This week is final part of our 3 part series  to unpack the bullying protections we have in place at our school. The purpose of this series of articles is to clearly set out the procedures regarding any alleged bullying behaviours. It is actually one of our biggest documents, so I want to unpack it over a number of weeks. ( I will also move all three weeks of articles into a Special Edition newsletter for future Reference, should it ever be needed).  

• Week 2 Newsletter - Purpose of  Documentation, Recognising and Defining Bullying, Types of Bullying. Promoting Bullying Awareness 
• Week 3 Newsletter - Investigating, Recording (tracking) and Confirming Bullying Behaviours. Including occasions when Bullying is not confirmed and why. 
• Week 4 Newsletter - Responding to bullying, Consequences and actions, Supporting Anti Bullying strategies.
  

School Repsonses to Bullying once confrimed.

• All disciplinary measures and responses are undertaken in consultation with the parents of those children receiving such measures.
• Responses to confirmed bullying behaviour are based on the Restorative Justice Principles and are outlined in a section below.
• Tracking of repeated patterns will place students on higher tiers of behavioural intervention as prescribed by the Positive Behaviours for Learning Framework. This may include a individual behaviour support plan
• It is important to note that once a behaviour pattern has been confirmed as bullying, only a general outline of disciplinary measures can be outlined to other parents. For privacy reasons, much of the specific details as to the support provided and consequences impacting on the perpetrator cannot be disclosed to any other parties.

Counselling Support for all involved. 

Counselling services provided by the school’s counsellor along with social skills programs implemented by the Learning Support Teacher  and Pastoral Care Worker will be offered to all children who are identified as harmed or harmful in a bullying incident.

Although it is more than reaonable to proivde counsellingsupport for thos impacted by bullying behaviours it may seem less so to provide the same to thesoe perpertrating thos behaviours However, it is critical to the process that the school provide supprots for the child demonatrating the bullying behavcious. Please know, that conseqeunces are still in place but if we are to find a way to stop bullying behaviours at their source, we must seek to supprot the studnet to understand why they particpated iint hose behaviours that are harmful to others. 

There’s no simple explanation for bullying

Bullying emerges from a complex interaction of social, personal and psychological circumstances. Underdeveloped  emotional skills may also lead to bullying behaviour. Children and young people who have poor self-regulation and anger management skills are more likely to engage in bullying behaviour compared to those with better-developed skills.

Children and young people who engage in bullying behaviour may feel disdain for their targets, find bullying others to be enjoyable, feel strong and in control when bullying others, and/or believe that bullying others will help make them popular. Bullying behaviour can also occur because of distrust, fear, misunderstandings and lack of knowledge or jealousy. 

Ensuring clear, consitent consequecnes and response to incidnets of bullying. 

In order to be proactive in restoring positive behaviours and in reducing the likelihood of repeated action, it is essential to have clear consequences built around the notion of restorative justice. 

Firstly, any child found to have been involved in a confirmed incidence of bullying will meet with staff regarding their role in the incident. It is important the child understand why any bullying behaviour is undesirable and every effort should be made to help the child overcome the problem.

Currently the school discipline response to an incident (injustice) is based on the premises inherent in the Restorative Justice model that includes:

1. Awareness of the impact of incident on multiple people
2. Awareness of the impact on their interpersonal relationships
3. Acknowledgement of their own feelings and motivations at the time of the incident
4. Acknowledgement that equity needs to be restored and to ‘right the wrongs’
5. Future intentions are planned for, clarified and enacted.

Children workshop these principles through the completion of stage appropriate worksheets and discussions while spending time removed from the playground (Reflection Room) or on repeated incidents if may result in the removal from normal school routines.

Ongoing Promotion and Awareness of the Schools Anti Bullying Procedures and Supports. 

Ongoing monitoring of incidences of bullying will be maintained and remain open for the full period of enrolment at St Benedict's Edgeworth.

The school's Anti Bullying porcedures are communicated to regularly to the parent comunity (hence this recent series of aritcles in the newsletter) and these are often unpacked at age appropriate levels to the students in the classroom. 

Additionally, our more proactive programs of Positive Behaviours for Learning and the Whole School Wellbeing Framework focuses on the explicit teaching, modelling and rewarding of those behaviours that promote positive communities and also building skills of ‘resilience’ in all students.

These programs are designed to promote in children the skills to deal with incidences that may involve bullying in a more proactive and assertive manner. Having said that, it must always be understood that the school is well placed to deal with those incidents that are of concern beyond those initial strategies.