Walton-Le-Dale Arts College & High School
Anti-Bullying Policy

Learning For Life

Policy Statement: Anti-Bullying Policy

RATIONALE

It is of central importance to the school community that we provide a physically and emotionally safe environment where students and staff can enjoy school life and achieve their potential.

As stated in our School Values Statement, Walton-Le-Dale Arts College & High School recognises that:

Everyone has the right to feel safe in school;
We should be polite to each other at all times;
Everyone has to take responsibility for their own actions;
Everyone should be given respect.

How we treat other people and how we conduct ourselves around school in our community should reflect these values.

This policy aims to address the following outcomes of the Every Child Matters Framework:

Outcome 1: Be Healthy
Outcome 2: Stay Safe
Outcome 3: Enjoy and Achieve
Outcome 4: Make a Positive Contribution

Definition

The definition of bullying, including racist, sexist and homophobic bullying is:

Deliberately hurtful (including aggression);
Repeated over a period of time;
Difficult for victims to defend themselves.

Walton-Le-Dale Arts College & High School students have summarised the definition as:
'Bullying is when you make someone's life a misery everyday'.

Bullying can take many forms:

Physical - hitting, kicking, taking/destroying belongings;
Verbal - name calling, insulting, making offensive remarks, malicious rumours, malicious phone calls;
Indirect - spreading nasty stories, exclusion from social groups, sending malicious e-mails,text messages, chat room messages e.g. MSN, web pages.

It is not bullying when:

There is no intention to hurt or harm i.e. behaviour is thoughtless or accidental;
There is a one-off fight/argument between students of equal stature or strength;
There is a good reason why others cannot be included in a group activity;
A student is called a nickname with which they are happy

PURPOSES

This policy aims to provide an understanding and awareness of what constitutes bullying, strategies for dealing with bullying and procedures and guidelines to be followed in the event of bullying and suspected bullying. It works on the premise that bullying is a serious matter and any incident once reported will therefore be acted upon promptly and appropriately. However, it recognises that what is perceived as bullying can involve a complex chain of events and interpretations of those events so that each particular case needs to be dealt with on an individual basis.

This policy links directly to the Behaviour for Learning Policy. The approach taken by the school with bullying incidents will be initially of a restorative nature. If a successful resolution is achieved sanctions will not necessarily be applied. If however, the restorative approach does not work the sanctions as outlined in the Behaviour for Learning Policy will be applied. Parents will be involved in the latter case and in the former when appropriate Occasionally, external agencies will be involved.

This policy aims to raise awareness through tutorial work, assemblies, day to day work in lessons, School Council, pastoral work, specialist mediation work and Enrichment Days. Awareness is also raised within the formal curriculum through Personal, Social and Health Education, Citizenship, Performing Arts and in other subject areas such as English, when appropriate.