Hertfordshire Anti Bullying Accreditation Programme

1. Hertfordshire Anti Bullying Accreditation Programme Hertfordshire Development Centre 17 March 2009 Liz Biggs – Team Leader – Health and Wellbeing Karen Summers – PSHE and C Adviser Deborah Sheppard – Healthy Schools Adviser

2. Introduction “Every child should be able to learn in a school environment free from bullying of any kind and in which they feel safe and supported. There is no place for bullying in our schools and communities and each of us involved in education has a role in creating a culture in schools where bullying is not tolerated. No child deserves to suffer the pain and indignity that bullying can cause. We recognise the negative impact it has on the educational experiences and wider development of so many of our children and young people.” Safe to learn 2007

3. Statutory Duties • The duty to safeguard children • The wellbeing duty • The community cohesion duty • The anti-harassment work required under the Disability Discrimination Act, Sex Discrimination Act and Race Relations (Amendment) Act, The Equality Act (Religion and Belief), The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation)

4. National context • Every Child Matters • The Children’s Plan • Staying Safe Action Plan • DSCF guidance documents • National Indicator 69 (Tell Us data)

5. Ofsted • Health and Wellbeing Indicators (September 2009) • Indicators relating to pupils’ and parents’ perceptions • Helps pupils to manage their feelings and be resilient • Promotes equality and counteracts discrimination • Gives pupils the opportunities to contribute to the local community • Helps pupils of different backgrounds to get on well, both in the schools and in the wider community • Extent to which pupils – • Feel safe • Experience bullying • Know who to approach if they have a concern • Feel listened to • Are able to influence decisions in the school

6. Local context • JAR report • SOLERO termly return • Anti Bullying Adviser • Children and Young People’s Plan • Local Area Agreement • Safeguarding Board • Health Related Behaviour Questionnaire

7. Actions • Monitor, support and challenge practice in schools and other settings (Secondary schools priority) • Promote the Hertfordshire anti-bullying accreditation programme to develop anti-bullying and harassment policy in schools and other settings • Engage partners and the wider community in identifying joint working opportunities to promote and further develop anti-bullying policy and practice within the context of community cohesion • Establish a programme for engaging school governing bodies in monitoring and evaluating policy and practice • Support parents, carers and schools through the development of independent advocacy and mediation services

8. Outcomes • In Hertfordshire 36% of pupils think their school deals well/quite well with bullying (Tell Us 2008) • Local data reports 55% of Hertfordshire pupils think their school deals well/quite well with bullying (HRBQ 2008) • Increase of 3% in the number of pupils who report bullying is not a problem in their school (Tell Us 2008) • Nearly half of pupils report they have been bullied (at school and/or somewhere else) (Tell Us 2008/National Indicator ‘69’) • Children and young people are less confident that secondary schools can deal with bullying (75% primary, 59% secondary- HRBQ 2008) • Recorded bullying in primary schools is at its lowest level in 4 years, but it is increasing in secondary schools (Up by a third over 3 years – SOLERO 2008)

9. Entry • Schools are required to have the following in place before being accepted onto the programme: • Minimum of grade 2 for personal development and wellbeing (section 4) on their last Ofsted inspection and/or in their last JARV visit • Hertfordshire Healthy School Status

10. Schools should be aware that, at the time of submission of their application for accreditation they will also need to show that associated statutory duties have been met: • Policy and detailed procedures are in place for racist incidents • Equalities schemes/policy are in place as required under the Disability Discrimination Act, Sex Discrimination Act and Race Relations (Amendment) Act • Termly data returns for bullying and racist incidents have been provided within published timescales

11. Criteria and evidence • Portfolio of evidence (written or electronic) • Year 1 completion of 8 compulsory criteria (age and stage appropriate) • Up to date and no more than 3 years old • Evidence should demonstrate impact and development

12. Development Areas (from year 2) • After achieving accreditation, identification of a targeted development area for each subsequent year • Should respond to the school’s changing needs, evaluation and feedback • Development areas should be sufficiently challenging to make a significant contribution to the development of anti-bullying work and its impact. They may be about consolidation and further development of existing practice or could take completely new directions

13. Process for registering and application assessment • Completion of the registration form – notification to SIP • Applications for accreditation can be submitted at any time throughout the year. This can either be electronically or in hard copy • Validating group will meet 3 times a year, normally during the last week of each term. The group will assess those portfolios that were submitted by the closing date for that term • A submission in the first year will comprise: • Evidence of entry criteria detailed above • Evidence against each of the 8 criteria

14. In years 2 & 3 participating schools will need to evidence maintenance under the 8 criteria, follow up on any recommended areas from the last application and detailed development of their focus area. In year 4 a comprehensive portfolio will be required as in the first year • Where an application requires further development, the required areas will be specified in the feedback. Schools will be encouraged to resubmit their portfolios on completion of the areas identified in the written feedback • Accreditation is valid for one year. All applications will receive feedback that recommends areas for future consideration • Validating and reference group