Anti-Bullying

We are dedicated to creating a caring, friendly, inclusive, and safe environment for all our students, allowing them to learn in a relaxed and secure atmosphere. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at our school. We recognise that bullying can have a devastating impact on individuals if not addressed. 

 

If bullying does occur, all students should feel empowered to report it, knowing that incidents will be handled promptly and effectively (you can read more about our approach using the links below). We are a TELLING school, where every member of our school community knows which trusted adult to approach if they witness or experience bullying.

What is Bullying?

Causeway Green has adopted the Government’s and Anti-Bulling Alliance's definition of bullying:

• Behaviour by an individual or group
• Repeated over time that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally - not just a one-off, unpleasant event
• Bullying is different to other kinds of aggressive behaviour in its repetitive and targeted nature
• Bullying can occur from child to child, adult to adult, group of children/adults to another group or child to adult

How to help us identify Bullying

To help children identify and report on rare incidents of bullying, we use the STOP acronym, which stands for 'Several Times on Purpose'. This helps children understand the definition of bullying and how to deal with it 'Start Telling Other People'.

Our school council currently have a competition in place to design our very own Causeway Green STOP poster.  Mr Postin is really looking forward to seeing the designs.  The winning design will be published and used in our school. 

Definitions of Bullying

Definitions of bullying are physical, verbal, emotional and cyberbullying, but not exclusive to: 

Physical – hitting, kicking, pushing, 'looks' etc.

Verbal – name-calling, gossiping, spreading rumours, lies, mean words, threatening and teasing. Emotional – excluding from games, humiliating someone, manipulation, ridicule.

Cyberbullying (online) - posting something unkind on social media, sharing photos without permission, and sending unkind messages online.

We know what to do when someone is unkind to us:

We will ask them to stop! An assertive, but not rude command; "STOP I don't like that!"

We will tell a trusted adult if we know or suspect that someone is being bullied. Start Telling Other People. 

We will ask for help from our friends if we are unsure of what to do. Start Telling Other People. 

Be an Upstander 

At Causeway Green Primary School we take responsibility for our behaviour.  We teach the children about being an 'Upstander' not a 'Bystander. A bystander is 'a person who does not become actively involved in a situation where someone else requires help’ (Clarkson 1996, p6) and in this way is understood to be a passive observer, an onlooker who watches something happening, but stays on the sidelines and doesn’t intervene or get help, even if someone needs it. Bystanders are those people who slow down to look at a traffic accident, but don’t stop to offer assistance, the people who watch an argument on the street, and the crowd that gathers to watch a playground fight. They are the audience that engages in the spectacle and watches as a drama unfolds. Though they don’t actively participate, they encourage the perpetrators, who will feel driven on by the audience.

Most of us have been a ‘bystander’ at some time or another. We justify it by saying that it’s natural to be curious about unusual events; that there may be good reasons for not getting involved in other people’s business, such as fear of getting hurt ourselves, and that we’re not doing any harm. Bystanding is not passive; witnesses to bullying play very different roles, some more active than others, and these contribute significantly to what takes place.

‘Doing nothing’ does have a real impact on events and may cause harm. To tackle bullying we must understand the responsibilities of peer and adult bystanders who want to seek solutions to bullying and take action where it is needed. This information was taken from the ABA website.

This video, from the Anti-Bullying Alliance, helps children understand what bullying is, as a group behaviour: 

Be an Upstander and NOT a Bystander

Talking about bullying with your child

The NSPCC website is a trusted source of information and advice for parents/carers about dealing with bullying.

 

Anti-bullying resources:

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