Anti-Bullying Policy and Procedures

Introduction:

At British School of Marketing International, we aim to provide a safe and disciplined studying environment where students can pursue their academic and personal goals displaying utmost respect for students of various ethnicities, members of staff and the community in which they live in. This policy outlines college procedures and responsibilities to prevent, eliminate and identify a bullying incident, which will not be tolerated by BSMI.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the Safeguarding, Prevent and Equality Policy for students.

The intention of this policy is to;

• Raise awareness among students and staff about the school’s stance on anti-bullying behaviour.
• To help students identify bullying behaviour and report it to the college when they witness to one.
• To make staff and students aware of different types of bullying behaviour and how to deal with it sensitively and effectively.
• Make students aware of the consequences of bullying behaviour and the effects of it on the victims.
• To promote an open dialogue at the college where students feel safe enough to discuss bullying behaviour.

Definition of Bullying:

Bullying is the use of force using superior strength to intimidate or aggressively dominate others typically through using physical violence, threatening language or through social isolation to cause physical and psychological harm for the victim. Bullying comes in different forms and it is usually motivated by the following prejudices, which include;

• Physical Bullying – hitting, kicking and taking belongings
• Cyber Bullying – through email, text messages, photographs or instant messaging to frighten or embarrass somebody.
• Making comments about people’s disabilities.
• Social isolation – being unfriendly to cause harm or ignoring someone with intent
• Homophobic – ridiculing someone over their sexuality and using sexually abusive gestures or language
• Racism – bullying somebody over their ethnicity, colour and different religious beliefs
• Verbal abuse comes in different forms such as name-calling, sarcasm or spreading rumours.

BSMI Objectives:

It is crucial to make sure that all the BSMI staff, students and parents work in co-operation with each other to create a safe study environment for students. The following objectives have been set out in order to achieve this;

• Develop preventive strategies to tackle bullying
• All staff, parents and students have an understanding of what bullying is and what to do when recognising bullying behaviour.
• All staff are made aware of the different types of bullying
• All teachers and staff know what to do when an incident involving bullying is reported.
• All parents and students have an understanding that bullying is taken very seriously at BSMI and such an incident may lead to disciplinary procedures against the bully or bullies.

Preventive Strategies:

• We encourage an open dialogue with students where issues regarding differences and diversity are discussed as part of the curriculum.
• Develop a shared understanding across the school that all kinds of bullying are unacceptable
• Provide clear definitions as to what is bullying, including different sub types of bullying
• Provide clear advice for students, parents and staff on their responsibilities and on how to respond to an incident of bullying
• Include clear procedures to follow for parents, staff and students for preventing bullying behaviour
• Develop further prevention strategies based on the nature of all bullying incidents that have occurred at the school.
• Ensure that there is support provided for the students that have been affected by, engaged in or have witnessed bullying
• Provide regular updates for students, staff and students about the management of incidents.

BSMI Strategies:

Staff:

• BSMI will ensure all teachers and staff are aware of the BSMI’s policy on bullying on the induction day
• All BSMI staff will be made aware of the different types of bullying to help them recognise signs of possible victims.
• BSMI staff will be trained in the following procedures:

1. Never ignore the signs of a possible victim of bullying
2. Don’t ever make assumptions before listening to all parties
3. Report the problem to the Welfare Officer
4. Listen to all accounts related to the bullying incident in the presence of the welfare officer
5. Identify the person who is causing harm to the victim
6. Make the bully aware that their behaviour is unacceptable
7. Explain to the bully what harm he may be causing the victim
8. Explain the difference between assertive and aggressive behaviour
9. Make them aware of the consequences if their behaviour continues
10. Record and monitor the behaviour of the bully over the following weeks
11. If the behaviour continues then parents will be informed.

Parents:

It is essential that parents and the school work together to make sure that students are aware of all the consequences related to bullying. In order to help parents identify and respond to any incident in time, BSMI will ensure that;

• Parents are aware of their role and responsibilities in making sure that students understand the college’s policy related to bullying
• They will be aware of all the different forms of bullying and contact the college immediately if they recognise any signs of bullying
• They are aware of all college procedures in dealing with any bullying related matters
• If the parents believe that their child is the victim, they should contact the school immediately and share offending material such as text messages, pictures or any cyber-related material with the college
• If the students’ parents reside in their home country, a telephone meeting will be arranged with the parents which will be recorded and kept confidential.
• Depending on the nature of the matter, this evidence may be shared with authorities for further action.

Students:

• Any concerns raised by parents will be investigated thoroughly
• BSMI will support the parents during and after the incident
• Following an incident of bullying, parents will be updated regularly on the welfare of the student.

Procedures:

The Welfare Officer, Duygu Cevik, will ensure that all staff members understand BSMI’s stance on safety and will be aware of their roles and responsibilities on preventing and dealing with any incidents that may occur during the course of students studies. The anti-bullying procedures for all staff are as follows:

Responsibilities for Prevention:

• Increase awareness among staff for signs of bullying
• Understand there are different forms of bullying and explore issues with students around racism, gender, disability, homophobia and sexuality to raise awareness among students
• Teachers will identify opportunities in their schemes of work to support Anti-bullying strategies
• Promote British Values, democracy, tolerance and kindness among students

Responsibilities for Staff:

If you witness or suspect a bullying incident;

• Talk to the Welfare Officer
• Encourage an open discussion with the victim in the presence of the Welfare Officer
• If bullying is involved, talk to both parties to identify the nature of the incident
• Once the problem has been identified, implement appropriate strategies which could include:

1. Make the bully aware that their behaviour is unacceptable
2. Talk to the bully about the harms he is causing to the victim
3. Explain the difference between assertive and aggressive behaviours
4. Tell the victim any further similar instances must be reported
5. Make the bully aware of the consequences and if their behaviour continues and make them aware that the victim has been instructed to report any similar incidents in future
6. Inform the families of the incident and talk to them about the consequences of bullying
7. Record and monitor the incident
8. Records of bullying incidents will be scrutinised regularly to check the effectiveness of the existing policy for further improvements.

Evaluation and Assessment:

This policy will be updated regularly to find out which types of bullying are prevalent at the school to improve our practices. The policy should read in conjunction with the Safeguarding Policy, Prevent and Radicalisation Policy and Equality Policy for students.

The Designated Safeguarding lead (DSL): Duygu Cevik – duygu@britishschoolofmarketing.com

The Designated Safeguarding Person(DSP): Ms Duygu Cevik– duygu@britishschoolofmarketing.com