Humans exhibit these behaviours in any setting – adults and children alike. The most important way to help is to be proactive so that we all have an understanding of what to watch out for. A common forum for bullying or inappropriate behaviours in today’s world is what happens online. The best way to counter bullying behaviours is to tell someone. Not telling for fear of being a snitch is something we all need to get over and we must encourage our children to do the same. Uncovering bullying behaviours takes away the power of the bully. We hope that these definitions and guidance will be a proactive way of helping.

At Diocesan – Our Approach to Bullying

Bullying is an issue that all schools will all face and we are no exception. It is important to share an understanding of bullying as it can be mis-understood. At Diocesan the definition of bullying behaviour is where actions meet three distinct elements:

• bullying is deliberately harmful aggressive behaviour
• bullying is behaviour that is repeated over time
• bullying involves a power imbalance between those who bully and those being bullied.

Bullying can be overt or covert in nature and examples include:

• verbal bullying—repeated mocking, name-calling, unwanted teasing, homophobic or racist remarks
• physical bullying—repeated hitting or kicking, taking or threatening to take possessions
• social or relational bullying—repeated exclusion, spreading rumours or gossiping, withholding friendship, pulling faces
• cyber bullying—repeated threats, criticism or unkind comments or images sent by text, email or posted on social networking sites.

There are some things that are not bullying. Using terms that can be racist or sexist without deliberate intention to cause harm is not bullying – it is sexist or racist. Similarly, theft is theft, it is not necessarily bullying. A one-off act of violence does not necessarily constitute bullying – it is violence and there are subsequent consequences at school and in law to address these issues.

There will always be an element of professional judgement involved in determining whether specific incidents are bullying or not.

The most important thing for our school is to have a whole school/community approach with multiple layers of proactive education that are embedded in our curriculum and pastoral support programmes. Students discuss and learn about bullying and how to prevent bullying through our Health and Physical Education programme that is implemented appropriately to the range of age levels.

Students also are provided with clear expectations for behaviour and standards of interaction expected at our school. These expectations are outlined in our Ko Tātou agreements that are signed by parents each year and are unpacked by Senior Leaders, Year Level Deans, and students (School Council) through assemblies and events that focus on specific aspects of Ko Tātou. One of these is “being an upstander” ensuring that students know their responsibility to stand up for those around them.

There is no doubt that the challenges of bullying have been exacerbated by social media – many interactions happen just as much outside of school as in school. Our approach is to deal with all instances that are raised with us and to provide education for our parents and students about online safety and how to manage this. Specific advice to parents on DioConnect can be found under the Online Safety Tile.

The earlier instances of bullying are reported the better. They vary in level of severity and consequences for bullying behaviours range from time out suspensions to board suspensions and exclusions or expulsions (if a student is over 16 years old). With privacy legislation in place, we are unable to share with other parties what has happened to the bully. Rest assured that we follow the principles of natural justice and protect the rights of each student involved so that learning and changed behaviours can take place.

We take a school/community wide strengths-based approach to bullying to build positive behaviours that are based on our school values of honesty, integrity, respectfulness, and empathy.

Please contact us if you require further advice or information to support your family.