1.4.5 Countering Bullying

Contents

1. Definition of Bullying
2. General
3. Risk Assessment and Planning
4. Countering Bullying Day-to-Day
5. Notifications and Management Review
6. Recording
7. Guidance

1. Definition of Bullying

Bullying is defined as behaviour or actions of a child, member of Staff or other  adult, group of people or a whole organisation, designed to cause distress or to hurt a young person or group of young people. 

A precise definition is difficult but a key factor is distress caused to the recipient rather than the intentions of the bully. Research indicates that the most distressing aspects of living away from your own family are the impact of the behaviour and actions of other children and young people.

Further detail of what may constitute bullying and strategies for countering bullying see Section 7, Guidance.

2. General

For detailed guidance on countering and managing bullying behaviour see Section 7, Guidance

The young people who are cared for by us are particularity vulnerable to both being bullies and to being bullied themselves. This will be for a variety of reasons including being new comers to existing groups of children as well as being exposed to poor role models in the past. Staff should actively take steps to provide the young people that they care for with ways of combating these issues.

Everyone involved in caring for children shares responsibility for safeguarding children and countering bullying and we strive to create a culture, which positively encourages acceptable behaviour and reduces or prevents the likelihood of bullying. The organisation make every effort to create an atmosphere where bullying is known to be unacceptable to both the young people and the Staff.

As part of this ethos everyone must understand what bullying means and what measures should be taken within the home and by individual Staff to counter it.  Everyone should also be clear what measures they should take if they suspect bullying or it is reported to them.  In this respect, everyone should be alert to the fact that bullying may be a potential Child Protection matter/serious complaint and must always be considered in that context and, as such, must be reported under the Child Protection Referral Procedures, in Child/Adult Protection Procedure or Representations and Complaint Procedure.

3. Risk Assessment and Planning

See detailed Guidance on countering and managing bullying behaviour contained in Section 7, Guidance.

3.1 Homes Strategies

The Manager of each Resource must ensure that recorded risk assessments are regularly carried out including of the time places and circumstances at which the risk of bullying is greatest.  Risk assessments must be revised each time there is a placement change in the house for all young people.

The Manager should record the action taken where feasible to reduce or counter act the risk of bullying.

3.2 Individual Plans for Children

As part of the assessment and planning process, the Manager of the home must ensure that a Bullying Risk Assessment is carried out for all children, and risks of bullying relating to children - either as victims or perpetrators - are covered in Care Programmes with clear Strategies for reducing or preventing such behaviour.

In the absence of such Strategies, the following must apply:

4. Countering Bullying Day-to-Day

See detailed Guidance on countering and managing bullying behaviour contained in Section 7, Guidance.

If Staff have any concerns, they must discuss them with colleagues and the Manager who should take what actions are necessary to reduce or prevent it. 

If the bullying is persistent or serious, the Social Worker should be consulted and it may be necessary to conduct a Care Programme Review or a Strategy Discussion/Meeting in line with Child Protection Referral Procedures.

See Child/ adult Protection Procedure.

If the Manager is unavailable, Staff may take what immediate actions are necessary to reduce or prevent bullying from occurring, record their assessment of the situation and actions taken  and then inform the Manager as soon as practicable.

4.1 Prevention

Staff should not use young people to avert control or power over situations.

Managers should ensure that measures are taken to prevent bullying between children through key worker sessions and clinical support.

5. Notifications and Management Review

There are different notification procedures depending on the persistence and seriousness of the bullying.

Where bullying is not persistent or not serious it should be notified to the Manager at the first opportunity; the Manager will inform the Social Worker (for the victim and preparatory), regional managers should also be informed and decide what further actions to take.

If the bullying is persistent or serious, it is to be deemed to be an Incident which must be notified to the Manager and relevant Social Worker without delay.  The Social Worker should decide whether to inform the child’s Parent(s) and, if so, who should do so.

The Manager and Social Worker should consider whether the bullying may constitute a potential referral under Child Protection Procedures;  see Child/Adult Protection Procedure.

If any notifiable event occurred, the Manager must notify other Managers and agencies as required in Notifiable Events Procedure.

It will also be necessary for the Manager to conduct a Management Review as set out in Incidents Reporting Procedure.

6. Recording

Minor/Non Persistent bullying should be  recorded  in the home's daily/routine records (e.g. Daily Log, child's Profile or Diary Sheet).

Serious/Persistent bullying should be recorded in a Detailed Record Sheet and Incident Form/Report. It may also be necessary to review/update the child's Care Programme

7. Guidance

This guidance primarily relates to children’s homes but the principles are relevant for Staff/Carers working with children across a range of services.

7.1 Introduction

Bullying can be a major management problem in residential care homes where a range of children and young people with different problems are accommodated.  Other young people from outside the home may also be involved, and there may be allegations of bullying by teachers, or by Staff working in the residential home itself.  All reports and situations that arise will need to be looked into and managed both sensitively and even handed.

Residential Staff may also come across children who, by virtue of their presenting behaviours, are more at risk of being bullied and who, through low self esteem or value, may inadvertently  invite bullying, thereby  setting  themselves up to be bullied and make themselves a continual victim.  This can become a complex problem to deal with, since Staff will wish to protect children from bullying, but at the same time they will need to assist  them in developing self esteem and self worth to a level that will  help them stand on their own two feet.

It is possible for Staff to work effectively in their support of children who present such behaviours, however, in extreme or persistent cases of   behaviour of this kind expert advice and support may be required.

In such circumstances, it would be appropriate after discussion with your Manager or line Manager and the young persons Social Worker, for a referral to be made to a  child  specialist, e.g. psychological, assessment/support.

Every effort to deal with bullying in its initial stages must be made.

Research indicates that if bullying has become strongly established in a home or resource, it will need a major input by Staff to bring it under control and to re-establish healthy peer group functioning.  In the absence of such intervention, bullying  may self-perpetuate, since new arrivals will be forced to either join in with the bullies or become a victim themselves.

All Staff and young people living in the home should 'sign up' to an Anti-Bullying contract; if this is done at the point of admission, it gives a strong message about the culture  and ethos of the home and makes everyone aware that bullying will not be ignored or tolerated.

It is particularly important that policies and Strategies are developed and implemented to deal with bullying as it affects the children in residential care. It is also important that the policy on countering bullying is reviewed frequently with Staff and children and includes information on bullying by Staff and bullying that may occur elsewhere in the home and includes different aspects of bullying.

Training should be provided for Staff in awareness of, and effective strategies to counter, bullying. 

Many of these children have already experienced emotional abuse which has led to them being Looked After.  Many also have psychological, emotional or behavioural problems related to the circumstances surrounding their admission to the home.

Bullying must be effectively addressed in order to achieve this aim, therefore the policy should be available and known to Staff and children, and should be implemented, monitored and revised where necessary.

7.2 Underlying Principles

Bullying can be defined as the behaviour of one person or group, which causes distress to another person or group as a result of physical menace, assault, verbal abuse or threats.  Bullying activities may include teasing, horseplay, humiliation, isolation, blackmail and damage to or theft of personal possession etc.  A precise definition is difficult, but the key factor is the distress caused to the recipient, rather than the intentions of the bully. It may be any of the following:

VERBAL

As in name calling or making personal comments.

SOCIAL

For example not being spoken to or being left out of activities.

MATERIAL

When possessions are stolen or damaged or extortion takes place.

MENTAL

As when pressure to conform is applied.

PHYSICAL

As in harassment or aggression.

SEXUAL

As in harassment, aggressive or homophobic bullying.

RACIAL

As in prejudice or discrimination.

IMPLICIT

When people feel under pressure to behave in a way which they think will please the perpetrator.

CYBERBULLYING

When multimedia such as mobile phones or social networking sites are used to intimidate or bully others.

The seriousness of any bullying will depend on a number of factors:

• How long has the bullying been going on?
• How is it personally affecting the bullied child?
• The number of children involved.
• The degree of planning and provocation.

Any child may be bullied, but bullying often occurs if a child has been identified in some way as vulnerable, different or inclined to spend more time on his or her own.  This can apply to many children in residential care.

Staff must be very clear of their role in supporting young people to report incidents, which clearly constitute an assault.

It has been shown through research that children who bully have often been bullied themselves, but bullying may occur because a child is unhappy, jealous or lacking in confidence.

The characteristics associated with both a bully and those who are bullied are to be found in the majority of young people within residential establishments.

Staff must also recognise that bullying can bring young people perceived or actual “Rewards”, including:

• The demonstration of superior power.
• A closer group identity.
• Gaining attention or material gains.
• Venting anger, frustration.
• Compensating for lack of success.
• Excitement from the fear of others.

These “rewards” are the “encouragement” required to continue the behaviour and may lead to its development into a sophisticated mechanism for control, which is both difficult to detect and challenge if it becomes the “culture” of the home.

Sorting out bullying early reduces the chances of bullies getting into trouble later in life.  Bullying starts with apparently trivial events such as teasing and name calling which nevertheless rely on an abuse of power.  Such abuses of power, if left unchallenged, can lead to more serious forms of abuse, such as domestic violence, racial attacks and sexual harassment.

The links between bullying and disruption in the resource need to be acknowledged, and reducing bullying will help reduce problems in the resource.

Tracking bullying involves looking at how people treat each other and so will improve the atmosphere of the whole resource.

Individual encouragement of all children/young people within the home counters isolation of individuals by others, nurtures friendships between children and supports them to adapt to their living arrangements.

Support must  be offered to children for whom English is not their first language and for those  whose means of communication is hampered by a learning or physical disability,  to communicate needs and concerns.

Children should be able to approach any member of Staff

7.3 Dealing with Allegations/Suspicions

In order to maintain an effective strategy for dealing with bullying each Staff group needs to challenge the traditional ideas about bullying e.g.

It's only a bit of harmless fun.

It's all part of growing up.  

Children just have to put up with it.

Adults getting involved make it worse.

Clear messages must be given that bullying is not acceptable.

Young people must be reassured that significant adults involved in their lives are dealing with bullying seriously.

A climate of openness should be established in which young people are not afraid to address issues and incidents of bullying.

Staff must not use children to control other children.

All complaints should be taken seriously.  Children should be aware of the options available to them if they feel the matter is not being dealt with satisfactorily. See The Continuum Group Complaints Procedure.

Respond appropriately.  A range of active listening techniques which provide a more helpful response include:

THE LISTENER

Listening patiently with full attention, encouraging, clarifying, restating, reflecting, validating, summarising.

THE DETECTIVE

Establish the details of allegation/suspicion.

THE SUPPORTER

Seeing their side, acknowledging and allowing expression of their feelings.

THE COACH

Checking out what help is being asked for and offering practical, realistic help.

7.4 Resolving/Reducing Incidents of Bullying

Create an Anti-Bullying climate within the home that is conducive to equality of opportunity, co-operation, and mutual respect for differences.  This can be achieved by, i.e.

Low Tolerance of Minor Bullying “Nipping in the bud” the incidents at the earliest sign.

Never ignore victims of bullying, always show an interest/concern.

Publicly acknowledge the bullied child’s distress.

Discuss in residents meetings which allows young people to work together to identify their own problems, causes and solutions with careful sensitive facilitators.

Encourage interdependence and feelings of mutual respect, reciprocity, compassion and assertiveness.

It is important when addressing bullying behaviour to avoid accusations, threats or any responses that will only lead to the child being uncooperative, and silent.

Focus on the bully behaviour rather than the child, explore, and where possible deal with the reasons for the behaviour.

Assess what he/she does and what he/she gets out of it.

Give a clear explanation of the extent of the upset the bullying has caused, encourage them to see the bullied child’s points of view, reward any good behaviour towards other children.

Closely monitor the child (bully and bullied) within the home.

If a culture of bullying continues to prevail and any child feels the issue remains unresolved then Staff should ensure that the children are aware of the avenues open to them other than making another complaint through the homes complaints procedure.  The child should be given access to Advocacy or an Independent Person.

It must also be recognised that bullying within the home may come not just from other children,  but also from Staff members and those in positions of power. This can be difficult to identify as it may be quite subtle , sometimes not intentional, however, it may occur  through abuse of power, position, control, age, physical presence.  In such circumstances Staff have a duty of care to the child/children and are to report immediately any such concerns to their immediate Line Manager or, if more appropriate to do so, to a Senior Manager not directly involved in the day to day running of the Home. See Confidential Reporting (Whistleblowing) Procedure

7.5 Incidents of Bullying Outside the Resource/Home

Any incidents of bullying reported to Staff, which may have occurred at school, should be acted on immediately.

A full account should be gathered including, where possible, locations, times, names of children involved and the names of any teachers who may be aware of the incident.

This should be passed onto the school either to, the Head of Year, or Headteacher.

Staff should ascertain the school bullying procedure, the process of investigation and what will happen next.  This should be passed onto the child, Staff should also reassure the child, with the schools assurance of their safety on return.

A written report of the incident should be forwarded to the school and a written response requested.  This should then be placed on the child’s file and a copy forwarded to the child’s Social Worker.

End