16/03/2022
School Heads, do you have an anti-bullying policy in place?
How often do you do a review?
Is it workable?
You can have an emotionally healthy school when you adopt a zero-tolerance attitude to this ‘monster’ called bullying. It is important that all stakeholders (students, staff, school authority and parents) be specific about what bullying is.
It can be described as a pattern of repeated, intentionally, unjust cruel behaviour. It is not the same as the normal disagreement among peers or colleagues.
• It is an act of AGGRESSION or CRUELTY.
• It is repeated from time to time.
• There is a power imbalance- the bully is more powerful maybe in strength, age, size, status.
• It is premeditated, intentional.
There are 5 types of bullying.
1. Physical: Hitting, slapping, punching
2. Verbal: name-calling, threatening, saying nasty statements, making hurtful comments
3. Relational: excluding, gossiping, spreading rumours, ruining someone's reputation.
4. Sexual: obscene talks, indecent gestures, being disrespectful in a sexual way.
5. Cyberbullying – using the social media to say or send mean or embarrassing things about someone.
All hands therefore need to be on deck to ensure that the policy works.