Anti-bullying Statement
This policy statement applies to anyone working on behalf of Hipp!!Bones Charity (the “charity”) including trustees, staff, volunteers, members and visitors.
The purpose of this policy statement is:
• to prevent bullying from happening between children and young people who attend our youth club or take part in our activities
• to make sure bullying is stopped as soon as possible if it does happen and that those involved receive the support, they need
To support this, we will:
- actively encourage positive relationships between everyone at our youth club.
- involve everyone in knowing how to spot the signs of bullying, how to try to prevent bullying and how best to deal with it if it happens.
- make sure that everyone feels confident that they can report suspected bullying, knowing that they will be taken seriously and that something will be done about it.
- to provide information to all staff, volunteers, children and young people and their families about what we should all do to prevent and deal with bullying.
We recognise that:
• bullying causes real distress. It can affect a person’s health and development and, at the extreme, can cause significant harm
• all children, regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse
• everyone has a role to play in preventing all forms of bullying (including online) and putting a stop to bullying.
What is Bullying?
Bullying can be:
- Emotional – being unfriendly, excluding, tormenting (e.g. hiding belongings, threatening gestures)
- Physical – pushing, kicking, hitting, punching or any use of violence
- Racist – racial taunts, graffiti, gestures
- Sexual – unwanted physical contact or sexually abusive comments
- Homophobic – because of/or focusing on the issue of sexuality
- Verbal – name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, teasing
- Cyber – all areas of Internet, such as email, Twitter and Internet chat room misuse; mobile threats by text messaging and calls; misuse of associated technology, i.e. camera and video facilities.
Signs and Symptoms
A member may indicate by signs or behaviour that they are being bullied, for example if they:
- Are unwilling to come to the club but give no reason why
- Begin to avoid club activities
- Become withdrawn, anxious, or lacking in confidence
- Come to club with clothes torn and/or have unexplained cuts or bruises
- Have possessions that are damaged or that ‘go missing’
- Seem to ‘lose’ money often, asks for extra money or starts stealing money (to pay bully)
- Become unusually aggressive, disruptive or unreasonable
- Bully other people
- Stop eating
- Are frightened to say what’s wrong
- Give improbable excuses for any of the above
- Are afraid to use the Internet or mobile phone
- Are nervous and jumpy when a cyber message is received
These signs and behaviours could indicate other problems, but bullying should be considered as a possible cause.
Reporting Procedure
- Bullying should be reported to the Youth Worker in Charge, who will investigate and record in writing.
- Parents/carers of the alleged bully and their victim will be informed as appropriate and may be invited to a meeting to discuss the incident.
- Depending on the nature of the alleged bullying, it may be necessary to follow the Safeguarding Policy and/or to inform the Police.
Response
We will make sure our response to incidents of bullying take into account: –
- the needs of the person being bullied
- the needs of the person displaying bullying behaviour
Outcome
The outcome of the investigation could result in some/all of the following:
- Specialist in-house support put in place
- Monitoring, to ensure repeated bullying does not take place.
- In serious cases, sanctions could include temporary or even permanent exclusion from the club.
There are a number of services available to young people, parents and carers including:
- Young Minds www.youngminds.org.uk
- Bullying UK www.bullying.co.uk
- Kidscape www.kidscape.org.uk