Category: Bullying

Webinar: A Parent’s Guide to TikTok

DCU Anti-Bullying Centre and TikTok invite parents to attend a  webinar entitled “Anti-Bullying & Online Safety – A Parent’s Guide to TikTok” on Tuesday 15th February at 7.00 pm.

You can register via  this link: Click Here to Register.

This parent webinar links in with the FUSE anti bullying  Programme we are  currently running in our school from 3rd -6th class.

FUSE Anti Bullying Program

 

This week to coincide with Safer Internet Day we are launching the FUSE Anti Bullying Program with pupils from 3rd class up. The FUSE Primary Anti-Bullying and Online Safety Programme was developed by the Anti-Bullying Centre (ABC) at Dublin City University and is the first research based Anti-Bullying and Online Safety Programme in Ireland

We are delighted to be a partner school with DCU Anti-Bullying Centre (ABC) delivering the FUSE Anti-Bullying & Online Safety Programme to our students.

In line with FUSE recommendations, we support the UNESCO Whole Education Approach in tackling Bullying and Online Safety in our school, which is led by our students and where their voices are valued and heard.

Here are some of the key takeaways children will learn  on the FUSE Programme

  • How to spot the signs of bullying both online and offline – RECOGNISE
  • How to take personal responsibility safely – RESPOND
  • How to “break the silence” – REPORT

Teaching this program specifically will help children understand what bullying is and also make them more reactive to any incidents of bullying they may witness or experience.  The program aims to  empower children to develop initiatives that will raise awareness and tackle bullying wherever they experience or witness it.  We hope it will also prompt discussions between parents and children at home.

PARENT’S HUB 

 

Anti – Cyber Bullying

Saint Brigid’s National School aims to ensure that children are safe and feel safe from bullying, harassment and discrimination. This school is committed to teaching children the knowledge and skills to be able to use ICT effectively, safely and responsibly.

UNDERSTANDING CYBER-BULLYING:

  • Cyber bullying is the use of ICT (usually a mobile phone and or the internet) to abuse another person. It can take place anywhere, it involves a far wider audience than traditional bullying and can affect the victim even when not in the presence of the bully.
  • Anybody can be targeted including pupils and school staff
  • It can include threats, intimidation, harassment, cyber-stalking, vilification, defamation, exclusion, peer rejection, impersonation, unauthorized publication of private information or images etc.
  • While bullying involves a repetition of unwelcome behaviour the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools, September 2013, states:

2.1.3.      In addition, in the context of these procedures placing a once-off offensive or hurtful public message, image or statement on a social network site or other public forum where that message, image or statement can be viewed and/or repeated by other people will be regarded as bullying behaviour.

WHAT IS CYBER-BULLYING?

There are many types of cyber-bullying. The more common types are:

  1. Text messages – can be threatening or cause discomfort.    Also included here is‘ Bluejacking’ (the sending of anonymous text messages over short distances using bluetooth wireless technology)
  2. Picture/video-clips via mobile phone cameras – images sent to others to make the victim feel threatened or embarrassed
  3. Mobile phone calls – silent calls, abusive messages or stealing the victim‛s phone and using it to harass others, to make them believe the victim is responsible
  4. Emails – threatening or bullying emails, often sent using a pseudonym or somebody else‛s name
  5. Chat room bullying – menacing or upsetting responses to children or young people when they are in a web-based chat room
  6. Instant messaging (IM) – unpleasant messages sent while children conduct real-time conversations online using MSM (Microsoft Messenger), Yahoo Chat or similar tools
  7. Bullying via websites – use of defamatory blogs (web logs), personal websites and online personal ‘own web space’ sites such as You Tube, Facebook, Ask.fm, Twitter and Myspace – although there are others.

Explanation of slang terms used when referring to cyber-bullying activity: 

  1. ‘Flaming’: Online fights using electronic messages with angry and vulgar language
  2. ‘Harassment’: Repeatedly sending offensive, rude, and insulting messages
  3. ‘CyberStalking’: Repeatedly sending messages that include threats of harm or are highly intimidating or engaging in other on-line activities that make a person afraid for his or her own safety
  4. ‘Denigration’: ‘Dissing’ someone online. Sending or posting cruel gossip or rumors about a person to damage his or her reputation or friendships
  5. ‘Impersonation’: Pretending to be someone else and sending or posting material online that makes someone look bad, gets her/him in trouble or danger, or damages her/his reputation or friendships
  6. ‘Outing and Trickery’: Tricking someone into revealing secret or embarrassing information which is then shared online
  7. ‘Exclusion’: Intentionally excluding someone from an on-line group, like a ‘buddy list’

This list is not exhaustive and the terms used continue to change.

AIMS OF POLICY:

  • To ensure that pupils, staff and parents understand what cyber bullying is and how it can be combated
  • To ensure that practices and procedures are agreed to prevent incidents of cyber-bullying
  • To ensure that reported incidents of cyber-bullying are dealt with effectively and quickly.

PROCEDURES TO PREVENT CYBER-BULLYING:

  • All reports of cyber bullying will be investigated, recorded, stored in the Principal’s office and monitored regularly
  • Pupils and parents will be urged to report all incidents of cyber bullying to the school
  • Mobile phones and smart watches are not permitted in school.
  • Parents will be provided with information and advice on how to combat cyber bullying through talks arranged by ICT post holder, information provided the school website.
  • Staff CPD (Continuous Professional Development) will assist in learning about current technologies
  • Pupils will learn about cyber bullying through Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE), assemblies, anti bullying  activities and other curriculum projects
  • Staff, pupils, parents and Board of Management (BoM) will be made aware of issues surrounding cyber bullying through the use of appropriate awareness-raising exercises
  • Procedures in our school Anti-bullying Policy shall apply
  • The police will be contacted in cases of actual or suspected illegal content
  • This policy will be reviewed annually. Pupils, parents and staff will be involved in reviewing and revising this policy and any related school procedure

INFORMATION FOR PUPILS:

If you are being bullied by phone or on the Internet:

  • Remember, bullying is never your fault. It can be stopped and it can usually be traced.
  • Don‛t ignore the bullying. Tell someone you trust, such as a teacher or parent or call an advice line.
  • Try to keep calm. If you are frightened, try to show it as little as possible. Don‛t get angry, it will only make the person bullying you more likely to continue.
  • Don‛t give out your personal details online – if you are in a chat room, do not say where you live, the school you go to, your email address etc. All these things can help someone who wants to harm you to build up a picture about you.
  • Keep and save any bullying emails, text messages or images. Then you can show them to a parent or teacher as evidence.
  • If you can, make a note of the time and date bullying messages or images were sent, and note any details about the sender
  • There is plenty of online advice on how to react to cyber bullying. For example,

ie.reachout.com and www.wiredsafety.org have some useful tips.

 Text/video messaging

  • You can easily stop receiving text messages for a while by turning-off incoming messages for a couple of days. This might stop the person texting you by making them believe you‛ve changed your phone number
  • If the bullying persists, you can change your phone number. Ask your mobile service provider about this.
  • Don‛t reply to abusive or worrying text or video messages.
  • Your mobile service provider will have a number for you to ring or text to report phone bullying. Visit their website for details.
  • Don‛t delete messages from cyber bullies. You don‛t have to read them, but you should keep them as evidence.

Useful Websites 

www.spunout.ie

www.kidsmart.org.uk/beingsmart

www.bbc.co.uk./schools/bullying

www.childline.ie/index.php/support/bullying/1395

www.abc.tcd.ie

www.chatdanger.com

www.kidpower.org

http://ie.reachout.com

www.sticksandstones.ie

www.antibullying.net

www.childnet.int.org

 

 

 

The Stay Alert Stay Safe Bullying Quiz

The Stay Alert Stay Safe Bullying Quiz
Try to choose the correct answer for each of the following questions. With this multiple-choice quiz, you can test your knowledge on how to not be a victim or a bully.

A. Bullying is a problem that affects:

  1. Victims
  2. Bullies
  3. Communities
  4. All of the above

B. By definition, bullies are:

  1. Generally aggressive toward their classmates, teacher, parents, siblings and others
  2. Happy children who just like to tease
  3. Well-liked and highly popular amongst their peers
  4. Just high spirited kids having a laugh and a bit of fun

C. If you are being bullied, you should:

  1. Start crying
  2. Fight back
  3. Ignore the bully and walk away
  4. Laugh back

D. Victims of bullying are generally known to

  1. Deserve what they get
  2. Be funny looking
  3. Be unpopular at school
  4. None of the above

E. You are in the schoolyard and a kid four inches taller and much stronger than you approaches. With his fist in the air, he screams “You pushed me in line at lunch today. What are you going to do about it? Answer quick or I’ll break your face.” Your immediate response should be:

  1. “Leave me alone”,then walk away
  2. Threaten to break his face too
  3. Give a clever or funny response such as “Thanks, but I like my face just the way it is.”
  4. Either 1 or 2

F. Bullies tend to pick on:

  1. Kids who are older and bigger than they are
  2. Kids who are all alone
  3. Kids who play together in a group
  4. Kids who play close to the teacher

G.The following behaviour may prevent you from becoming a victim of a bully:

  1. Becoming a bully yourself
  2. Walking tall and with confidence
  3. Taking up kick-boxing
  4. Playing by yourself at recess

H.Bullying comes in many forms. It can be:

  1. Physical (hitting, punching, kicking)
  2. Verbal (name calling, sarcasm, threats, teasing)
  3. Emotional (tormenting, ridiculing, or humiliating another person)
  4. All of the above

Answers: A-4; B-1; C-3; D-4; E-4; F-2; G-2; H-4.

Bullying…What to do if you are being bullied

What to do if you’re being bullied

When you’re dealing with bullying it can feel like there’s nothing you can do about it. You can convince yourself that trying to stop it might make things worse. If it’s happening in school, telling a teacher can seem like the last thing you want to do. Will your parents freak out and make a big fuss about it?  Everyone has the right to live, work, study and play in an environment free from bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence. No one deserves or asks to be bullied and you certainly shouldn’t go through it on your own. Don’t forget that. There are things you can do about it.

Asking Someone for Advice

If you’re dealing with bullying – be it verbal, physical or online – it can really help to tell someone about it and ask for advice. That can seem difficult and will take a bit of courage but you’ll be amazed by how much better you feel just by getting it off your chest.

If whatever’s going on is scaring you, if you feel threatened or you think you might be in danger, telling someone else what’s going on is really important. Don’t keep it to yourself. You’re not giving in and there’s nothing wussy or weak about reporting it or asking for advice. Anyone would need help with that.

If it’s happening in school, think of a a teacher you trust to give you some advice or know how to handle it. Teachers and counselors are specially trained in these situations and it’s their job to help. Also, it’s good for them to know this is happening in the school because there might be other people going through it and they need to figure out how to prevent it. So think about it as helping other people. It’s understandable you might be worried your parent or guardian will completely explode if you say anything and run down to the school screaming their head off.

We can’t say it won’t happen, but remember they want to help, and they actually might. They’re also probably more clued in than you imagine, so explain to them if you don’t want them to do that. They could have suggestions you had never even thought of. Even if you don’t want them to do anything, it lightens the load, and that in itself is pretty good

Tips for Getting Help

  • If you’re worried about speaking to someone, take a friend with you. If you don’t feel like you can talk about it out-loud or face-to-face, write it down or put it in an email.
  • Talk to whoever you tell about what they’re planning to do. They might have a responsibility to act if they’re a teacher or counselor and they’re worried about your safety, so make sure you check with them. They should run all of this by you first. Be clear about what you want and don’t want to happen.
  • If you don’t feel as if you’re being taken seriously, or if no action is taken, it doesn’t mean what’s happening is ok. You were right to bring it up. Tell someone else and keep at it until something changes.

Dealing with bullying can be really tough. It affects your self-esteem and your confidence, and can end up affecting your work and your relationships too. It’s really important to do something about it, and if you feel you need a hand dealing with the effects of it, speak to someone like a counselor to help you sort it out how you feel.

Working it out Yourself

Depending on how bad the bullying is (and as long as you aren’t feeling in danger or physically threatened) you might decide to try to work it out yourself.

Here are some ideas that might help with this:

Ignore it

Ignoring whoever’s trying to intimidate you or is giving you hassle can be really effective for verbal bullying. After all, they’re trying to get a reaction from you, so if you don’t give them one, they can get bored and give it a rest.

Be confident

People who hassle other people usually set their sights on someone who seems nervous or unsure of themselves because they think they won’t stand up to them. Being confident about who you are can actually be your best defence. Even if you don’t feel it, as the not-so-old saying goes, “fake it ’til you make it”.

Stay positive

It can be hard to remember your good points when someone is doing their best to put you down. However, try to think of all the things you’re good at and proud of and stuff that makes you laugh. Some of the world’s brightest and funniest and most talented people get a hard time when they’re young. Remember this will pass, and loads of people get through it and go on to do amazing stuff with their lives.

Safety in numbers

You’re safer in a group, so hang out with other people when you can. If you’re by yourself and worried about being hassled or feel threatened, be aware of places nearby where there’ll be other people.

Keep out of their way

It might be possible for you to avoid whoever’s bullying you. This can mean travelling a different way to school, or avoiding the places they hang out. This isn’t giving in to them – just getting on with life and taking care of yourself without them getting in the way or wrecking your day.