Reece High School Respectful Relationships Policy
Bullying & Harassment
Reece High School values Respect, Responsibility, Honesty & Trustworthiness and Connectedness.
Reece High School will provide a safe, inclusive, supported and ordered environment free from
bullying, harassment and violence. Bullying, including cyber bullying, harassment and violence, is not
acceptable in this school, and will be dealt with seriously and promptly.
Reece High School implements policies and strategies guided by current research on effective
approaches to the prevention of bullying and violence. These policies are reviewed regularly.
Aims
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To provide students with a safe, secure and inclusive learning environment
To encourage all students to speak up when bullying, harassment or violence occurs
To deal with all issue that are brought to the attention of staff
To equip students with the skills to be part of the solution
To implement procedures and restorative practices in response to situations involving
bullying, harassment or violence
6. To build awareness of bullying, harassment and violence in the whole school community and
to develop a collective responsibility in response
Definitions
Bullying
Bullying is when someone, or a group of people, who have more power at the time deliberately
upset or hurt another person, their property, reputation or social acceptance on more than one
occasion.
Cyber Bullying
Cyber bullying refers to bullying through information and communication technologies. This
includes, but is not limited to computers, netbooks, tablets and phones. It happens when a person is
hurt, threatened, intimidated and or humiliated by another person. It may include abusive or
threatening messages via text, email or social media websites such as Facebook, Instagram etc.
Harassment
Any unwanted, unwelcome or uninvited behaviour, which makes a person feel humiliated or
offended. Harassment may be ongoing behaviour or it may be a single act.
Discrimination
Discrimination occurs when people are treated unfairly. It is often ongoing and may involve
exclusion and or rejection.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual conduct which makes a person (male or female, of the same
or opposite gender, same sex attracted, bisexual or transgender) feel offended, humiliated and/or
intimidated. It can be a single incident, repeated, direct or indirect and take various forms.
There are three broad categories of bullying:
 Direct physical bullying
 Direct verbal bullying
 Indirect bullying
This form includes:
 Lying and spreading rumours
 Mimicking
 Encouraging others to exclude someone
 Damaging someone’s social reputation or acceptance
 Cyber-bullying
Bullying is not:
 Mutual conflict, either verbal or physical where both students are upset
 Social rejection or dislike
 Single-episode acts
Preventing Bullying
Reece High will aim to
 Develop and maintain positive relationships with students and families
 Develop, implement and review anti-bullying policies and curriculum on a regular basis,
including cyber safety programs
 Make explicit the school’s expectations in relation to bullying to all members of the school
community
 Provide training and induction for staff in effective strategies to manage bullying
 Survey students each year and use the data collected to inform strategies
Students should
 Be familiar with the school policy and what steps to take if you are bullied or harassed
 Speak up if you see someone being bullied or harassed
 Respect the rights of all members of the community and respect individual differences
 Refuse to take part in bullying, harassment or acts of violence
Staff should
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Explicitly plan opportunities to model and teach appropriate behaviour
Regularly remind students to speak up about bullying, harassment or violence
Respond to all incidents of harassment within the classroom or on duty, no matter how
small
Ensure that they arrive in class and on duty on time to eliminate the opportunity for bullying
Parents should
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Make the school aware of any issue or concerns about their child’s behaviour, health &
wellbeing or any other relevant matters
Communicate in a respectful manner with the school about their concerns as soon as those
concerns arise
Be aware of your child’s friends and presence on social media
Responding to Bullying
Students can try the following strategies
 Remain calm
 Ignore and walk away
 Go to a safe area within the school
 Talk to your friends, tell them what is happening
 Talk to an adult; a teacher, your parents
 You may choose to talk to the person and tell them to stop
 Seek the support of a student leader or teacher
 Follow school procedures for dealing with incidents of bullying & harassment
Parents can try the following strategies
 Discuss the issue with your child but remain calm
 Talk about the problem with your child’s teacher
 Speak only to staff at the school. Do not approach other students or their families
 Social media is not to be used to express your concerns or complaints
 Follow school procedures for dealing with incidents of bullying & harassment
Staff can try the following strategies
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Talk with the child / parent and listen to what is being said repeat the issue back
Speak to all people involved and record information
Facilitate restorative justice ‘mini’ conference
Check back in with the student at a later date to make sure that the issue has not started
again
If the issue is ongoing refer to AST Student Support or Assistant Principal
Actions to repeated acts of bullying, harassment or violence
Repeated acts of bullying, harassment or violence will be dealt with under the school Behaviour
Management plan. It should be noted that some flexibility is required when dealing with each
incident depending on the nature and context.
When consequences are put in place they should be appropriate to the severity of the offence. The
priority is to;
 Restore – deal with the problem
 Repair – the relationship between all parties
Consequences may include but are not limited to;
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Recording of the incident
Formal interviews with staff
Parent notification and involvement
Restorative Justice conference
Counselling
Restitution for any damage caused to personal possessions
Withdrawal from class
Withdrawal from the school grounds
Withdrawal of privileges; e.g. attendance at school socials
Suspension