Technology Acceptable Use Policy

Definition of Bullying

“Bullying is a behaviour which can be defined as the repeated attack, physical, psychological, social or verbal in nature, by those in a position of power which is formally or situationally defined, with the intention of causing distress for their own gain or gratification.” (Besag, 1998)

Rationale

Avondale School is a Christian school serving its community and is firmly based on Christian principles. Biblical values such as those found in Matthew 7:12, ‘What you want to be done to you, do to others’ (Golden Rule), and ‘Be good friends who love deeply … get along with each other … don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good’ (Romans 12:19-21, The Message) form the foundation for our behavioural model.

Avondale School seeks to build a safe and positive school community that acknowledges each person as a unique, immensely valued child of God. Every person at Avondale School has the right to experience positive and respectful relationships between all members of the school community. They also have the right to learn and teach in a happy and safe environment and, as such, bullying behaviour is not acceptable.

At Avondale School we believe that:

bullying behaviour is contrary to the Christian attitudes and values of the Bible
bullying is contrary to the Christian attitudes and values of our school
bullying does not build a positive, safe and caring Christian community
bullying devalues and demonstrates disrespect for all involved
bullying is not Christ-like behaviour

Types of Bullying

Bullying takes many forms, all of which will cause physical and psychological distress. Bullying may be:

Physical Bullying, such as: fighting, hitting, kicking, pushing, shoving, punching, spitting, intimidating gestures, invasion of personal space, defacing, damaging, stealing or hiding personal property etc.
Verbal Bullying, such as: putdowns, belittling, name calling, mocking, tormenting, saying nasty things to a person or about a person or their family, crude and offensive language, etc.
Social Bullying, such as alienation, excluding and ostracising others, spreading rumours, manipulation, passing of derogatory notes, stalking, encouraging others to join in with bullying, forcing others to act against their will, etc.
Cyber Bullying, such as: stalking across the internet, chat rooms and social networks like “MySpace”, sending viruses or high volumes of spam, making prank, obscene or annoying phone calls, sending obscene, threatening, defamatory or unwanted emails, SMS, MSN messages, sending defamatory, embarrassing or personal information to a victim’s acquaintances, setting up, or hacking into, websites to post information or photos without the victim’s permission, using false identity to give misleading information about someone, excluding someone from Social Media platforms for the purposes of bringing harm, etc.
Intimidation, such as: picking on, threatening, standover tactics, etc.
Sexual Bullying, such as: unwanted sexual invitation or inferences, touching or brushing against in a sexual manner, writing or drawing or commenting about someone’s body sexually, sexually oriented jokes or name calling and comments about someone’s private life, etc.
Discrimination of any kind, including but not limited to race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or learning needs.

At Avondale School:

we acknowledge that bullying does occur;
we do not accept bullying as “part of growing up”;
we encourage that it is acceptable to “tell somebody” about being bullied.
any allegation of bullying will be sensitively investigated and addressed.
it will be reinforced that bullying is wrong and will not be tolerated.
the school discipline system will act when bullying behaviour has been investigated and identified;
we will address both parties to assist with understanding and accepting of responsibility;
Christian education in the context of nurture, chapel services, worship, prayer, assemblies helps to creates awareness of the sacredness of the individual, the value of community and works to prevent an environment where bullying is tolerated.
we value education where the value of the individual and sense of community is affirmed and is a vital focus of Roll time and worship.
we encourage role modelling of how to relate, speak and act towards one another.
class teachers, roll teachers, Year Advisors and duty teachers will monitor behaviour being aware of signs of insecurity, discomfort and suspected incidents of bullying.
teachers and prefects report suspected incidents of bullying to the appropriate administration member.
teachers make effort to remove occasions for bullying by active patrolling during supervision.
the anti-bullying curriculum should include the exploration of the definition of bullying and possible strategies that bullied children might use, eg attempting to ignore or not show distress, building self-confidence, etc;
support by the school pastoral care team is available when needed.

Process of Intervention: Bullying

1. A student, parent, teacher or community member becomes aware of a bullying situation and the suspected incident of bullying is reported to the appropriate administration member.

2. The Head of School / Assistant Head of School and/or Dean of Girls’/Boys’ interviews students involved and any witnesses of the bullying situation. They will assess if the incident/s constitute bullying.

3. The Head of School / Assistant Head of School implements strategies to address both the bully/ies and the bullied. This may include some or all of the following:

referral to the Discipline Committee;
discipline appropriate to the level of bullying;
placed on a Discipline Level;
referral to counseling for both parties with a mentor, chaplain or school counselor;
confronting the bully with the emotional/mental consequences that his/her actions have had on the bullied, the student body, the school, family and community;
process of restoration of relationship between parties;
awareness education defining bullying, outlining the impact on the human spirit and establishing preventative strategies for future occurrence of bullying;
parental contact / parental interview.

4. If the bullying continues after the first intervention, the matter will be referred to the Discipline Committee for further discipline. In some cases the Discipline Committee may request the Principal review the student’s enrolment.

Discrimination and Harassment

Harassment

It is the policy of the school that harassment in the workplace is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Harassment on the basis of sex, sexual preference, marital status, race, religion, political beliefs, age and mental or physical disability must not occur.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is one of the most common types of harassment. Sexual harassment occurs when a person makes an unwelcome sexual advance, an unwelcome request for sexual favours or engages in unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature in circumstances which causes another person to feel offended, humiliated or intimidated by that conduct.

Sexual harassment can include a wide variety of behaviour of a sexual nature. Unwelcome physical contact, “dirty” jokes, persistent requests for dates, comments about a person’s sexual behaviour and the display of sexually explicit pinups, calendars etc, are examples of conduct that may constitute sexual harassment.

If a student/ staff member believes that they or a student have been subjected to harassment of any kind, they should notify their teacher/ supervisor who will ensure the situation is confidentially investigated and any necessary action is taken. The normal disciplinary procedures will apply if harassment is found to occur.

It is everyone’s responsibility to maintain a school that is free of harassment of any kind.

Process of Intervention: Harassment

Student, Parent/ Guardian should ensure that they are aware of Avondale School’s Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying Policy. If a Student, Parent/ Guardian believes they or another student are being unlawfully harassed or discriminated against or bullied:

a) where that student feels comfortable ask the person to stop, or make it clear that that student finds the behaviour offensive or unwelcome. It may be useful to speak with their supervising teacher or Department Head in the first instance to seek guidance on how to do this; and/or

b) raise the issue as a grievance in accordance with Avondale School’s Policy on the Customer Grievance Procedure as soon as possible after the incident(s) have occurred.