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By now you will have completed - Reviewing your anti-bullying policy.
The following stages will help to ensure that your policy is embedded in day to day practices.
Any anti-bullying policy is only as effective as its implementation. Your policy is the overarching mission statement and values that you want your organisation to hold. For this to be successful, the policy must come alive and be embedded into day to day practices.
Discussion on implementation and practice will have already begun at the consultation process and during the strengths and weaknesses analysis of reviewing current policies. As an organisation, you may not have a documented paper policy but you will be dealing with bullying incidents as they arise. Good or bad, these practices are an organisational policy, they aren't just written down.
It is important that an honest evaluation is conducted into what is currently working and what isn't working. It is also essential to take this a stage further and ask why. This isn't about apportioning blame, it is about learning lessons from previous practices and moving forward to make sure the implementation of the new policy is as successful as possible. Various questions should be asked at this policy review stage.
Procedures
Either within the policy, or as separate guidelines, organisations should clearly lay out the procedures that they expect to be followed when bullying incidents and behaviour occurs.
This will provide predictability for all concerned, including children and young people, staff, parents and carers. It will also allow for consistency in the approach and measures used, ensuring that everyone is being treated fairly regardless of who is dealing with the situation.
All guidelines should begin by reiterating the organisational stance on bullying behaviour and then provide further practical advice and guidance. The following highlights examples of what procedural guidelines may include:
Staff
Who and when should I inform someone?
What methods can I use to intervene?
What should I record and where should it be recorded?
What if I am unsure?
For children and young people who are being bullied
Who and when should I inform?
What will happen next?
Will my parents be informed?
When will this happen?
What if the bullying hasn't stopped?
What if I require further support?
Resources for further information
For children and young people bullying others
What will happen if I display bullying behaviour?
Will my parents be informed?
Where will this be recorded?
What will it say?
How long will it be kept?
What if my behaviour changes?
What if I require further support?
For parents and carers
Who should I contact if I have concerns?
What will happen?
How will I be kept informed of progress?
What if I am unhappy with what is being done?
What if I or my child requires further support?
Communication
Everyone who the policy will impact upon should be made aware of what is expected of them in their role and of any changes to procedures and practices.
This can be done collectively to begin with by having an anti-bullying policy launch: perhaps holding a conference and event where everyone is informed and the organisational stance on bullying is explored and clearly stated.
Staff
All staff should be made aware of the policy and procedures, as part of the induction process. Encourage individuals to speak to colleagues within their own departments to discuss how this will affect them and their role. Keep it on the agenda for team meetings and perhaps have an ongoing working group to discuss what is working and what is not.
Parents and carers
Parents and carers should also be made aware of their responsibilities and the expectations the organisation has of them. They should be fully aware of what will happen if a bullying incident involving their child occurs and of their responsibilities in relation to this. This can be done through parents' meetings and conferences, by asking the children and people to develop information leaflets that will be sent home to parents and carers, or by sending letters detailing the procedures to follow.
Children and Young People
The organisational stance should also be communicated to children and young people. This can be done through conference days or assemblies where bullying can be discussed and the message that bullying is never acceptable reinforced. The procedures for reporting could be displayed in posters around the building or as a section in the induction or welcome pack.
Other Services
Ensure other services such as educational psychologists and welfare officers understand the policy and procedures so that they can recognise behaviours that may constitute bullying and are aware of signs that someone is being bullied. This may include a drop in attainment levels, truancy or absence due to fear of attendance because of bullying behaviour.
Training and Support
Training should be provided to ensure that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities in relation to the anti-bullying policy. This guidance is essential so that everyone feels prepared and ready to implement the policy and the measures identified within it.
Keeping the profile high
It is important to highlight the profile of the anti-bullying policy and its overarching messages and ethos in every day workings and relationships. This can be done using a number of methods:
- Ground rules or a pledge visibly displayed
- Role-play and drama
- Art work
- Literature
- Visual reminders - posters and badges
- Workshops
- Discussions
- Peer Mediation
- Bullying Boxes
- Consequences
- Increasing supervision in ‘hotspot' areas
Stage 3 - Monitoring
Monitoring will allow you to gain invaluable insight into whether your procedures are effective and are working in practice. It may be beneficial to appoint a member of staff to facilitate this process to ensure that monitoring and evaluation is taking place and that all evidence is collated. The perspective of everyone the policy impacts upon should be considered. Monitoring can be ongoing and can be carried out in various ways:
- Recording bullying incidents or concerns at a central point
- Ongoing working groups to discuss experiences of implementing the new policy
- Documenting the positives and challenges that staff are facing
- Having policy review on the agenda at student council meetings and parent meetings for discussion
- Questionnaires to discover the true nature and extent of the impact of the policy. If you conducted questionnaires at the beginning of your policy review, these can act as a comparison
- Focus groups can be used to share and compare experiences of implementation. Discussions can also identify both common themes and differing opinions and allow for solutions and strategies to obstacles or issues to be explored
- One-to-one interviews can extract personal experiences of the interventions being used - has bullying stopped? This method is useful to explore personal and sensitive information
- Comments which are deposited in the suggestion or bullying box
To ensure that this process is successful you must ensure that all staff, children and young people and parents or carers are made aware of the monitoring and evaluating methods and how they can contribute to the gathering of information.
Stage 4 - Evaluation
The information gathered from monitoring can then be used to review the existing policy. Although it is recommended a policy review takes place every three years, if issues are highlighted concerning specific practices or procedures, these may need to be revisited so amendments can be made.
Regardless of what is highlighted, it presents the perfect opportunity to refine your practice. Examples may include:
- Re-launch of the policy and the organisational stance on bullying behaviour
- Further training
- Reporting procedures reiterated
- Open day or evening for questions and answers
It is worth noting at this stage that an increase in bullying numbers recorded does not necessarily indicate failure of the organisation to address bullying - in fact it can indicate the exact opposite. Having the policy and practice embedded into day to day life can encourage children to come forward to report bullying incidents.
However, it is important to own the figures and promote how they show that your anti-bullying strategies are working. It may be of benefit to put a timescale together which gives the organisation a goal for when they'd like to see their figures reducing.
The evaluation process allows you to fine tune practices to support your anti-bullying policy and ensure its success.
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