Adapted from Countering bullying: Guidelines for Jersey Settings (2019) pp. 5-6  

Forms  

Although there are different mechanisms by which children can bully others (see below), there are only two forms by which bullying can take place. It can be either ‘direct’ or ‘indirect’.  

Direct 

Direct bullying is classed as the process of carrying out an act of bullying as described above (see Principles). A person can be accused of direct bullying if they proactively engage in acts that deliberately harm another either emotionally and/or physical repeatedly over time. This can take the form of hitting, kicking etc. another person or by intimidation, name calling and posting harmful comments through electronic means.  

Indirect 

Indirect bullying is by means of incitement and other forms of actual encouragement of others to harm or bully another person. Examples of this include passing on messages, liking on social media, watching physical acts without action, and any other means of facilitating acts of aggression and harm.     

There are many different methods by which a person can bully another person be it through emotionally and/ or physically harmful behaviour. It can include any of the following (although this is not an exhaustive list): name calling, taunting, threats, mocking, making offensive comments, kicking, hitting, pushing, taking and damaging belongings, gossiping, excluding people from groups, and spreading hurtful and untrue rumours. These activities can take place face to face, via third parties or by other means such as social media. The nature of bullying is changing and evolving as technology develops.

Types   

Different types of bullying include:  

• Physical – hitting, kicking, tripping someone up, stealing/damaging someone’s belongings 
• Verbal – name-calling, insulting a person’s family, threats of physical violence, spreading rumours, constantly putting a person down 
• Emotional/Psychological – excluding someone from a group, humiliation, encouraging hate, highlighting differences and highlighting weaknesses 
• Racist – insulting language / gestures based on a person’s actual or perceived ethnic origin or faith, name calling, graffiti, racially motivated violence, use of racial motived imagery 
• Sexual – sexually insulting language / gestures, name-calling, graffiti, unwanted physical contact, encouragement of posting inappropriate photographs and other material 
• Homophobic – insulting language / gestures, name-calling based on a person’s actual or perceived sexuality, name-calling, graffiti and homophobic violence 
• Electronic/Cyber – bullying by instant message, bullying on the internet (via social media), hate websites, using photographs, posting assaults online, so called ‘trolling’  

For more information about these roles, see Countering bullying: Guidelines for Jersey Settings (2019) pp. 8-10.  

Adapted from Countering bullying: Guidelines for Jersey Settings (2019) pp. 20-22 

 All students involved in a bullying situation should be supported. This includes both the student who has been bullied and any student who is doing the bullying. In order to help them stop bullying others, the student is likely to need help and support in addressing some underlying issues that create the need to bully in the first place. They will also need to explore alternative ways of managing their emotional and social difficulties.   

Research shows that it in order to effectively address bullying it is necessary to plan for both the child who is bullied and the child who bullied to receive support.

Supporting the child who is bullied  

There are different ways of supporting the child who is a victim of bullying and consideration about which school resources will need to be explored with the child if they are able. However, there are some general guidelines that should be adhered to outlined below:

1. Listen and focus on the child. Learn what’s been going on and show you want to help. 
2. Assure the child that bullying is not their fault. 
3. Know that children who are bullied may struggle with talking about it. Consider referring them to a school counsellor or well-being service. 
4. Give advice about what to do. This may involve role-playing and thinking through how the child might react if the bullying occurs again. Advice is usually around avoiding places where the bullying occurs if they can and trying not to be alone in these situations if they need to be in those places. If neither is possible then to ensure, if they can, that someone is aware of this and can check on the person later to see if things were okay. 
5. Work together to resolve the situation and protect the bullied child. The child, parents, and school or organization may all have valuable input. It may help to: 
   1. Ask the child being bullied what can be done to make them feel safe. Remember that changes to routines need to be minimized. They are not at fault and should not be singled out. For example, consider rearranging classroom or bus seating plans for everyone. If bigger moves are necessary, such as switching classrooms or bus routes, the child who is bullied should not be forced to change. 
   2. Develop a game plan. Maintain open communication between pupils, staff, and parents. Discuss the steps that are taken and the limitations around what can be done based on the school policies. Remember, that you should avoid discussing how the bully will be disciplined. This is not helpful as it fosters a culture of retribution. Assure the child that the child who is bullying will be supported to stop.  
6. Be persistent. Bullying may not end overnight. Commit to making it stop and consistently support both the bullied child and the child doing the bullying.  
   Avoid these mistakes:
   • Never tell the child to ignore the bullying. 
   • Do not blame the child for being bullied. Even if he or she provoked the bully, no one deserves to be bullied. 
   • Do not tell the child to physically fight back against the pupil who is bullying. It could get the child hurt or suspended from school. 
   • Parents should be encouraged to resist the urge to contact the other parents involved. It may make matters worse. School or other officials can act as mediators between parents. 
7. Follow-up. Show a commitment to making bullying stop. Because bullying is a behaviour pattern that is often repeated, it takes consistent effort to ensure that it stops.

Supporting children who bully others  

Research is clear on this matter: with regards to bullying, punishing the bully reinforces a negative cycle and does not take away the need of the child who bullies to bully in the first place and in some cases creates a greater need to bully. The ethos for dealing with children who bully needs to focus on consequence and support.  

It is clear that there needs to be a consequence for the student following an incident of bullying, which should be moderate and in line with the College’s Supporting Student Behaviour policy. What is important in this approach is that one consequence is that the child who has been bullying is given emotional and behavioural support to help address the underlying emotional need that feeds the need to bully in the first place. Support around this can be provided for by school counsellors, pastoral staff and emotional support systems in school.   

It is important to show students that bullying is taken seriously. Calmly tell the student that bullying will not be tolerated. Model respectful behaviour when addressing the problem. It is very likely that some students doing the bullying will resist any attempt to support and address their needs.

Work with the student to understand some of the reasons he or she has bullied others. For example: 

• Sometimes children bully to fit in. These pupils can benefit from participating in positive activities. Involvement in sports and other social clubs can enable them to take leadership roles and make friends without feeling the need to bully. 
• Other times pupils act out because something else - issues at home, abuse, stress - is going on in their lives. They also may have been bullied themselves. These students may be in need of additional support, such as ELSA, school counsellors, and, if acute enough, external mental health services.

The use of consequences to teach  

Consequences that involve learning or building empathy can help prevent future bullying. For example, the child who bullied can: 

• Lead a discussion about how to be a good friend. 
• Write a story about the effects of bullying or benefits of teamwork. 
• Role-play a scenario or make a presentation about the importance of respecting others, the negative effects of gossip, or how to cooperate. 
• Do a project about civil rights and bullying. 
• Read a book about bullying. 
• Make posters for the school about cyberbullying and being smart online  

From Graduated Response to Supporting Student Behaviour  

• Behaviour that is or risks becoming dangerous should be referred immediately to SLT via the school office  
• For behaviours that constitute bullying (and for advice on what such behaviours entail), see the Counter Bullying policy (bullying should always be referred to the Head of School)

From Appendices - Serious Incidents  

On rare occasions, teachers may encounter a serious behaviour incident which makes them immediately concerned for the safety and wellbeing of one or more students. Such incidents may lead to suspension (see Appendix 5 of the Supporting Student Behaviour Policy) and include physical assault and verbal abuse.  

Such incidents take immediate precedence over other activities and will require the support of other colleagues. Such incidents must be immediately referred to a member of SLT.   

When such an incident occurs, the first priority is the safety of any student who may have been harmed or otherwise made to feel unsafe. Any such student should be immediately removed from the context of the incident and taken by a member of staff to receive First Aid (if needed) and then to the office of a senior colleague (SLT or Head of School).   

Any students believed to be perpetrators of a serious incident (e.g. responsible for assaulting or verbally abusing another student) should also be taken (separately from any believed victim) by a member of staff to the office of a senior colleague (SLT or Head of School).  

All students involved should be asked to provide written accounts (as soon as possible, keeping in mind the possibility of harm and distress) of their involvement in the incident to be passed to the member of SLT leading the response and investigation. The senior member of staff may also seek written accounts from students who witnessed, but were not otherwise involved in, the incident.   

The parents of all students involved will be contacted as soon as possible and before the students return to lessons or leave College (as appropriate).