St Johns College is a community that finds truth and life in Christ as known in the Catholic Tradition.
Students are encouraged to realize their potential for the betterment of society.

POLICY: Bullying in any form is not tolerated at St Johns College. The College will work in partnership with all members of the school community to achieve a safe school environment.
The College will establish and operate appropriate procedures for the reporting of all forms of bullying, and ensure that these procedures are well understood and publicized within the College community.

CLICK HERE TO REPORT A CASE OF BULLYING

RATIONALE: Our pastoral role is founded on the conviction that all members of the College community are worthy human beings and have a right to be dealt with in a sincere and respectful manner.

The College strives to be a community that promotes care, respect and cooperation and values diversity.

The College affirms the right of all members of the school community to feel physically and emotionally safe, secure and valued.

The College acknowledges its responsibility to support the care and protection of students while they are at school or involved in school- organized activities.

The College promotes models of behaviour between school personnel and students based on mutual respect and consideration.

DEFINITION: Bullying is when a student or students repeatedly and deliberately try to harm, humiliate or distress another student. There is a power imbalance involved.

AIMS:
• The College aims to provide a safe and caring environment in which students can develop and reach their full potential.
• Through the implementation of this policy the College aims to minimize the incidence of victimization within the school community, and its impact on individuals and the whole community.
• Through the implementation of the policy the College aims to ensure that members of the school community are aware of expectations and procedures to ensure that incidents are reported and dealt with appropriately.

KEY PRINCIPLES OF POLICY:
• The safety and care of the student and their family is the paramount consideration.
• Confidentiality must be maintained, with communication limited to those people who need to be informed in order to resolve the issue. The identity of a person reporting the matter must not be revealed to any person without the complainants knowledge and consent, unless it is required to be disclosed by law.
• Any concerns or allegations raised are listened to, treated seriously and addressed expeditiously through a proper and thorough investigation that is conducted fairly, having regards to the interests and needs of all involved. Due processes and natural justice need to be afforded to all concerned.
•· Responses by the College are guided by thorough, judicious investigation and due consideration of all available information.
• The College has an ongoing duty of care to all students, not just the student or students affected by the allegations.
• The College will follow a systematic approach to handling all reported instances of bullying, based primarily on the “no-blame” approach in the first instance, and subsequently on the principles of restorative justice.
• The College will monitor the situation with regard to bullying and the general feelings of safety at the school.
•· The College will provide pastoral care that ensures support for all parties. Not withstanding this wish to provide ongoing support, when offenders do not learn and implement more appropriate behaviour, planned disciplinary consequences will be applied according to the College guidelines.
•· The College will continue to update staff with appropriate inservice training about bullying and the College policy on it.

IMPLEMENTATION:
• Every person in the College community has responsibilities in the implementation of this policy as outlined in the College guidelines.
• All students and parents will be given the information necessary to assist them in reporting instances of bullying within the College community.
•· All members of the College staff will respond immediately to evidence of bullying by supporting and listening to those involved and restating the College rules on bullying whenever necessary.
•· All staff are expected to model appropriate behaviour which promotes the College policies.

The College anti-bullying policy will be implemented in conjunction with other relevant policies, including the Pastoral Care and Occupational Health and Safety policies and with due regard to with mandatory legal obligations.