At Withernsea Primary School we take any incident of bullying very seriously and hope this leaflet will provide some useful advice.  The aim is to ensure NO BULLYING IN SCHOOL and we need to all work together to ensure this.

Bullying is taken to be "deliberately intimidating behaviour that causes physical or psychological distress..."

Ø It is deliberately hurtful behaviour

Ø It is repeated over a period of time

Ø It is difficult for those being bullied to defend themselves.

At Withernsea Primary School we aim to provide a caring environment where children feel secure and any incidents of bullying are dealt with effectively.

To achieve our aims we need to work together effectively with parents and pupils and ensure that everyone works together to prevent any incidents of bullying.

We hope this leaflet can provide some useful guidance and helpful advice to Parents and Pupils.

Please let us know in future if there are any improvements that can be made that would be helpful.

ADVICE TO PARENTS

Watch for signs of distress in your children.  There could be an unwillingness to attend school, a pattern of headaches or stomach aches, equipment that has gone missing, request for extra pocket money, damaged clothing or bruising.

Take an active interest in your child's social life.  Discuss friendships, how playtime is spent and the journey to and from school.

If you think your child is being bullied, inform the school immediately and ask to see Mrs Huteson, our Home-School Liaison Officer.  Furthermore, when discussing the problem with your son or daughter, follow the advice given for victims.

Keep a written record if the bullying persists.  It will be painful, but it will provide supportive evidence regarding WHO, WHAT, WHERE and WHEN.

With Mrs Huteson, devise strategies that will help your child and provide him/her with support inside and outside school.

Mrs Huteson will work closely with families over a period of time to ensure problems are sorted.  She will involve class teachers, support staff and senior managers depending on the nature of the problem.

Do not encourage your child to hit back.  It will only make matters worse.  Such behaviour could be contrary to your child's nature.  More positively, encourage your child to make more friends.  A child who has friends is less likely to be bullied.

FOR BOTH VICTIMS AND PARENTS

The following guidelines are for parents who know that their son or daughter is being bullied:

Ø First, tell your son or daughter that there is nothing wrong with him/her.  He/she is not the only victim

Ø Advise you son or daughter not to hesitate to tell an adult, for example, a liked and trusted teacher, member of the Nurture room staff or member of the support staff

Ø Together, identify those places where the bullying takes place and work out a way to avoid them. If this is not possible, advise that he/she makes sure that there are other trusted people about.  If they are not to be trusted, someone should be told

Ø Advise your son or daughter not to try and buy the bully off with sweets or other 'presents', and not to give-in to demands for money

Ø Together, Mrs Huteson and your son or daughter, will work out a plan of action to prevent further occurrences.

SCHOOL PROCEDURES

As teachers we will watch for early signs of distress in pupils - deterioration of work, spurious illness, isolation, the desire to remain with adults, erratic attendance.  Whilst this behaviour may be symptomatic of other problems, it may be the early signs of bullying.

Ø Listen carefully and record all incidents

Ø Offer the victim immediate support and help by putting the school procedures into operation

Ø Make the unacceptable nature of the behaviour, and the consequences of any repetition, clear to the bully and his /her parents

Ø Ensure that all accessible areas of the school are patrolled at break, lunchtime, between lessons and at the end of the day

Ø Use all the pupils as a positive resource in countering bullying and discuss the advice given below with classes or tutorial groups.  Peer counselling groups and circle time sessions may be used to resolve problems

Ø Pupils can also be used to help shy children or newcomers feel welcome and accepted.  Sexual and racial harassment also need to be discussed and dealt with.

The following steps may be followed in recording incidents of bullying and also a means of conveying to all concerned how seriously the school regards bullying behaviour:

Ø The bullied pupil will record the events in writing

Ø The bully will record the events in writing

Ø The teacher will record their discussion with both parties.

The teacher and/or senior colleague should record their discussions with both parties.

The parents/carers of the pupils should be sent copies of all reports and the reports placed in the respective pupils' files for a specified period of time.

The parents/carers of the pupils should be asked to respond to the above in writing.