ANTI BULLYING POLICY

ALLAH (SWT) says in suratul Hujurat:

“O you, who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is accepting of repentance and Merciful.”

“O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one’s] faith. And whoever does not repent – then it is those who are the wrongdoers.”

Children and young people at Rawdhatul Uloom enjoy many rights.  These include the right to be safe, enjoy and achieve and make a positive contribution to school life.  Rawdhatul Uloom maintains a caring approach to children and any form of bullying, physical, verbal, racial, homophobic, sexist or other type of harassment will not be tolerated.

What is bullying?

Bullying can be defined as a physical, psychological or verbal attack against an individual or group of individuals by a person or group of persons, causing physical or psychological harm to the victim.  It is usually conscious and wilful and commonly consists of repeated acts of aggression and/or manipulation.  It can take a number of forms – both physical and non-physical, either in combination or in isolation. Any bullying, whether physical or non-physical, may result in lasting psychological damage to the individual.

Bullying generally falls into one or a combination of the following categories:

  • Physical Bullying – Unprovoked assault on a person or group which can range from a ‘prod’ to grievous bodily harm.
  • Psychological – Reduction of a person’s self-esteem or confidence through threatening behaviour, taunting or teasing about race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, family circumstances, appearance, or any other feature of their lives which can be used to wound or humiliate them. 
  • Social-Ostracism/rejection by peer group.
  • Verbal – The use of language in a derogatory or offensive manner, such as swearing, racist or sexist abuse, sexual innuendo, spreading rumours, etc.
  • Cyber bullying – Using mobile phones or the internet to deliberately upset someone. This includes peer-on-peer abuse (see below). Being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users especially during remote learning.
  • Homophobic/transphobic/biphobic – Any hostile or offensive action against lesbians, gay males, bisexuals or trans-gender people, or those perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans-gender.
  • Child-on-Child abuse – any abusive behaviour that involves sexual harassment/violence, cyberbullying, physical abuse, ‘upskirting’, ‘sexting’, coercion or initiation/hazing (see Safeguarding and Child Protection, Online Safety policies).

Signs and symptoms of bullying

A child may indicate by signs or behaviour that he or she is being bullied. Adults should be aware of these possible signs and that they should investigate if a child:

  • is frightened of walking to or from school
  • is unwilling to go to school (school-phobic) or regularly feels ill in the morning
  • becomes withdrawn anxious, or lacking in confidence
  • starts stammering
  • attempts or threatens to self-harm or runs away
  • stops eating
  • cries themselves to sleep at night or has nightmares
  • begins to do poorly in school work
  • comes home with clothes torn or books damaged
  • has possessions which are damaged or ” go missing”
  • asks for money or starts stealing money (to pay bully)
  • has unexplained cuts or bruises
  • becomes aggressive, disruptive or unreasonable
  • is bullying other children or siblings
  • is frightened to say what’s wrong
  • gives improbable excuses for any of the above
  • is afraid to use the internet or mobile phone
  • is nervous & jumpy when a cyber-message is received

These signs and behaviours could indicate other problems, but bullying should be considered a possibility and should be investigated.

Objectives of this Policy

  • To ensure that everyone in the school community have an understanding of what bullying is and how the school will deal with incidences of bullying.
  • To ensure staff understand their role in preventing and responding where a child is at risk. (Especially regarding child-on-child abuse).
  • To develop a listening caring ethos at Rawdhatul Uloom where any form of bullying is not tolerated and dealt with in the appropriate and timely manner.
  • To encourage discussion and not make premature assumptions and to foster a problem solving approach.
  • The staff is made aware of the anti-bullying policy by the Senior Leadership Team and has access to where the policy is kept.
  • Explore issues through the curriculum by PSHE, assemblies and Anti-bullying week.
  • Support the bully and the victim in modifying behaviour.

Procedures

  • Children should report bullying incidents to available staff or someone who they can trust.  In cases of serious bullying, the incidents will be recorded by staff and investigated initially by the class teacher and followed up by discussing with the individuals. If an incident is not resolved in the first instance it will be passed onto the Headteacher. Any incident will be logged and passed immediately to the Headteacher who will ensure this matter has been resolved.
  • Parents must report any bullying incidences using the attached form – also available in the school office.
  • In serious cases parents will be informed and be asked to come in to a meeting to discuss the problem.
  • The bullying behaviour or threats of bullying will be investigated and the bullying addressed.
  • Appropriate feedback will be given to the parent reporting the bullying in a timely manner.
  • The school accepts that any child could display bullying behaviour and as a school we have a moral imperative to help those doing so to change their behaviour.
  • If necessary and appropriate, external agencies will be consulted to provide support.

Outcomes

  • The school will investigate the incident.
  • The child displaying bullying behaviour will be asked to genuinely apologise.  Other consequences such as (a) an apology letter or (b) a written contract may be required.
  • The school will aim to sort out differences and encourage the pupils to reconcile.
  • In serious cases, parents will be informed in writing and suspension or even exclusion will be considered.
  • After the incident / incidents have been investigated and dealt with, each case will be monitored to ensure repeated bullying does not take place and it will be considered that the incident/incidents are closed. The school strongly believes that all children can be bullied or a bully and as such all parties once an issue has been addressed should be allowed to move on from the issue at hand.

Prevention

We will use various methods for helping children to prevent bullying.  This will include:

  • Have a listening and caring ethos
  • Encourage discussion and don’t make premature assumptions
  • Adopt a problem solving approach
  • The staff are made aware of the anti-bullying policy by Senior Leadership Team and has access to where the policy is kept.
  • Explore issues through the curriculum by PSHE, assemblies and Anti-bullying week.
  • Support the bully and the victim in modifying behaviour
  • Provide information through notice boards, posters and Child line.
  • Provide support through playground buddies, friendship group and peer support.
  • The anti-bullying policy works alongside the behaviour policy.  This is discussed with the children in class so they are informed of the procedures
  • Where cyberbullying is concerned, educating and engaging parents on the principles of online safety so they know the dangers of what unsupervised internet access can create.
  • Encourage parents to check what their children are doing online and using parental controls on their computer so that they are comfortable that children are not wandering into dangerous territory. (see Remote Learning/Online Safety policy)

Supporting Organisations and Guidance

  • Anti-Bullying Alliance: www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk
  • Beat Bullying: www.beatbullying.org
  • Childline: www.childline.org.uk
  • DfE: “Preventing and Tackling Bullying. Advice for headteachers, staff and governing bodies”, and “Supporting children and young people who are bullied: advice for schools” March 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying
  • DfE: “No health without mental health”: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/no-health-without-mental-health-a-cross-government-outcomes-strategy
  • Family Lives: www.familylives.org.uk
  • Kidscape: www.kidscape.org.uk
  • MindEd: www.minded.org.uk
  • NSPCC: www.nspcc.org.uk
  • PSHE Association: www.pshe-association.org.uk
  • Restorative Justice Council: www.restorativejustice.org.uk
  • The Diana Award: www.diana-award.org.uk
  • Victim Support: www.victimsupport.org.uk
  • Young Minds: www.youngminds.org.uk
  •  Young Carers: www.youngcarers.net
  • Cyberbullying
  • Childnet International: www.childnet.com
  • Digizen: www.digizen.org
  •  Internet Watch Foundation: www.iwf.org.uk
  •  Think U Know: www.thinkuknow.co.uk
  •  UK Safer Internet Centre: www.saferinternet.org.uk
  • LGBT
  • EACH: www.eachaction.org.uk
  • Pace: www.pacehealth.org.uk
  • Schools Out: www.schools-out.org.uk
  • Stonewall: www.stonewall.org.uk
  • Racism and Hate
  • Anne Frank Trust: www.annefrank.org.uk
  • Kick it Out: www.kickitout.org
  • Report it: www.report-it.org.uk
  • Stop Hate: www.stophateuk.org
  • Show Racism the Red Card: www.srtrc.org/educational