Anti-Bullying Policy

ST NICHOLAS COLLEGE, RABAT PRIMARY SCHOOL

What is bullying?

Is the behaviour a repetitive action? Is this behaviour aimed to hurt? Is the victim unable to defend him/herself? If the answer is yes for all 3 questions then, yes, it can be a case of bullying.

Types of bullying:

Direct bullying which can be physical or verbal; Indirect bullying e.g. by passing a rumour; Cyberbullying through use of technology and social networks; Racial and Religious discrimination; Sexual bullying.

NB: conflicts and behaviour problems are not types of bullying!!!

Objectives:

To protect students and all stakeholders from all types of bullying; To provide a safe, secure and positive environment for all; To prevent and stop bullying behaviour; To promote values based education.

Expected Behaviour:

Students are expected to abide by the school rules; Students are expected to address each other and adults using respectful language;  Students are expected to refrain from any form of physical, harmful or unwanted contact;       Students are encouraged to speak up about bullying in a manner that does not put their own safety at risk.

How to make a referral:

Referrals can be made to any member of staff (teachers, LSAs, Guidance and SMT). However each referral needs to be passed on to the designated member of staff, to be logged into the incident report logbook.

Designated member of staff:

Our school has two members of staff who are there to keep a written record of each bullying incident and take the necessary action as deemed necessary. Ms Borg Vella, assistant head, is in charge of Kindergarten to Year 3  and Ms Rodgers, assistant head is in charge of Yr 4 to Yr 6.

What help is available?

Students (perpetrators and victims alike) are offered the support of the guidance teachers and/or college counsellor on a regular basis.

Should the guidance teacher feel that the case is still unresolved, a referral is made to the anti-bullying service.  (Staff to refer to the procedures section of the policy document for detailed referral and reporting procedures.)

Restorative Justice:

Perpetrators may be asked to participate in one of the following activities based on the extent of the bullying behaviour:

Perpetrator to be made aware that it is the action that is bad not the perpetrator him/herself; The perpetrator must apologise verbally to the victim in front of all those who witnessed the bullying incident; Send positive notes to the victim; Presentation in front of victim, classmates or schoolmates about, for example: Being a good friend, The difficulties that minority groups can face, Self-control; Reflective journal during time out, for example about: What happened? What did I do? What could I have done differently? What am I going to do to make up for my actions? What does it feel like to be put down?; Miming or drama during special assemblies or in class; Role Play during special assemblies or in class; Team building activities; Return, repair and/or pay any damaged or stolen property

What other students can do:

Buddy system /circle of friend to ensure that no one is being left alone; Organise dance classes / games during break within a supervised environment.

Resources:

Informative brochures about bullying; Display of acceptable behaviour rules in school corridors; Positive note cards (to promote positive behaviour); Prevention Programmes at school level; Close partnership with parents; Cyberbullying support (http://www.kellimni.com) to be promoted on school website; Launch of photo story prepared by Dr Micallef, Yr 5 teacher together with her students.

Procedures for members of staff

Intervene immediately (refer to procedures in anti-bullying policy); Report cases to designated member of staff; Case to be noted in the incident report book; Head of School to inform parents by letter.