Lewes New School Policy on Bullying
The school has a strong integrated anti-bullying policy which is based on
a) Prevention
b) Resolution.
The school’s definition of bullying is behaviour which:
- causes harm to those who are powerless to stop it
- takes place repeatedly over time
- is a social behaviour often involving groups
- meets the needs of those holding the power
- can take many forms: verbal, physical, psychological
We do not define occasional acts of aggression, teasing, leaving out, name-calling or rough play as bullying. We feel it is important to discriminate between the normal, occasionally unkind behaviour of children and sustained bullying, in order not to create a ‘blame’ or ‘victim’ culture. For this type of behaviour, we would help children to work things out together peacefully, encouraging personal responsibility for behaviour so that children do not learn to define themselves as either ‘bullies’ or ‘victims’, attitudes which may easily become entrenched.
a) Prevention
For the prevention of bullying behaviour by pupils or staff, the school creates and sustains an environment where:
- bullying is seen by all to be inappropriate behaviour
- feelings are heard and differences are respected
- pupils and staff feel a shared responsibility for the well-being of all
- empathy for the feelings of others is fostered through the way the teachers communicate with the children on a day-to-day basis as well as activities built in to the curriculum, such as quiet circle times in the mornings.
All staff are committed to the creation of an environment in which bullying behaviour cannot flourish, and take full responsibility for their role as models and facilitators of appropriate inter-personal relationships.
b) Resolution
Instances of bullying at the school are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, as no one method is appropriate for all situations. Sometimes an informal chat with the children is all that is needed; other situations may call for a more formal session between two children which is facilitated by a teacher with the clear goal of finding a workable solution. At other times it may be appropriate to convene a larger group of children in a Circle Time setting in order to discuss any friendship and relationship issues that are causing problems. The policy of the school is to bring into the open any potentially bullying situations, on the basis that bullying can only flourish while it is hidden. Raising awareness of behaviours amongst the children, without apportioning blame, is a way of communicating trust, which the children respond to by taking more responsibility as individuals within the group.
The school recognises that any bullying situation may contain three sets of characters: the bully, the victim, and the bystanders who allow it to happen. In individual cases an assessment is made about the nature of the situation, and the resolution may involve the whole group or just the individuals involved. As well as working with a ‘bully’ to modify their behaviour, empowering ‘bystanders’ and ‘victims’ to become more assertive is seen as an intrinsic part of the school’s approach to bullying.
The school does not use punishment as a corrective measure for bullying for the following reasons:
- Children who manifest bullying behaviours are most like to be those with poor social skills, low self-esteem or difficult family backgrounds, for whom punishment may only serve to alienate them further from authority and the school community.
- There is no evidence that punishment serves to make a person more kind and helpful.
- Punishment for bullying behaviour does not make life safer for the child who is the victim of it, but may make it worse as the child who is bullying seeks revenge.
- The use of power may confirm to the child who is bullying how power may be used to intimidate the weaker party.
Our aim is to stop the bullying behaviour and make life safer for the child who is a victim of it. We therefore respond in ways which will help a child who is bullying to learn better behaviour, and to the victim of the behaviour in ways that will help him or her become more confident.
