“WHAT IS BULLYING?” someone might ask.
Bullying is when someone:
- keeps picking on you again and again and tries to make you feel bad
- says or does lots of mean things that upset you
- makes fun of you a lot
- tries to stop you from joining in or make others not like you
- keeps hurting you such as hitting or punching you.
Bullying feels awful. You feel like you can’t stop it. Bullying can happen in person or online (sometimes called cyberbullying). It might be something other people can see or it might be hidden.
Sometimes you might have a fight or argument with someone. If it happens once, it is not bullying even though it can be upsetting. It is also not bullying if you sometimes fight with a friend and you can sort it out.
At Prouille, we believe that all members of the community have the right to a learning and work environment free from intimidation, humiliation and hurt. We all share a responsibility to foster, promote and ensure right relationships. Bullying is unacceptable and we (students, staff and parents) all share a responsibility for preventing it.
As a school, we have adopted the following following strategies to prevent bullying:
- Explicit teaching of positive behaviours embedded within the curriculum addressing positive relationships, conflict resolution, resilience, bystander action etc
- Regularly recognising and acknowledging students who demonstrate appropriate behaviours that promote right relationships through our PBL Framework and the administering of tokens aligned with ‘respectful’ choices
- Vigilant classroom, playground and transition supervision
- Provision of safe and structured playground spaces and activities at break times
The children receive regular input from staff to ensure that pastoral care and anti-bullying procedures are priorities for the whole school, and they are addressed in a social and emotional context. The children also partake in a Peer Support program which addresses these topics, too.
Based on significant research we believe that prevention strategies through education that involve the whole school community (students, staff and parents) are more likely to reduce bullying. We also recognise the importance of promoting empathy and reflective practices for students This approach focuses on the children recognising their behaviour choices and reconciling with those they have hurt or upset.