MORECAMBE COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL Specialist College for Maths and Computing

ANTI BULLYING POLICY

June 2009

Morecambe Community High School

BULLYING GUIDANCE FOR PARENTS AND PUPILS

BULLYING IS DELIBERATELY CAUSING HARM TO ANOTHER PERSON AND IT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED AT THIS SCHOOL

If you feel you are being bullied:

Fill in a bully report form Tell an adult in school Go and see the Anti-Bullying Club or Peer Mentors Tell a friend DO NOT JUST LET IT HAPPEN. TELL SOMEONE

All reports of bullying will be fully investigated and dealt with by heads of house or transition. If necessary the key teacher for bullying may become involved along with senior teachers in the school.

As a school we will take all reasonable steps to support our pupils and make them safe but we need to know if you feel threatened or unhappy

Parents will be contacted immediately if their child has been bullied and the school will take the necessary action to make sure the bullying stops.If parents become concerned about bullying they are welcome to contact the relevant Head of House or Transition to discuss ways of resolving the situation.

REMEMBER:

Do not let bullies get away with it.

The more people stand up to bullying the less it will happen.

Together we can make this stop.

MORECAMBE COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

Information to parents of students new to the school

Bullying is:“Behaviour by an individual or group usually repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally”

The three main types are: Physical – e.g. hitting, kicking or taking things Verbal – e.g. name calling, insulting of friends or family Indirect – e.g. spreading rumours, excluding, e-mail, text or any other form of cyber bullying

AS A SCHOOL WE WILL TAKE ALL REASONABLE STEPS TO SUPPORT OUR PUPILS AND MAKE THEM SAFE BUT WE NEED TO KNOW IF YOU FEEL THREATENED OR UNHAPPY

Parents will be contacted immediately if their child has been bullied and the school will take the necessary action to make sure the bullying stops. If parents become concerned about bullying they are welcome to contact the relevant Head of House or Transition to discuss ways of resolving the situation. If a student feels they are being bullied they are encouraged to tell someone.

This could be: A teacher The form tutor The Head of House or Year A friend A peer mentor A student support manager A member of the LINC A lunch time supervisor

Where there is evidence of severe and/or persistent bullying, Heads of House or Year will record this on a separate form and inform parents of their actions throughout the process. The Heads of House or Year will contact parents where necessary and not for incidents that can be easily dealt with in school. The decision whether or not to contact parents rests with the Heads of House and Year.

Where there is an instance of clear bullying, Heads of House and Year open up regular communication channels with parents and monitor the process. This will involve a minimum of one follow up phone call after a period of two to three weeks.

Morecambe Community High SchoolAnti-cyber bullying code

Being sent an abusive or threatening text message, or seeing nasty comments about you on a website, can be really upsetting. This code gives you seven important tips to protect yourself and your friends from getting caught up in cyber bullying, and advice on to how to report it when it does happen. 

1. Always respect othersRemember that when you send a message to someone, you cannot see the impact that your words or images may have on the other person. That is why it is important to always show respect to people and be careful what you say online or what images you send. What you think is a joke may really hurt someone else. Always ask permission before you take a photo of someone.  

If you receive a rude or nasty message or picture about someone else, do not forward it. You could be assisting a bully and even be accused of cyber bullying yourself. You could also be breaking the law.

2. Think before you send It is important to think before you send any images or text about yourself or someone else by email or mobile phone, or before you post information on a website. Remember that what you send can be made public very quickly and could stay online forever. Do you really want your teacher or future employer to see that photo? 

3. Treat your password like your toothbrushDon't let anyone know your passwords. It is a good idea to change them on a regular basis. Choosing hard-to-guess passwords with symbols or numbers will help stop people hacking into your account and pretending to be you. Remember to only give your mobile number or personal website address to trusted friends.

4. Block the BullyMost responsible websites and services allow you to block or report someone who is behaving badly. Make use of these features, they are there for a reason! 

5. Don't retaliate or replyReplying to bullying messages, particularly in anger, is just what the bully wants.  

6. Save the evidenceLearn how to keep records of offending messages, pictures or online conversations. These will help you demonstrate to others what is happening and can be used by your school, internet service provider, mobile phone company, or even the police to investigate the cyber bullying.

7. Make sure you tellYou have a right not to be harassed and bullied online.  

There are people that can help: 

Tell an adult you trust who can help you to report it to the right place, or call a helpline like Childlike on 0800 1111 in confidence. 

Tell the provider of the service you have been bullied on (e.g. your mobile-phone operator or social-network provider). Check their websites to see where to report. 

Tell your school. Your teacher or the anti-bullying coordinator at your school can support you and can discipline the person bullying you.

←Finally, don't just stand there. If you see cyber bullying going on, support the victim and report the bullying. How would you feel if no one stood up for you?

Morecambe Community High SchoolIncident of Bullying Report

1) Write down your name and form…………………………………………………

2) Today’s date………………………………………………………………………..

3) Who is bullying you?.......................................................................................

4) Write down the names of any witnesses………………………………………

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5) Where did the bullying happen?.....................................................................

6) What type of bullying was it? These are some suggestions, if you can, select one and give as many details as clearly as you can:

1. Called names 2. Something taken 3. Been threatened 4. Been hit or attacked5. Another type of bullying (please explain)

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7) For how long has the bullying been going on? Please circle one option.

1 day 2 – 3 days 4 – 7 days

If longer than 1 week, write how long………………………..

Check that you have filled in this bullying report as fully as possible and pass it to a member of staff. If possible try to talk to the member of staff about what has happened.

Staff Action: Please turn over and write a full account of action taken. All involved staff to indicate action taken.

Action taken (to be completed only by members of staff)

Action 1:………………………………………………………………………………

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Action 3

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Please return completed form to Head of Year 7 / Head of House