers:

• To promote the BCEC Feeling Safe Strategy and to display the poster in the classroom.
• To teach and model appropriate behaviours.
• To teach and clarify for the student the terms, meanings and distinct differences between, bullying, social isolation, conflict, random acts of aggression/intimidation and meanness.
• To teach and promote resilience.
• To teach and model active listening so that all incidents are treated seriously.
• To recognise and value the partnership between home and school. It is the school's responsibility to contact parents of other students when incidents happen. (It is the parent's responsibility to care for and support his or her own children)
• To record repeated behavioural incidences.
  
  

All School officers:

• To teach and model appropriate behaviours.
• To be aware of the policy and the strategies being implemented in the school.
• To model active listening so that all incidents are treated seriously.
  
   

Students will be encouraged and supported to:

• Use strategies taught in the Beating Bully Bulldozer program as well as other primary prevention programs.
• Report all behavioural incidences to the classroom teacher or teacher on playground duty and to alert the classroom teacher of repeated incidences.
• To model acceptable behaviour to others- Say NO to bullying behaviours.
• To be a responsible bystander and take appropriate action which would be to seek the support of a teacher or other staff member. (i.e. If it's not safe, it's safe to tell)
• To identify a network of trusted adults that they can talk to for support. (The children are often encouraged to identify five adults that they can talk to – one person for each finger on their hand.)
• To let an adult know what is happening. They need to alert their classroom teacher if a behaviour is repeated.
• To keep on telling until the bullying stops.
• To say no to bullying behaviours.
• To use positive language and behaviour towards all others. 
  
  

Parents should:

• Remain calm….act not to react.
• Be aware of the policy and the strategies being implemented in the school and to actively discuss the policy with their children.
• Teach and model appropriate behaviours at home.
• Encourage children to report incidents to the teacher so that they can be dealt with immediately.
• Encourage children to have and to use their nominated support network when at school.
• Encourage their children to speak openly with them and to look at positive strategies to do with their feelings.
• Recognise and value the partnership between home and school. It is the school's responsibility to contact parents of other students when incidents happen. (It is the parent's responsibility to care for and support his or her own children)
• Support their children in the knowledge that the resolution of the situation may take some time.
• Help them to identify their situation of concern using the definitions provided in Appendix 3.
  
   
  

RESPONSE

When an investigation about bullying is required, the following procedures will be followed:

1. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Primary School adopts a 'no blame' approach and process in the first instance. Those involved will be interviewed (by teacher or Leadership Team member) and made aware of the suspected bullying and the school's anti-bullying position. At this stage there may not be any consequences and parents may not be notified. The incident, if deemed not to be bullying, may be recorded and tracked according to the Behaviour Support Plan.

2. If bullying is identified, the teacher/ Leadership Team may choose to use the following methods (Rigby, K. 2013) with the children involved:

• Mediation
• Method of shared concern (if group involved)
• Individual counselling

Parents of both the child exhibiting the bullying behaviour and the child who has been bullied will be notified of the level and severity of the incident/s and our response. A record of the incident is kept on the file using the School Behaviour Data Base. (Attached form to be completed by teacher with initial information). An action plan is formulated.

3. Support and Monitor - continued monitoring by the classroom teacher and support will take place for an agreed period of time. This will be dependent on a number of variables some of which may be 1) age, 2) severity of incident, 3) frequency, 4) patterns of behaviour. Monitoring and support given will be recorded.

4. Continued bullying would result in a further action plan being devised, appropriate consequences for the child (see list below), and further dialogue with the parents. The Guidance Counsellor and or Learning Support staff and Brisbane Catholic Education personnel may be involved in formulating this action plan. Responses to bullying actions may include:

a. Risk management procedures (e.g Withdrawal from playground)

b. Teaching of social problem solving strategies

c. Offering opportunities for reconciliation between victim and bully

d. Ongoing counselling from an appropriate agency

e. Rewards for positive behaviour

f.  Internal suspension

g. External suspension

SUPPORT

We support the student who has been bullied in the following ways:

• Offering the child who has been bullied an immediate opportunity to talk about the experience with their class teacher, another teacher or a member of the Leadership Team.
• Individual counselling sessions to discuss strategies which may include how to deal with the bullying behaviours, mediation if appropriate
• Informing and collaborating with the child's parents
• Continuing to monitor the child's behaviour and offering appropriate support
• Reinforcing processes for reporting of bullying incidents
• Documenting incident/s
• Taking necessary actions to prevent more bullying

We support the student who has bullied in the following ways:

• Talking immediately with the class teacher, another teacher or a member of the Leadership Team about what has happened and the behaviours the children have been displaying
• Informing the child's parents
• Individual counselling sessions discussing seriousness of behaviours, changes in behaviour and support that may be needed.
• Continuing to monitor the child's behaviour and offering appropriate support
• Targeted or individual interventions to support the development of socially appropriate behaviour
• Documenting the incident on the School Behaviour Data Base.

RECORD KEEPING

All complaints of bullying will be recorded on the School Behaviour Database.

Details on the database will include:

• Details of incident
• Dates and names of parties concerned
• Student bystanders and staff witnesses
• Action taken by staff

​

Appendix One

Preventing and Responding to Student Bullying and Harassment in Schools Policy

Brisbane Catholic Education schools promote a positive culture that enables all members of the school community, feel safe and supported and free from the fear of bullying, harassment, intimidation and victimisation and feel safe and supported.

RATIONALE

Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Brisbane provide all students with opportunities to develop positive behaviours and self-discipline in a safe, supportive environment where mutually respectful relationships are the defining features of a dynamic, Christ-centred community.

The prevention and management of bullying is incorporated within the Brisbane Catholic Education Student Behaviour Support Policy - Rationale and Guidelines, Procedures and Regulations.  Each school's Student Behaviour Support Plan should address all forms of bullying in line with these documents. 

Bullying is defined as repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological behaviour that is harmful and involves the misuse of power by an individual or group towards one or more persons (National Safe Schools' Framework, 2011).

VISION

Each Catholic community, organisation and individual collaboratively engaged in the educational ministry of the Church in the Archdiocese of Brisbane is called to:

Teach

We promote faith in Jesus Christ, teaching and learning about Jesus, the gospel and the faith of the Catholic Christian community. Learning is lifelong, life-giving and engages the whole person.

Challenge

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, we challenge those we educate to live in communion with God, others and the whole of creation in prayerful, sacramental, just, peaceful, inclusive and reconciling communities.

Transform

We educate for a transformed world in communion, by nurturing the gifts and potential of each person, enacting shared leadership, and exercising a preferential option for the poor and marginalised.

PURPOSE

This policy document is aligned with the Vision Statement for Catholic Education above and its purpose is to reaffirm and strengthen Catholic school communities to:

• commit to positive, proactive practices in support of student behaviour and wellbeing;

• ensure Student Behaviour Support planning promotes preventative approaches to bullying and responsive approaches to restoring relationships;
• foster respectful interpersonal relationships among and between all community members;
• promote positive behaviour support as an integral part of all learning and teaching experiences.

EXPECTATIONS

The National Safe Schools' Framework (2011) states a safe and supportive school is one in which

“…….. diversity is valued and all members of the school community feel respected and included and can be confident that they will receive support in the face of any threats to their safety and wellbeing".

In line with the National Safe Schools Framework it is expected that:-

Brisbane Catholic Education office and school personnel will be familiar with:

• BCE Student Behaviour Support Policy- Rationale and Guidelines, Procedures and Regulations;
• BCE Preventing and Responding to Student Bullying and Harassment in Schools Guidelines and Procedures;
• BCE Student Protection Processes.

• Schools will provide clear expectations in relation to bullying and harassment as part of their whole school Student Behaviour Support Plan.
• Staff, students and parents will be familiar with the school Student Behaviour Support Plan that is published, promoted and available to all members of the school community.
• Schools, with the support of parents, the wider community, and young people themselves, will take proactive and preventative action to prevent bullying happening in the first instance.
• Schools, in line with the whole school Student Behaviour Support Plan and the BCE Student Protection Processes, will develop planned preventative approaches, clear protocols, and age and context appropriate responses to bullying behaviour that is visible in documentation and practice.
• Schools will report incidents of bullying in all environments, including cyberspace/online, and monitor this through consistent record-keeping of behaviour incident data in the Student Behaviour Support System (SBSS). This behaviour incident data should be tracked and analysed to detect patterns of behaviour that identify bullying.
  

Resources to Support policy

The Brisbane Catholic Education Preventing and Responding to Student Bullying in Schools Guidelines and Procedures has been developed to provide background, guidelines and resources to this policy and to clearly outline expectations in relation to its implementation.

Appendix Two

Student Protection Policy Statement – For Brisbane Catholic Education Schools

Policy

Catholic schools uphold the dignity of the human person, strives to develop the whole person and are committed to ensuring that support is provided in cases of abuse/harm of children/students or where such abuse/harm is suspected or alleged.

Introduction

This policy document applies to Brisbane Catholic Education schools. It refers to cases of abuse/harm of children1/students2 or where such abuse/harm is suspected or alleged.

The document Towards Healing - Principles and Procedures in Responding to Complaints of Abuse Against Personnel of the Catholic Church in Australia (third reprint, December 2000) covers complaints of sexual, physical, psychological and emotional abuse against persons working in the name of the Church (clerics, religious personnel, lay employees or volunteers). The Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference and the Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes have adopted this document. Brisbane Catholic Education applies Towards Healing principles and procedures through its document Student Protection – Reporting and investigative processes of inappropriate behaviour and child/student harm by employees.

All other cases of abuse/harm, eg sexual, emotional, physical abuse and neglect of child/student are covered by Brisbane Catholic Education's Student Protection – Reporting processes for allegations of child/student harm by someone who is not immediately associated with the school, other students, and student self-harm.

Rationale

Jesus insisted on the primacy of love: love of God and love of each other. No one was excluded from his love. In fact, by word and deed He showed a special preference for the poor, the powerless and the vulnerable, those often relegated to the margins of society. He especially loved children for of such are the Kingdom of heaven (Mt 19:14).

Appendix Three

Four Character Chart – Insert from Beating Bully Bulldozer Program