Anti-Bullying Cell
The policy was adopted by the Management on 18 th of July 2019
We at Mount Carmel believe in providing quality education that is built upon a ‘civilization of love’ and was the vision of our foundress Mother Teresa of St. Rose of Lima. This led the sisters of St.Teresa to embark on their journey to serve the society, empowering the marginalized sections to attain their God given dignity with education. Our vision and mission today state the same and is an imprint of her vision. So we at MCCS strive to teach and make our students conscious of human life as God’s precious gift. No one can abuse life in any form.
The management ensures a safe and healthy environment for students and staff in our
MCC School. Policies regarding, child protection, positive behavior and discipline
and acceptable usage of internet are stated in our handbook. It is clearly
communicated to students & parents at the start of every year through
orientations, seminars and workshops. Therefore, Bullying is strictly prohibited
inside the school premises or through media, consequently strict actions are taken
against defaulters.
What is bullying?
Bullying may be defined as the activity of repeated, aggressive behavior intended to hurt another person, physically or mentally. Bullying is characterized by an individual behaving in a certain way to gain power over another person. Bullying occurs when a person is “exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons”. He/she says negative actions occur “when a person intentionally inflicts injury or discomfort upon another person, through physical contact, through words or in other ways.
School Bullying:
School bullying is a type of bullying that occurs in an educational setting even online too. Bullying can be physical, sexual, verbal, cyber or emotional in nature.
School bullying may be more specifically defined as unwelcome behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive, and must include:
- A difference in power. Children who bully use their physical strength or popularity to control or harm others.
- Repetitious happening more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.
The long-term effects of school bullying are numerous, and can include sensitivity, anxiety, and depression. Recent statistics suggest that the majority of students will experience bullying at some point in their academic careers. In the early 21st century, increasing attention has been given to the importance of teachers and parents understanding and recognizing the signs of bullying (among both bullies and victims), and being equipped with strategies and tools to address school bullying.
Responsibilities of Stake Holders
a) The target
- To report an incident to a responsible adult immediately.
- Not to fight back or deal with the situation without the help / advice of an adult.
b) The bully
- To stop bullying.
- To try to imagine how they would feel if the tables were turned.
c) All
- Report all bullying incidents to an adult.
- Support the victim.
- Avoid being a ‘passive bully’ by watching or laughing while another person does the bullying.
Staff Responsibilities
- To treat immediately any report of bullying seriously.
- To listen to all parties involved in incidents.
- To investigate as fully as possible.
- To take action or refer the matter to anti bullying committee.
- To record all incidents.
- To promote the range of teaching and learning styles and strategies which challenge the bullying behavior.
- To foster by example the values of respect, equality, fairness and caring that we believe and uphold in our school
- To assist all students to understand the responsibilities through support club, assemblies, counseling session
The Responsibilities of Parents
We ask our parents to support their children and the school by:
- Watching for signs of distress or unusual behavior in their children, which might be the evidence of bullying (Withdrawal, secretiveness, depression, poor self image, violent or abrasive behavior)
- Advising their children to report any form of bullying to a member of staff/specific post in school/their class teacher/ the parents and explain the implications of allowing the bullying to continue unchecked, for themselves and for other pupils
- Advising their children not to retaliate violently to any form of bullying
- Being sympathetic and supportive towards their children, and reassuring them that appropriate action will be taken
- Keep a written record of any reported instances of bullying.
- Reporting to the school of any suspected bullying, even if their children are not involved;
- Co-operating with the school, if their children are accused of bullying, try to ascertain the truth and point out the implications of bullying, both for the children who are bullied and for the bullies themselves
The Responsibilities of All:
- Everyone should work together to combat and eradicate bullying.
- Within the school community
- Pastoral provision
- Classroom management
- Guidelines for records and sanctions
Preventive Measures:
PROCEDURES FOR DEALING WITH INCIDENTS OF BULLYING
Following are Steps taken to support and respond to the needs of both bullied and bullying pupils.
- Records are kept
- Action to be taken
- Contacting parents of all pupils concerned in the bullying incident.
- Feedback to those concerned.
- Sanctions.
- Contacting relevant professionals E.g : Behavior Management Team, Pupil Personal Development Team, Psychologist, Anti-Bullying Committee Counselors.
CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF STAFF
Workshops, Seminars, Induction Programmers are organized to sensitize staff members
for prevention of bullying. for reporting bullying incident within the classrooms
and the playground. Talk by the counselors, complaint box is installed at different
locations. Review of the bullying policies twice in a year, feedback is also
collected from the disciplinary in charges to take appropriate actions. Full time
counselors are appointed for primary, middle and senior sections to resolve the
issues of bullying within the time framed.
All documentation regarding
bullying incidents is retained securely with the school psychologist.
FORMS OF BULLYING
- Physical violence such a hitting, pushing or spitting at another pupil
- Interfering with another pupil’s property by stealing, hiding or damaging it
- Using offensive names when addressing another pupil.
- Teasing or spreading rumors about another pupil or her family.
- Belittling another pupil’s abilities and achievements.
- Writing offensive notes or graffiti about another pupil.
- Excluding another pupil from a group activity.
- Ridiculing another pupil’s appearance, way of speaking or personal mannerisms. Misusing technology (internet or mobiles) to hurt or humiliate another person.
Reporting procedures for Students:
Who to tell or report?
- Parents
- Anti Bullying Committee Members(School)
- Teachers
- Friends who will speak on your behalf
How to tell?
- Direct approach to teacher at an appropriate time
- Make a phone call to the school or to a trusted teacher in the school.
- Email the school
- Get a parent or friend to tell on your behalf
- Parents can inform the school
- Witnesses can inform any trusted adult of the school
