Planning for a safe and supportive school community

On Friday 18 August 2023, St Joseph’s School will participate in the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA). The NDA is Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative for schools, connecting schools and communities to implement workable solutions to prevent bullying.

Planning for a safe and supportive school community requires a whole-school community approach. Whole-school responses to bullying prevention builds positive and supportive school environments by incorporating strategies for intervention at all levels, inclusive of students, teachers, parents and carers.

Three key characteristics outlined in the national definition of bullying distinguish bullying behaviours from other negative behaviours which are not bullying. The key characteristics of bullying include:

power imbalance
deliberate intent to cause harm, and
ongoing and repeated behaviour.

While the following behaviours are NOT BULLYING, they may still be serious and require intervention at home and at school:

arguments and disagreements (where there is no power imbalance)
single acts of social rejection or unkind behaviour, or
isolated incidents of aggression, intimidation or violence.

It is important for our whole-school community, including our staff, parents, carers and students to have a clear understanding of the definition of bullying to be able to correctly identify and respond to incidents of bullying. The full national definition can be found on the visit the Bullying. No Way! website.

If you have concerns that your child is being bullied, please contact the classroom teacher. You will be referred to the Principal if a satisfactory outcome is not achieved. If you believe the behaviour constitutes a crime, or is a serious incident of cyberbullying, please refer to the Bullying. No Way! website for information on how to report to other authorities and gaining further help.

You can read the St Joseph’s Anti-Bullying Prevention Policy to learn more about our school’s process for preventing and responding to bullying and incidents of bullying.

For more information, please visit the Bullying. No Way! website.

We look forward to a great day of learning next Friday 18th August and of helping students to know what to do to stand up against bullying and violence.

Kind Regards,

Jenny Todd

(Student Wellbeing Leader)

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St Joseph's Primary School Sorrento Newsletter

Issue 13 · 09 Aug 2023

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