What is Bullying?
We all know school is much more than just a place to learn academic subjects. It also provides the opportunity for children to socialise and to learn from those times that might not have been as positive as they would like. It is not uncommon to have children complaining of being bullied and this term is often also used by parents when they contact us about a situation involving their children.
Bullying is very serious and one the school has no tolerance for. However, it is important for us all of us to have a shared understanding of what the term means so we can all apply it accurately when situations arise.
The Ministry of Education states on their website:
Whether bullying is physical, verbal, or social (relational), four widely-accepted factors can be used to identify it:
- Bullying is deliberate – harming another person intentionally
- Bullying involves a misuse of power in a relationship
- Bullying is usually not a one-off – it is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated over time
- Bullying involves behaviour that can cause harm – it is not a normal part of growing up.
Bullying can happen anywhere, in person or online (cyberbullying), at any time, and can be verbal, physical or social (relational). It can be obvious or hidden.
Kids who bully use their power — such as physical strength, knowing something embarassing, or popularity — to control or harm others. Bullying is when one student (or a group of students) keeps picking on another student again and again to make them feel bad. They say or do things to upset them, make fun of them, stop them from joining in, or keep hitting or punching them.
This downloadable factsheet promotes a common understanding of bullying.
Steps for managing behaviourCornwall Park District School |
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||||||
| Behaviour | Behaviour is getting in the way of their learning | Behaviour is getting in the way of others learning | Behaviour is getting in the way of the teaching | Physical, Verbal bullying or Continual disobedience |
Vandalism and Stealing | Health and Safety Risk | ||||
| Physical Violence | Gross Misconduct | |||||||||
| Example | Action that takes away from the individual’s learning time | Continual or repeated behaviour | Action that takes away from the children’s learning time | Continual or repeated behaviour | Action that takes away from the teacher’s time | Continual or repeated behaviour | Hitting, punching, spitting, kicking Threats, racism, put-downs, taunting |
Wilful destruction of property |
As defined in MOE guidelines |
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Any consequence may be escalated, as each incident will be analysed on a case by case basis. |
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| Consequence | Re-directed by teacher | Re-directed by teacher and held accountable for time wasted. “Time out “ in class |
Time-out in admin considered by SLT | Time-out coordinated by SLT in admin |
Suspension Considered as per guidelines |
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Stand down considered |
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Staff Action |
Classroom teacher records incident on HERO within 1 day of incident | Teacher records classroom incident on HERO SLT record playground incident on HERO within 1 day of incident including a Post for any victim |
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| SLT notified of HERO post | ||||||||||
| Child’s parents contacted by the teacher via email or phone | Child’s parents are made aware of incident by Time Out letter from child or phone call by SLT member
As necessary, the victim’s parents contacted by teacher |
Child’s parents contacted Victims parents contacted by SLT |
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| Board of Trustees | BOT Chair informed by Principal of any standdown made the same day and BOT informed at the next BOT meeting | BOT facilitate Suspension Meeting | ||||||||
The WITS Programs bring together schools, families and communities to create responsive environments that help elementary school children deal with bullying and peer victimisation.
USING YOUR WITS TO STAND UP TO BULLYING
WITS teaches kids strategies that they can use to deal with teasing or bullying.
Remember that telling is not tattling. If you’re faced with bullying and you walk away to get help, you are helping to make your school and your community a safe and fun place for kids to be!
Empathy is our ability to understand and share someone else’s feelings. It is an essential life skill, crucial if children and communities are to thrive. We’re not born with a fixed quantity of empathy – it’s a skill we can learn. Excitingly, research shows that books are a powerful tool to develop it, because in identifying with book characters, children learn to see things from other points of view. As they read, they are building their empathy skills.
How does empathy work?
Empathy is made up of three main elements.
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