St. Mary's Prospectus 2020

Anti-Bullying Statement
In St Mary’s we are committed to putting into practice the guidance as outlined in the Bullying in Schools
Act N Ireland 2016. Bullying is defined as:
Bullying includes but is not limited to the repeated use of verbal, written or electronic
communication or any other act by a pupil or a group of pupils with the intention of causing
physical or emotional harm to that pupil or group of pupils, including exclusion’. (Bullying in
schools Act N Ireland 2016).
‘The repeated use of power by one or more persons intentionally to hurt, harm or adversely
affect the rights and needs of another or others’ (Northern Ireland Anti Bullying Forum (NIABF).
It is important to note that Bullying behaviours are not limited to repetition. The school reserves the right
to decide if One-off acts of bullying have caused harm after assessing the severity of the impact. When
bullying behaviours occurs through the medium of electronic communications, ‘repetition’ can take place
through the repeated viewing and sharing of a post even if there is only one post.
We are committed to putting in place measures and interventions to prevent bullying behaviour:
• Raising awareness and understanding with the pupils of the positive behaviour expectations, as
set out in the Positive Behaviour Policy
• Providing pupils with strategies to report bullying behaviour
• Promotion of anti-bullying messages through the curriculum for example inclusion of ageappropriate
material specific to individual subject areas related to bullying, positive behaviour,
positive mental health and inclusion
• Involvement in meaningful and supportive shared education projects, supporting pupils to explore,
understand and respond to difference and diversity
• Participation in the NIABF annual Anti-Bullying Week activities
• Development of peer-led work through the School Council to support the delivery and promotion
of key anti-bullying messaging
• School assemblies to raise awareness and promote understanding of key issues related to
bullying
• Development of a culture where pupils take pride in their school and are viewed as ambassadors
for their school within the community
• Measures to empower pupils to challenge inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour of their peers
during the journey to and from school.
We are committed to working in partnership with our parents and guardians when responding to bullying
concerns.
(A copy of the anti-bullying policy is available of the school office).
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ST. MARY’S COLLEGE