Bullying behaviour has three key features. It involves the intentional misuse of power in a relationship. It is ongoing and repeated, and it involves behaviours that can cause harm. The NSW Department of Education requires all NSW public schools to have an Anti-bullying Plan which details the strategies implemented to reduce student bullying behaviours.
Resources
The NSW anti-bullying website (see: https://antibullying.nsw.gov.au/) provides evidence-based resources and information for schools, parents and carers, and students. Schools are encouraged to visit the website to support whole-school prevention, early intervention and response approaches and strategies for student bullying behaviour.
Dural Public School's commitment:
Our school rejects all forms of bullying behaviours, including online (or cyber) bullying by maintaining a commitment to providing a safe, inclusive and respectful learning community that promotes student wellbeing. Executive staff are committed to establishing evidence-based approaches and strategies that promote a positive climate where bullying is less likely to occur.
1. School Culture and Inclusion
All members of the school community are active participants in building a welcoming school culture that values diversity and fosters positive relationships. A key component of a supportive school culture is building respectful relationships and an ethos that bullying is not accepted, in both online and offline environments. School staff will actively respond to student bullying behaviour.
Our school engages in the following practices to promote a positive school culture.
1.1 Student Assemblies
Student bullying and expectations about student behaviour will be discussed and information presented to promote a positive school culture where bullying is not accepted.
1.2 Staff Communication and Professional Learning
Staff will be supported with professional learning that provides evidence-based ways to encourage and teach positive social and emotional wellbeing and discourage, prevent, identify, and respond effectively to student bullying behaviour.
1.3 New and Casual Staff
New and casual staff will be informed about our school’s approaches and strategies to prevent and respond to student bullying behaviour when they commence work at Dural Public School.
2. Partnership with Families and Community
Effective schools have high levels of parental and community involvement. This involvement is strongly related to improved student learning, attendance and behaviour. Our school proactively builds collaborative relationships with families and communities to create a shared understanding of how to support student learning, safety and wellbeing.
2.1 School Website
Our school website has information to support families help their children to regulate their emotions and behaviour and develop socially. Information is provided to assist if children have been involved in bullying behaviour (as the person engaging in bullying behaviour, as the person being bullied or as the person witnessing the bullying behaviour).
The following are published on our school’s website:
- School Anti-bullying Plan
- Behaviour Code for Students.
NSW Anti-bullying website:
https://education.nsw.gov.au/student-wellbeing/attendance-behaviour-and-engagement/anti-bullying
2.2 Communication with Parents
Our school will provide information to parents to help promote a positive school culture where bullying is not acceptable and to increase parent’s understanding of how our school addresses all forms of bullying behaviour.
3. Support for Wellbeing and Positive Behaviours
Our school’s practices support student wellbeing and positive behaviour approaches that align with our school community’s needs.
Social and emotional skills related to personal safety, resilience, help-seeking and protective behaviours are explicitly taught across the curriculum in Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE).
Milly Stone
Principal