Anti-Bullying Policy
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The team members of C & M Alternative Provision are committed to providing a supportive, caring and safe environment for all pupils and colleagues to enable them to engaged fully in a safe environment. Bullying is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at any time or in any situation.
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We are a TELLING provider. This means that anyone who knows that bullying is taking place is expected to tell the team members.
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Bullying behaviour is deliberate and repeated aggression, verbal, psychological or physical, conducted by an individual or group against any person.
Bullying is defined as deliberately hurtful behaviour, repeated over a period of time.
Bullying results in pain and distress to the victim.
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Five main types of bullying are:
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Physical (hitting, kicking, theft) extortion (demands for money, possessions or equipment, or forcing a student to steal)
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Verbal (name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, racist, sexual nature and homophobic remarks)
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Emotional (being unfriendly, tormenting, threatening gestures, excluding someone from social groups)
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Sexual (unwanted physical contact or sexually abusive comments)
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Cyber (all areas of internet, such as e mail and internet chat room misuse, mobile threats by text messaging and calls, misuse of associated technology, i.e. camera and video facilities)
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Isolated or one-off incidents of intentional negative behaviour, 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.
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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 and reported to the Police or MASH team for advice.
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It is not bullying when:
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Students of about the same age and strength have the occasional quarrel or conflict.
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A member of the team offers constructive or fair criticism of a student’s behaviour or work performance.
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All members of the team and pupils, are subject to this code, particularly the following relationships:
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Student to Student.
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Student to any team member.
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Team member to Student.
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Parent to team member.
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Team member to Parent.
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Team member to team member.
Craig Ormerod Associates procedures for investigation, follow-up and recording of bullying behaviour and the established intervention strategies used for dealing with cases of bullying behaviour are as follows:
Reporting procedures for Students:
Who to tell?
• Parents.
• Any team member with whom the student feels comfortable.
• Friends who will speak on your behalf.
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It is important to note that records of all incidents of bullying and action taken to resolve them will be kept.
Noting and Recording
All incidents of alleged bullying will be recorded.
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Procedures for Dealing with Reported Incidents:
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Procedures for team members.
If a student informs you of an incident of bullying affecting either themselves or a friend, follow these steps:
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Listen; encourage the student to tell their story as this is a very important first step.
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Take notes; record all the details such as date, time, location, names of those involved, witnesses etc. student’s own words must be recorded.
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Reassure; tell the student that help is available, action will be taken to investigate, it is not their fault and that they will not have to face this on their own.
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Satisfy yourself that no student is in immediate danger.
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Confidentiality is respected and the student’s privacy is protected, but a team member must not give guarantees not to tell anyone.
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Inform the DSO without delay. Complete recording of bullying behaviour as per normal procedure.
Follow-up steps to be taken:
•The students involved will be monitored on a regular basis by informal discussions.
• If necessary, the parents will be invited to a meeting with management.
Procedures for Students
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Pupils are expected to report bullying incidents immediately to an adult.
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Where serious bullying is suspected details will be recorded by team members and other adults
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Bullying behaviour or threats of bullying will be investigated robustly and action will be taken to cease the bullying.
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When serious bullying has been identified parents will be informed and invited to meet with appropriate team members to discuss the issues.
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If it is thought appropriate and necessary the police will be consulted.
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Pupils identified as bullies will be offered help and support to change their behaviour.
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Victims will be reassured that action has been taken to cease the bullying.
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The bully or bullies will be subject to established disciplinary measures as deemed appropriate by the head teacher or by senior staff designated by him.
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The bully or bullies will be given the opportunity to make a genuine apology to their victim(s). Reconciliation procedures will be attempted between parties, where and when it is deemed to be appropriate.
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When all issues surrounding a bullying incident have been resolved, ongoing monitoring will take place to ensure that subsequent repeated bullying does not re-occur.
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Awareness of bullying is continually highlighted through posters displayed in the Base.
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The expectations of each pupil are outlined as part of the assessment procedure for attending Craig Ormerod Associates provision.
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The procedures for identifying, reporting and resolving bullying issues are outlined diagrammatically and are displayed at the Base. (They are also available on the website).
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Bullying at C & M Alternative Provision will not be tolerated.