Anti Bullying

St Bede’s Catholic Middle School recognises there is a need to safeguard the welfare of all those within the school community and to encourage a culture of co-operation, acceptance and harmony both within and outside of school. We are committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all pupils so they can learn in a relaxed and secure atmosphere. We have high expectations of all pupils, staff and parents and strive to create a school community in which all children can fulfil their potential. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at St Bede’s Catholic Middle School. If bullying does occur, all incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively. The school actively implements its Anti-Bullying Policy and has clear pathways for reporting, which are known to all members of the school community. Information for children

What can you do if you or someone you know are being bullied?

The first thing you need to do is tell an adult you trust. It is really important that you do this as soon as possible. If anything, or anyone is worrying you, speak to an adult as soon as possible. Don't just hope it goes away. If the adult is a member of our school staff, we will work with you, your parents and carers and the people who have upset you to make sure this stops. If you don't feel you can speak to someone in school, speak to someone else you can trust. This might be a friend, parent, carer or other family member - maybe even a sports coach/dance teacher. If the adult is not a member of our school staff, ask them to speak to us at school. We will work with them, you, your parents and carers and the people who have upset you to make sure this stops. If you would rather not talk to an adult face to face, you can email the school iamworried@sb.magnificat.org.uk, you can send a message to a member of staff on Epraise or put a message in your worry box in the classroom. If you want to tell parents or carers but are unsure about talking to them face to face, you could write them a letter or, if you have a phone, tell them over text message. The most important thing is - TELL SOMEONE YOU TRUST. If the bullying doesn't involve you - it is still VERY important you tell someone. Even if you aren't sure. Use any of the ways described above to report bullying you have seen or heard. The adults you report this to will investigate what you have seen and heard fully to make sure all children are safe and happy.

What is Bullying?

We define bullying as: “Behaviour by an individual or group, usually repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally.” Bullying can be physical or emotional and it can take many forms (for example, cyberbullying). Immediate physical safety and stopping violence are a priority; however, bullying can also occur because of prejudice against particular groups. We consulted with pupils to ask their view and opinion about bullying. These are some of the responses we received: “It’s like when someone is hurting someone else and they carry on doing it, the next day, the next day and the next day after that” “Bullying is not treating people how you want to be treated. Bullying is constant and repetitive.”

The following are examples of bullying behaviours:

• Verbal e.g. name-calling, making offensive comments, taunting
• Physical e.g. kicking, hitting
• Emotional e.g. spreading hurtful and untruthful rumours, excluding people from groups
• Cyber e.g. inappropriate texting/emailing, inappropriate use of MSN/Facebook e.g. sexting
• Written e.g. ridicule through drawings and writing e.g. on planners/PC’s
• Incitement e.g. encouraging others to bully
• Extortion e.g. demands for money or personal property
• Damage to Property e.g. theft of bags, tearing clothes, ripping books This is by no means a comprehensive list of reasons and behaviours and some evolve at different times.

Impact of Bullying Research confirms the destructive effects of bullying on young people’s lives. Some effects are:

• Poor school attendance
• Lower academic achievement
• Low self-esteem and poor self-worth
• Lack of confidence
• Anxiety
• Loss of identity
• Feelings of guilt
• Long term mental health difficulties

Some Signs of Bullying

• Reluctance to attend school
• Poor school performance
• Behaving out of character
• Missing or damaged belongings
• Self-harm
• Increased episodes of illness (real / imaginary)
• Having unexplained cuts and bruises
• Refusal to say what is wrong
• Becoming aggressive and bullying other children
• Become quiet and withdrawn.

These signs and behaviours could indicate other problems, but bullying should be considered as a possibility and investigated.

What we will do about Bullying as a school?

• Ensure the whole school community understands bullying and its consequences.
• Appoint a designated member of staff as anti-bullying officer.
• Appoint an anti-bullying Governor.
• Ensure that there are clear and consistent pathways for reporting incidents of bullying which are known to all members of the school community.
• Implement a consistent system for recording incidents of bullying.
• Develop a preventative approach to bullying. Students will be encouraged to recognise that not only do they have rights; the choices they make bring responsibilities.
• Review the anti-bullying policy annually in consultation with the whole school community.
• Identify and make safe, areas in school where bullying could/has been known to occur.
• Be aware of factors which may cause some children to be more vulnerable than others.
• Work in partnership with the police should there be bullying incidents where a crime has been committed.
• Foster a clear understanding that bullying, in any form, is not acceptable.

This can be done by:

• Regular praise of positive and supportive behaviour by all staff.
• Work in school which develops empathy and emotional intelligence.
• Any incidents are treated seriously and dealt with immediately.

Cyberbullying - What is cyberbullying?

Cyber bullying includes sending or posting harmful or upsetting text, images or other messages, using the internet, mobile phones or other communication technology.

It can take many forms, but can go even further than face to face bullying by invading

• Home and personal space and can target one or more people.
• It can take place across age groups and target pupils, staff and others.
• It can include threats and intimidation, harassment, defamation, exclusion or peer rejection, impersonation and unauthorised publication of private information or images.
• It can include messages intended as jokes, but which have a harmful or upsetting effect. Cyberbullying may be carried out in many ways, including:
• Threatening, intimidating or upsetting text messages;
• Threatening or embarrassing pictures and video clips via mobile phone cameras;
• Silent or abusive phone calls or using the victim’s phone to harass others, to make them think the victim is responsible;
• Threatening or bullying emails, possibly sent using a pseudonym or someone else’s name;
• Menacing or upsetting responses to someone in a chat-room;
• Unpleasant messages sent during instant messaging;
• Unpleasant or defamatory information posted to blogs, personal websites and social networking sites (e.g. Facebook) In some cases, this type of bullying can be a criminal offence. If this is the case, the incident will be passed to the police.

Prevention of Cyberbullying Understanding and information

• Mr Shires and Miss Brown will oversee the practices and procedures outlined in the e-safety policy and monitor their effectiveness.
• Mr Shires and Miss Brown will ensure that the school maintains details of agencies and resources that may assist in preventing and addressing bullying.
• Staff will be trained to identify signs of cyberbullying and will be helped to keep informed about the technologies that children commonly use.
• Pupils will be informed about cyberbullying through curricular and pastoral activities.
• Pupils and staff are expected to comply with the school’s Acceptable Computer Use Policy.
• Parents will be provided with information and advice on cyberbullying.

Practices and Procedures

• Positive use of ICT will be promoted and the Acceptable Computer Use Policy will be kept under review as technologies develop.
• CPD and INSET may be used to help staff develop their own practices and support pupils in safe and responsible use of ICT.
• The school will encourage safe use of ICT, emphasising, for example, the importance of password security and the need to log out of accounts.
• The school will promote the message that asking for help is the right thing to do and all members of the school community will be informed how cyberbullying can be reported.
• Confidential records (MyConcerns) will be kept of all cyberbullying incidents.

Responding to Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying will generally be dealt with in the same way as other bullying incidents as described in this policy. A cyberbullying incident may include features different to other forms of bullying, prompting a response. Key differences may be:

• Impact: possibly extensive scale and scope
• Location: the anytime and anywhere nature of cyberbullying
• Anonymity: the person being bullied might not know who the perpetrator is
• Motivation: the perpetrator might not realise that his/her actions are bullying
• Evidence: the subject of the bullying will have evidence of what happened
• Reporting and Recording of all bullying incidents All negative behaviour, comments and derogatory remarks are recorded on the school’s Safeguarding System (MyConcerns) as an on-going record of behaviour,

How we approach the victims of bullying

All cases are treated on an individual basis

• Ensure that there are clear pathways for reporting bullying
• Ensure that victims are listened to
• Ensure that strategies are put in place to support individual needs – pastoral support and interventions
• Ensure victims are consulted, and kept involved and informed
• Ensure parents/carers are consulted and kept involved and informed *Please see the Anti-Bullying Policy

How we approach those accused of bullying

• All cases are treated on an individual basis
• Ensure that perpetrators are listened to acknowledging that they are sometimes themselves victims of bullying and abuse.
• Ensure that strategies are put in place to support individual needs.
• Ensure perpetrators are consulted, are kept informed and involved.
• Ensure parents/carers are consulted and kept involved and informed.
•  Implement appropriate sanctions
• Implement appropriate learning programmes for example: counselling/pastoral support Involving the Police and Other Outside Agencies In some cases, the police maybe contacted for a consultation with them to determine the next steps. The police can advise the school on whether the incident is a criminal matter or a case for the school to investigate and resolve. If the school has concerns that there may be child protection concerns with an incident, the school's child protection policy will be adhered to and relevant agencies will be contacted.

Anti-Bullying Ambassadors On 6th March, Miss Stewart and Mrs Wintle took 10 pupils from across Years 5,6 and 7 to Heathfield Knoll School in Kidderminster to complete Anti-Bullying Ambassador training in order to become ambassadors within St Bede’s Catholic Middle School. The pupils had a great time playing games, watching video clips and mixing with pupils from other schools. They learnt about what bullying is, how they can help support people who are on the receiving end of bullying behaviour and have started to come up with ideas for fundraisers and an anti-bullying campaign within our school. The pupils were a credit to St Bede’s, exhibiting all the necessary qualities for an ambassador role. Well done to them all! They have all now received their official Ambassador certificates and have been formally introduced to the school. Watch this space for news of our future campaigns and fundraisers! A special mention has to go to Freya, who has been selected as our Ambassador representative and who will be required to speak to the Diana Award Aftercare team on a regular basis to update them on our campaigns so far! Most recently, the school have signed up to the Anti-Bullying Alliance Programme: All Together. We will be using material and guidance from this to help support Antibullying in school.

For further advice and information, please see the links below:

Anti-bullying Alliance 

Kidscape 

Childline 

Parentline Plus 

Anti- bullying network info@antibullying.net NSPCC www.nspcc.org.uk Diana Award Anti-Bullying Programme Youngminds - Bullying National Bullying Helpline This Morning - Bullying helpline

Child Sexual Exploitation

Child Sexual Exploitation, or CSE, is a form of sexual abuse which sees children/young people being manipulated or coerced into sexual activity for receiving something such as gifts, money, food, attention, somewhere to stay etc.

Technology is very often used to groom victims. This may occur through social networking sites and mobile phones with internet access. CSE has gained a large amount of media attention over the last few years as lots of services involved with children and young people have noticed a big rise in cases involving CSE.

Charities such as NSPCC and Barnardos have been campaigning to raise the profile of this form of child abuse. Information regarding CSE can be found here by following the link to PACE.

PACE (Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation) is a national charity that works with parents and carers whose children are sexually exploited. PACE offers one-to-one telephone support, national and local meet-ups with other affected parents and information on how parents can work in partnership with school, police and social care:

www.paceuk.info

CSE Powerpoint

County Lines Information (Taken from the National Crime Agency)

County Lines’ is a term used when drug gangs from big cities expand their operations to smaller towns, often using violence to drive out local dealers and exploiting children and vulnerable people to sell drugs. These dealers will use dedicated mobile phone lines, known as 'deal lines', to take orders from drug users.
Heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine are the most common drugs being supplied and ordered. In most instances, the users or customers will live in a different area to where the dealers and networks are based, so drug runners are needed to transport the drugs and collect payment.

Exploitation of young and vulnerable people
A common feature in county lines drug supply is the exploitation of young and vulnerable people. The dealers will frequently target children and adults - often with mental health or addiction problems - to act as drug runners or move cash, so they can stay under the radar of law enforcement. In some cases, the dealers will take over a local property, normally belonging to a vulnerable person, and use it to operate their criminal activity from. This is known as cuckooing. People exploited in this way will quite often be exposed to physical, mental and sexual abuse, and in some instances will be trafficked to areas a long way from home as part of the network's drug dealing business. As we have seen in child sexual exploitation, children often don't see themselves as victims or realise they have been groomed to get involved in criminality. So, it's important that we all play our part to understand county lines and speak out if we have concerns.

How do you know if County Lines drug dealing is happening in your area?
Some signs to look out for include:
• An increase in visitors and cars to a house or flat
• New faces appearing at the house or flat

• New and regularly changing residents (e.g different accents compared to local
accent
• Change in resident's mood and/or demeanour (e.g. secretive/ withdrawn/
aggressive/ emotional)
• Substance misuse and/or drug paraphernalia
• Changes in the way young people you might know dress
• Unexplained, sometimes unaffordable new things (e.g clothes, jewellery, cars
etc)
• Residents or young people you know going missing, maybe for long periods of
time
• Young people seen in different cars/taxis driven by unknown adults
• Young people seeming unfamiliar with your community or where they are
• Truancy, exclusion, disengagement from school
• An increase in anti-social behaviour in the community
• Unexplained injuries

What to do if you have concerns
• The best advice is to trust your instincts. Even if someone isn't involved in county lines drug dealing, they may be being exploited in some other way, so it's always worth speaking out.
• You can speak to your local police by dialling 101, or in an emergency 999.
• If you would rather remain anonymous, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
• If you notice something linked to the railways, you can report concerns to the British Transport Police by texting 61016 from your mobile. In an emergency dial 999.
• If you are a young person who is worried about your involvement, or a friend's involvement in county lines
• A good option is to speak to an adult you trust and talk to them about your concerns.
• You can also call Childline on 0800 1111. Childline is private and confidential service where you can talk to specially trained counsellors about anything that is worrying you.
• Alternatively, speak to a children and young people's service like Catch 22. They work with children and young people of any age to help get them out of situations they're worried about, and have helped lots of children and young people involved in County Lines.

Useful Links for more information:

https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/drug-trafficking/county-lines
https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-is-county-lines
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file

E-Safety

At St Bede’s we believe that E-Safety is an essential life skill for our young people. It is actively taught throughout the curriculum, but particular focus is given to the topic in our Computing lessons each year.

A number of assemblies are held for pupils, and guidance given to parents (via our website and social media channels and drop in sessions within our Multi Academy) as well as training for staff on a regular basis.

During our life skills lessons, pupils learn about the wider effect of bullying and other issues which are often linked back to online activities.

During Anti-Bullying week in November, we have a whole school focus on cyber bullying and we also follow the yearly theme for the campaign. We also celebrate Internet Safety Day (usually in February).

On our website, in the quick links drop down above, pupils are able to quickly access a range of resources that have been explored during these lessons and events.

Our systems in school actively monitor students to pick up on bullying or wider e safety concerns. We operate a comprehensive filtering system and take a proactive outlook on dealing with issues as soon as they occur. In this regard we are an Impero Super School – which allows us to harness the power of this superb piece of software across our school.

Remember to make sure that your child has the skills to know what to do if they see something scary or inappropriate online. They can follow these top tips from the BBC Own It website.

1. Remember – you are in control
2. Block and report it
3. Don’t Pass it on
4. Check your privacy setting on your device
5. It’s not real!
6. Tell an adult
7. Get further help if needed.

You can also watch a video of these tips on the BBC Own it Website – What to do if you see something scary online page

Information on Sadfishing: Sadfishing

Below are regular advice and E Safety article for parents and pupils.

Gaming: what parents and carers need to know 

Many children will be spending time gaming online over the summer holidays. This article explores the different elements of gaming with a particular focus on how it can be used by offenders, but focusing on what parents can do to support their child while gaming.

Sharing pictures of your child online 

Lots of parents love sharing photos of their children with friends and family, particularly when they are on holiday or starting the new school year. A recent report found that 42% of young people reported that their parents had done this without asking their permission. Our article helps parents to protect their child while staying social.

Keeping your under 5s safe online 

Whether it's watching videos, playing games on their devices or talking to Alexa - today's under 5s are spending more time online. In this article we look at the benefits of children accessing the internet, and share advice about how parents can make sure their child has a safe experience online.

Live streaming: responding to the risks 

Many children enjoy live-streaming as it can be used to showcase talent, develop communication skills and create identity. Our article helps parents to understand why children love it, what the risks can be, and how they can help their child stay safe if they are live-streaming.

Using parental controls
Parental controls are a great tool for helping to protect children but should not replace open and honest conversations with children about their life online. Share these tips on how to use parental controls effectively.

Weblinks to keep your child safe online and using technology.

• If you suspect on-line abuse please click here to go to the CEOP report page.
• https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/– Clear advice and instructions for setting up parental controls on a range of devices
• https://www.net-aware.org.uk/ – a website from the NSPCC focussed on e-safety. It also has a very useful feature where you can search for a site, game or app to find out more about it.
• Protecting your child on their smartphone– a superb guide to the dangers of smart phones and advice and APPs to help protect your child. A MUST read for any parent.
• saferinternet.org.uk– the UK Safer Internet Centre, where you can find e-safety tips, advice and resources to help children and young people stay safe on the internet.
• saferinternet.org.uk – videos to help parents set up free parental controls– The 4 big internet providers in the UK – BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media – provide their customers with free parental controls which can be activated at any time. They have come together to produce these helpful video guides to help you to download and set-up the controls offered by your provider.
• http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/– Cyberbullying is bullying via electronic means. This could be via the internet, phone, laptop, computer, tablet or online gaming. This website offers guidance including videos on this area. Including a top tips document for parents
• http://familylives.org.uk– Parents’ guide to latest social media & instant messaging trends.
• childnet-int.org– A non-profit making organisation working directly with children, parents and teachers to ensure that the issues of online child protection and children’s safe and positive use of the internet are addressed. Childnet International produce an online CD guide specifically for parents KnowITAll – www.childnet-int.org/kia/
• thinkuknow.co.uk– The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre has set up its own edcational website which has been designed and written specifically for children, young people, teachers, parents and carers.
• getsafeonline.org/A beginners guide to using the Internet safety, including a quiz and some video tutorials about how to ‘stay safe’ on-line.
• kidsmart.org.uk/– Kidsmart is an award winning internet safety website for parents and those working with children. It has been developed by the children’s internet charity Childnet International and has excellent information on many of the technologies used by children, with guidance on how to ‘stay safe’ online.
• org.uk -Advice for Parents– Managing your Media – Good Ofcom online safety video and guide for parents/carers
• bullying.co.uk– One in five young people have experienced bullying by text message or via email. This web site gives advice for children and parents on bullying.
• Chat Safety– This website is about the potential dangers with interactive services online like chat, IM, online games, email and on mobiles. It provides information, advice, true stories and games. The resource page also contains a number of links to other useful websites.
• http://parents.vodafone.com/– Vodafone have developed this website in conjunction with mumsnet. It is very accessible and provides information and guidance to parents with understanding their child’s digital world and get more involved. There is even an on-line test to see how much you know!
• http://www.internetmatters.org/– Internet Matters is an independent, not-for-profit organisation to help parents keep their children safe online.
• What Parents need to know about TIKTOK
• What Parents need to know about YouTube
• How to keep your kids safe on YouTube
• What Parents need to know about Social pressures appearance
• Smartphone online safety tips.
• Online Safety Minecraft guide for parents
• Sadfishing
• WMRSASC - Letter to Parents & Carers

E-Safety Information for Parents

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Female Genital Mutilation is classified as a form of Child Abuse in the UK. It therefore makes the procedure of it a serious Child Protection issue. It is illegal for anyone to perform FGM in the UK or to arrange for a child to be transported to another country for the procedure. The maximum sentence for carrying out FGM or helping it to take place is 14 years in prison.

If you think that a girl or young woman is in danger of FGM, you must contact the Police. You should contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (020 7008 1500) if she’s already been taken abroad. The Daughters of Eve website helps to raise awareness of this issue and sign-posts those affected by it to supportive services. The NSPCC offers a free and anonymous FGM 24 hour helpline. Call 0800 028 3550 or email fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk.

Please click HERE to find out about Operation Encompass and what it means to St Bede's and its pupils.

What is Prevent?

Mr J. Shires - Designated Safeguarding Lead/ Prevent Lead

In June 2023, the Department for Education (DfE) published new guidance on “The Prevent Duty.”
This guidance prescribed new legal responsibilities on all schools in the UK. The Prevent Duty is part of our safeguarding duties to protect children from harm. The Prevent Duty requires out school to assess the risk of our pupils being drawn into radicalisation and extremism, and it requires our staff to be able to identify and respond to children who are vulnerable to radicalisation.

The DfE’s guidance defines radicalisation as;

“the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and forms of extremism leading to terrorism.”

It defines extremism as;
“vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law,
individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.”

It is important to remember that these definitions do not only apply to one religious or political stand-point and can, in fact, apply to all political and religious stand-points that are imposed upon others, or oppose the fundamental British values, to extreme or fanatical levels. However, while this will not affect how we educate our pupils on controversial, religious and political matters, we have introduced the following measure to ensure the safety or our pupils and comply with  government requirements.

What have we done at St Bede’s?

If you have any concerns, please contact our Designated Safeguarding Lead and Prevent
Single Point of Contact (SPOC), Mr Jon Shires, Vice Principal via the School Office.

Spotting the signs of radicalisation (Taken from NSPCC)
Radicalisation can be really difficult to spot. Signs that may indicate a child is being
radicalised include:

o isolating themselves from family and friends
o talking as if from a scripted speech
o unwillingness or inability to discuss their views
o a sudden disrespectful attitude towards others
o increased levels of anger
o increased secretiveness, especially around internet use.

Children who are at risk of radicalisation may have low self-esteem, or be victims of bullying or discrimination. Extremists might target them and tell them they can be part of something special, later brainwashing them into cutting themselves off from their friends and family.
However, these signs don't necessarily mean a child is being radicalised – it may be normal teenage behaviour or a sign that something else is wrong.

Talking about terrorism

Children are exposed to news in lots of different ways and what they see can worry them. Our tips can help you have a conversation with your child.
• Listen carefully to their fears and worries.
• Offer reassurance and comfort.
• Avoid complicated and worrying explanations that could be frightening and confusing.
• Help them find advice and support to understand distressing events and feelings.
• Children can always contact Childline free and confidentially on the phone and online.

Dealing with bullying and abuse

It’s important to address bullying and abuse following terrorist attacks.
• Some children may feel targeted because of their faith or appearance.Look for signs of bullying, and make sure they know they can talk to you. Often children might feel scared or embarrassed, so reassure them it's not their fault this is happening, and they can always talk to you or another adult they trust. Alert your child’s school so they can be aware of the issue.

Dealing with offensive comments about a child’s faith or background
If you think your child is making unkind or abusive comments, it’s important to intervene. Calmly explain that comments like this are not acceptable. Your child should also understand that someone’s beliefs don't make them a terrorist. You could ask them how they think the other child felt, or ask them how they felt when someone said something unkind to them.

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/reporting-abuse/dedicated-helplines/protecting-
children-from-radicalisation/