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Anti-Bullying Policy

Statement of Intent

Go Live Theatre Projects (GLTP) is committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all of its members so they can learn in a relaxed and secure atmosphere in line with the Equalities Act 2010.   Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at GLTP.  If bullying does occur, all young people/children and adults/staff/parent/carers/teachers should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively.  

What is bullying?

Bullying is the use of aggression with the intention of hurting another person.  Bullying results in pain and distress to the victim.

 

Bullying can be focused around issues, such as:

  • Racism racial taunts, graffiti, gestures
  • Sexual unwanted physical contact or sexually abusive comments
  • Homophobia taunting because of, or focussing on the issue of sexuality
  • Body insulting a person physically

 

Bullying can be acted out in a variety of ways, such as:

  • Verbal name-calling, sarcasm, threatening, teasing, sexual comments
  • Social spreading rumours, leaving people out, embarrassing people
  • Physical pushing, kicking, hitting, punching or any use of violence
  • Cyber all areas of internet, such as email, Facebook & internet chatroom abuse
  • Mobile threats by BBM, Facebook, text messaging & calls misuse of associated technology i.e. BBM, camera & video facilities

Why is it Important to respond to bullying?

  • Bullying hurts.  
  • No one deserves to be a victim of bullying.  
  • Everybody has the right to be treated with respect.  
  • Young people and adults who are bullying need to learn different ways of behaving.  

 

Go Live Theatre Projects has a responsibility to respond promptly and effectively to issues of bullying.

Objectives of this Policy

  • All trustees, staff, teaching and non-teaching staff, volunteers, young people and parents should have an understanding of what bullying is.
  • All trustees, staff, teaching and non-teaching staff and volunteers should know what GLTP’s policy is on bullying, and follow it when bullying is reported.
  • All young people and parent/carers should know what GLTPs’ policy is on bullying, and what they should do if bullying arises.
  • As an organisation, we take bullying seriously.  Young people and parent/carers should be assured that they will be supported when bullying is reported.
  • Bullying will not be tolerated.

Signs and Symptoms

A young person may indicate by signs or behaviour that he or she is being bullied.  Adults should be aware of these possible signs and that they should investigate if a child:

  • is frightened of walking to or from a youth activity
  • doesn’t want to go by public transport
  • begs to be driven to school/provision
  • changes their usual routine
  • is unwilling to go to school/provision (school phobic)
  • begins to truant
  • becomes withdrawn anxious, or lacking in confidence
  • starts stammering
  • attempts self-harm, or threatens suicide or runs away
  • cries themselves to sleep at night or has nightmares
  • feels ill in the morning
  • begins to do poorly in school work
  • comes home with clothes torn or books damaged
  • has possessions which are damaged or ” go missing”
  • asks for money or starts stealing money (to pay bully)
  • has dinner or other monies continually “lost”
  • has unexplained cuts or bruises
  • comes home starving (money / lunch has been stolen)
  • becomes aggressive, disruptive or unreasonable
  • is bullying other young people or siblings
  • stops eating
  • is frightened to say what’s wrong
  • gives improbable excuses for any of the above
  • is afraid to use the internet or mobile phone
  • is nervous & jumpy when a cyber message is received

 

These signs and behaviours could indicate other problems, but bullying should be considered a possibility and should be investigated.

Help kids understand bullying – GLTP has a responsibility to educate all young people about what bullying is so that they can better identify it.

Keep the lines of communication open – ensure that young people feel safe to talk to staff and volunteers about what is happening for them, both in and out of GLTP.

GO LIVE THEATRE PROJECTS GUIDELINES/PROCEDURES

Stop bullying on the spot

  • The bullying behaviour must be stopped quickly
  • Mousetrap staff/ practitioners and volunteer will model respectful behaviour – intervene, separate people and make sure everyone is safe

 

Find out what happened

  • If you are not sure of, or need to clarify the situation, get the facts – keep all participants involved separate. Listen without blaming or labelling bullying until you are sure.
  • Determine if it’s bullying – what is the history/is there a power imbalance/ has it happened before, or are you worried it will happen again?

 

Support young people who are bullied 

  • Listen and focus on the young person or child, show you want to help and that it is not their fault. They may find it difficult to talk about, and may need extra support e.g. Counselling
  • Give advice about what to do – think through what to do if it happens again, other sources of advice or support – assertiveness skills/building confidence and self esteem
  • AVOID: telling young person/child to ignore it, say they provoked it, advise physical fighting back or suggesting to parents that they should contact other parent – provisions should mediate.
  • Follow up – ensure consistent support. This will often be the host/ partner organisation’s responsibility – Go Live staff/practitioners will share report of incident with school/ other organisation.

 

Support children who bully and address bullying behaviour 

  • When Go Live staff/ practitioners identify problem behaviour, this will be addressed in appropriate settings (for example, during performing arts summer projects where pastoral care is built into programmes) and/or will be passed to other professionals (for example, during projects in schools and community settings) when follow up will happen after the natural end of the project.
  • Go Live staff/ practitioners will avoid strategies that have negative consequences – e.g. exclusions, threats.

 

Support bystanders who witness bullying

  • Even if young people are not bullied or bullying others, they can be affected by bullying. Many times, when they see bullying, they may not know what to do to stop it. They may not feel safe stepping in the moment, but there are many other steps they can take.

 

As a charity working with children and young people, Go Live Theatre Project’s Anti-Bullying Policy sets our thoughts on bullying, what we will do to tackle it and how we support children and young people who experience or display bullying behaviour.  This policy also applies to our staff members who might experience bullying. 

Go Live Theatre Projects will:

  • Recognise its duty of care and responsibility to safeguard all children and young people from harm and will also safeguard Mousetrap Theatre Projects colleagues
  • Promote and implement this Anti-Bullying Policy in addition to our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
  • Require all colleagues and drama practitioners to read and endorse this Policy
  • Take action to investigate and respond to any reports of bullying from children, young people or staff members
  • Encourage and facilitate children, young people and staff members to play an active part in developing and adopting a code of conduct for behaviour 
  • Ensure that all drama practitioners and staff members working with children and young people are given access to information, guidance and training on bullying

Drama Practitioners, Staff Members and Volunteers will:

  • Encourage individuals to speak out about any bullying behaviour
  • Respect every child’s/young person’s or staff’s need for and right to an environment where safety, security, praise and recognition are available
  • Respect the feelings and views of others
  • Recognise that everyone is important and equal and that our differences make each of us special and worthy of being valued
  • Show appreciation of others by acknowledging individual qualities, contributions and progress
  • Ensure safety by having rules and practices carefully explained at the beginning of drama workshops and through our Staff Handbook
  • Report incidents of bullying behaviour 

Supporting Children, Young People and Staff Members

  • We will endeavour to create an ‘open door’ ethos in our workshops where children and young people feel confident to talk to an adult about bullying behaviour or any other issue that affects them and will do the same for staff members
  • Potential barriers to communication, such as those associated with a child’s disability or impairment, will be acknowledged and addressed at the outset to enable children and young people to speak out
  • We will ensure children and young people are aware of helplines or other services to support them if they feel bullied or harassed
  • We will listen carefully to anyone who reports an incident of bullying behaviour and those reports will be taken seriously
  • We will investigate any reported experience of bullying behaviour, carefully listening to all those involved
  • Children, young people and staff members who experience bullying behaviour will be supported in their right to live in a safe environment
  • Those who display bullying behaviour will be supported and encouraged to develop better relationships

Support to the Parents/Guardians/Teachers/Youth Leaders

  • Parents/guardians/teachers and youth leaders will be advised about Go Live Theatre Projects’ Anti-Bullying Policy
  • Any experience of bullying behaviour will be discussed with the appropriate adult or staff member
  • The appropriate adult will be consulted on action to be taken (for both victim and bully) and we will agree on these terms together
  • Information and advice on coping with bullying will be made available
  • Support will be offered to the appropriate adult or staff member, including information from other agencies or support lines

 

Report bullying incidents on relevant paperwork 

  • Go Live staff/ practitioners will report on any external incidents during project debriefs and, if necessary, report to the relevant Designated Safeguarding Lead/s.
  • Go Live staff will report on any internal incidents and will deal with any misconduct in line with our Staff Hand book

 

Outcomes

  • Young people may be referred to external agencies for further support.

HELP ORGANISATIONS:

Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) 020 7354 8321

Children’s Legal Centre 0845 345 4345

KIDSCAPE Parents Helpline (Mon-Fri, 10-4) 0845 1 205 204 / www.kidscape.org.uk

Parentline Plus 0808 800 2222

Youth Access 020 8772 9900

Bullying Online www.bullying.co.uk

NSPCC Helpline  0808 800 5000

Childline  0800 111/www.childline.org.uk  

Anti-Bullying Alliance  www.antibullying .org 

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