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Behaviour Policy

Behaviour Policy (including Sha Tin Junior School Bullying Policy)

Sha Tin Junior School is currently undertaking the CIS (Council of International Schools)/WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) self-study review process to achieve full accreditation with these organisations. Aspects of the following policy may change in the next two years as part of this self-study review process.
 
Rationale
At Sha Tin Junior School we believe that every child and adult in the school should be able to work and learn in a safe, happy and peaceful environment.   We nurture our children to develop confidence, a good attitude, a healthy self-esteem and a sense of responsibility. These beliefs are underpinned by the Sha Tin Junior School’s mission and values.
 
Mission Statement
Striving for excellence in education by building a respectful community of active life-long learners who care about the world.
We aim to be a community of learners who are:
 
Knowledgeable                          Caring
Thinkers                                   Reflective  
Inquirers                                  Balanced
Communicators                         Principled  
Risk Takers                              Open-minded
 
Pupil Council
This representative group of students have opportunities to discuss with staff all matters related to their peers and contribute to improvements to school life and student welfare. 
 
Models of good behaviour
At Sha Tin Junior School we believe that a positive learning environment depends upon all school community members being good role models. It is important that all school community members set a good example in and around the school and positive models of behaviour for children.  Productive, respectful and supportive relationships are modelled for children.  The development of skills which foster good relationships are essential for the children in our care.
 
Parental involvement
At Sha Tin Junior School we are committed to developing good relationships within our school and the wider community. We work cooperatively with our families and actively encourage parental involvement in school life. Parents are welcome to contact staff to discuss any aspect of their child’s development, this includes concerns they may have regarding aspects of social and emotional growth.
Children may share difficulties they experience at school with their parents or parents may notice changes in the behaviour of their child.   Parents should feel confident that they can come to school with their concerns and speak to either the class teacher or a senior member of staff.
 
Special needs
A proactive approach to supporting students with special needs is adopted at Sha Tin Junior School. 
Children with specific special needs may require individualised support to develop their behaviour.   In these instances, staff work cooperatively with parents to develop strategies and skills for a child to improve their behavioural development.
 
Child Protection
Sha Tin Junior School is committed to the protection of each and every child and the promotion of optimum development for all. As a part of the English Schools Foundation and the Hong Kong community we are obligated to adhere to the guidelines and laws as outlined for us.
 
To ensure the protection of children in our care we must address the following:
 
  • All forms of child abuse: physical, sexual and psychological abuse, and neglect
  • Disruptive, anti-social and aberrant behaviour including bullying and cyber-safety
  • Eating disorders
  • Drug abuse – legal, prescribed and illegal drugs
  • Bereavement
In addition Sha Tin Junior School will implement developmentally appropriate, proactive educational programmes that deal with physical, social and emotional issues.
 
Bullying
At Sha Tin Junior School bullying of any kind is unacceptable.The following policy outlines the management of bullying in the school.
 
Sha Tin Junior School Bullying Policy
 
Bullying usually has three common features:
 
  • It is a deliberate, hurtful behaviour
  • It is repeated
  • It is difficult for those being bullied to defend themselves
Types of bulling include:
 
  • Physical violence and/or threat of physical violence
  • Persistent verbal abuse
  • Prolonged and aggressive exclusion of another from a group activity
  • Intimidation
  • Interference with the property of others
  • Incitement of others to carry out any of the points mentioned above
Rationale and beliefs
Bullying, whether verbal or physical, will not be tolerated at Sha Tin Junior School. Pupils who are victims of bullying, or who observe incidents of bullying, are encouraged to inform their class teacher, year leader, phase vice principal and parents.
To be effective in dealing with, and preventing incidents of bullying, all members of the school community must be committed to a common response that involves:
 
  • Immediate intervention
  • Clear procedures

Scientific studies show that bullying is an international problem that affects all schools. There are remarkable similarities in the types and frequency of bullying from country to country, school to school. Bullying knows no international or ethnic boundaries and affects students from the full range of socio-economic backgrounds. Every school should recognise the extent of bullying within their community and its impact, and take steps to prevent bullying from happening. When bullying is ignored or downplayed, pupils will suffer ongoing torment and harassment. This harassment may cause life long damage to victims. Research has shown that both bullies and those regularly victimised are more likely to become criminals. A school’s failure to deal with bullying endangers the safety of its pupils and allows a hostile environment to emerge that may interfere with learning. There is clear, unambiguous evidence that school action can dramatically reduce the incidence of bullying.

“ Successfully dealing with bullying involves building a genuine community within the school. Everyone accepts they have the right to be free from harassment and that they have the responsibility to support their weaker and more vulnerable peers.”   Cleary
 
“I believe that schools…have a positive duty to be vigilant…to guard against bullying and to deal with it and stamp it out if it occurs. The consequences of a failure to do that can be very profound.”
1997 Coroner’s Report
 
“Serious international academic studies have found dramatic reductions in bullying of between 20 – 80% when school wide strategies are used.”
 
Stopping Bullying is everyone’s responsibility

Pupil Action

All students have a responsibility to report incidents of bullying. If students know that telling will result in a fair resolution they will trust adults with information about inappropriate behaviour.
 
All students should understand and adhere to the school’s behaviour policy, their class essential agreements and be actively demonstrating the characteristics of the learner profile.
 
Parents should encourage their child / children to openly discuss all aspects of school life and should report any inappropriate incidents to the classroom teacher via the home / school diary, by phone or in person
 
Parents should be aware of the schools policy on bullying and actively support the school’s approach to dealing with incidents of bullying
 
Teacher Action
 
All staff should be committed to a common response to bullying that involves:
 
  • Immediate intervention
  • Clear procedures
Teachers /educational assistants will:
 
  • Notice when a pupil is isolated and sad and look for reasons for this
  • Not see incidents of bullying as just play-fighting, name-calling, a bit of fun or just part of growing up
  • Work with students and other members of staff, to stop the offending behaviour
  • Not tell the victim to ignore bullying, to sort it out themselves or to retaliate
  • Encourage the ‘telling of tales’ as bullying thrives in a secretive culture
  • Demonstrate the attributes of the learner profile in their own relationships and encourage students to do the same
  • Give the children the language to discuss their feelings and emotions
  • Ensure classroom essential agreements are collaboratively written and adhered to
  • Build relationships with students that extend beyond the child’s academic needs
  • Encourage open communication with parents
If an incidence of bullying is observed or reported, staff members should:
1.Assure the student/s the incident will be dealt with
2.Ask the student/s to explain the incident verbally and/or in writing
3.Share the report with the year leader and phase vice principal
 
If the incident is serious, or is one of a number of incidents, the phase vice principal will initiate the ‘No Blame’ approach and inform parents.
 
The “No Blame” Approach
 
This approach has, at its core, the following four essential ingredients:
 
  • The absence of blame
  • The encouragement of empathy
  • Shared responsibility
  • Problem solving
The steps involved are as follows:
 
1.Meet the victim
 
Consider the age of those involved and adapt the guidelines accordingly. (For example, for younger children a story may be told). The phase vice principal will not spend much time discussing the incident at this stage, other than clarifying the report given by the referring staff member, but will ask the victim to write down or draw a picture showing how they feel. This diffuses and deflects the situation, rather than polarising and inflaming it. The parents of the children more directly involved are contacted.
 
2.Meet with the students involved
 
The vice principal will arrange to meet with the group of pupils who have been involved. This may include some bystanders or colluders who joined in but did not initiate the bullying and one or two peers who are friends and supporters of the victim. During this meeting the group will:
 
  • Address the problem by discussing the feelings of the victim and sharing the school’s policy on bullying. At no time does the teacher allocate any blame.
  • Agree to share the responsibility of making a change to ensure the situation is improved
  • Contribute ideas as to how to help the victim, and support the bully to make changes to his/her behaviours. New guidelines or rules for problematic situations could be mutually agreed
  • Accept the responsibility to move the situation forward, clearly understanding that any recurrence can be reported by anyone involved
  • Agree to a time to meet again to discuss progress
3.Conduct a follow up meeting
 
About a week later the vice principal will meet with the group to discuss how things are going. This allows for the monitoring of the bullying and keeps the children involved in the process.
 
4.Continue to monitor the situation at regular intervals
 
Meetings should become less frequent over the course of a couple of months. It is beneficial to initiate informal discussions with members of the group and watch for any signs of bullying in the playground.
 
It is helpful, for coherency, if school and home adopt a similar approach. In some situations it is helpful for parents to bring children together outside of school to assist with the establishment of new relationship patterns. Further, parents of either the bully or the victim may seek counseling to assist in the establishment of new, more productive and helpful, behaviours.