Immanuel Lutheran College

Home \| Contact us \| Email this page \| Print this page

'DARE TO CARE' ANTI-BULLYING AND ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY

Dare to Care is a Whole School approach to stop bullying and assist victims and perpetrators of bullying.

View Dare to Care Week 2005 Photos

What is Bullying?
Bullying is the intentional and repetitive behaviour towards someone less powerful; either psychologically or physical.
It includes physical, , verbal actions, inappropriate use of technology (e.bullying) as well as exclusion.

Illustration by Peter Y. (Year 11, 2002)

Bullying will not be tolerated at Immanuel Lutheran College and we encourage staff, students and parents to "Dare to Care". WHAT YOU CAN DO!

Solve it yourself
Ask a friend
Find an adult helper
Expect the Best

If you are a victim of bullying, you are encouraged to:

Tell the person to stop the bullying behaviour, if you feel comfortable doing so.
Share the problem with family members, friends, teacher, school counsellor, Chaplain, Head of School or Principal.
Report the bullying incidents to a staff member, where you will be taken seriously and action will be taken to prevent bullying happening again.

If you witness bullying you are encouraged to report the incident to a staff member. Students are asked to understand that reporting bullying is vital, and that ‘dob’ stands for ‘don’t obey bullies".

If you are a parent and believe that your child is a victim of bullying, please communicate your concerns to staff. Signs of bullying include:

Displaying uncharacteristic unhappiness.
Deterioration in schoolwork.
Not wanting to go to school and/or sudden increase in anxiety about going to school.
Unexplained bruises, cuts or injuries.
Desire to be with an adult all the time.

Exclusion

Verbal

Physical

Extra requests for pocket money.
Loss of, or damaged personal property.

Remember that your situation will remain confidential at all times, unless you say otherwise and that you may involve your parents at any stage. It is recommended that you document incidents of bullying to provide to staff when making a report.

OUTCOMES OF BULLYING

The College views bullying as a serious matter and offenders will be dealt with under the College’s student behaviour management policy if the matter is not satisfactorily resolved. The College will treat very seriously any case of retaliation against a person for reporting bullying.

If a student is engaged in bullying behaviour:

First offence – the student will meet with a staff member for a ‘no-blame’ talk to discuss inappropriate behaviour and possible strategies.
Second offence – the student will meet with the Head of Secondary School, Year Level Manager or other teachers and his/her parents to discuss the behaviour and ways in which the student can be supported to change his/her behaviour.
Third offence – for repeated acts of bullying, the student and his/her parents will meet with the Principal and Head of sub School to identify strategies so that the student meets the expectations of the College.

Secret surveys will be conducted on a random basis, enabling students to anonymously report bullying. If a student is nominated through this process, the same procedure will be followed as outlined above.

Child Protection Policy This document requires Adobe Acrobat.
Discrimination and Anti-Harrassment Policy This document requires Adobe Acrobat.

Further information can be obtained by contacting our School Counsellor: Mrs N Beutel or (07) 5477-3430