 In accordance with the requirements of the

Department of Education, St. Thomas More

Montessori School has adopted this Child
Protection and Anti-Bullying policy within the
framework of Republic Act No. 10627 “An act
requiring all elementary and Secondary Schools to
adopt policies to prevent and address the acts of
Bullying in their Institution”
Purpose of this Policy
a. Establish a positive school culture and climate
which is welcoming of difference and diversity;

b. Bring about and maintain an environment where

children feel secure, are encouraged to talk and are
listened to;
c. Ensure children know that there are adults in the
school who they can approach if they are worried
and beset with concerns;

d. Incorporate in the curriculum ways to increase

the emotional intelligence of the children by
fostering empathy;

e. Implement an effective supervision and

monitoring of pupils and consistent recording,
investigation and follow up of bullying behavior.
What is Bullying?
 Bullying is a deliberate and repetitive act done by a pupil or
group of pupils that leads to hurting others physically,
psychologically, emotionally, morally, socially and/or spiritually
and is done with evident enjoyment.

 Such action includes persistent teasing, name-calling, excluding

someone from the group, punching, physical and verbal
aggression, tattling, spreading malicious rumors or text
messages, cyber maligning, threatening and the like.
 It is said to be deliberate when a pupil/group of pupils plan the

action.

 It is premeditated.

 It is repetitive when act is done at least twice.

 Bullying takes place everywhere. It happens in school or in

transit between school and home.

 An action is considered bullying if the victim is severely hurt

physically, emotionally/ psychologically, socially and/or morally

even if it is done only once.
Persons Responsible for investigating
 Class Teacher: deals with the initial

allegation/suspicion of bullying behavior.

 Principal: where bullying behavior is suspected by

the class teacher the principal should be informed.

Actions to be taken by the school
a. The school will follow the child protection procedures set out
by the Republic Act No. 10627 otherwise known as “An Act
requiring all Elementary and Secondary Schools to adopt
policies or prevent and address the acts of bullying in their
Institutions.

b. Every subject teacher are encouraged to infuse messages of

empathy and compassion into their lessons without
compromising academic integrity.
Investigation of Bullying:
 All interviews will take place outside the classroom situation
with due regard to child protection measures;
 A written record of discussions will be kept and the pupil may be
asked to give his own written account, if appropriate.
 If it is concluded that a pupil has engaged in bullying behavior,
it will be made clear to him that he is in breach of the school’s
Code of behavior and Discipline;
 Efforts will be made to assist the pupil in seeing the situation
from the victim’s point of view.
 In cases where the bullying behavior is occurred,
parents/guardians of the two parties involved will be contacted.
Action being taken and reason for it will be explained to them
and ways in which they can reinforce or support the school
action will be explored.
Program Support for Pupils
1.The teacher will endeavor to assure the child that they are the victim
and that they did the right thing by telling

2. The teacher will monitor the situation in the period after the bullying
incident/s and regularly check with the child/children to see how
things are going.

3. The principal will follow up by checking in regularly on how the

situation has developed.

4. Information of any past bullying issues will be passed on to new

teacher at the start of the school year.
St. Thomas More Montessori School Mission Statement
underpins all our beliefs and practice with regard to
bullying and the aim to ensure that our school is a safe
learning environment for all our pupils.

• As a school, our mission is to be one where each individual

is valued and respected.

• We meet the needs of all our learners by offering them every

opportunity to learn and develop in order to fulfill their

potential.
Statement of Intent
We are committed to providing a caring, friendly, and safe
environment for all our pupils so they can learn in a positive
and secure atmosphere. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable
at our school. If bullying does occur, all pupils should be able
to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and
effectively.

As a school, we aim to respond promptly and effectively to all

issues of bullying.
Objectives of this Policy
a. To ensure that all teaching staff including the school
head, pupils, and parents have an understanding of
what bullying is.

b. To ensure that all teaching staff including the school

head know what the school procedure is on bullying,
and follow it when bullying is reported.
c. To ensure that all pupils and parents know what
the school policy is on bullying, and what they
should do if bullying arises.

d. To ensure that as a school, we take bullying

seriously. Pupils and parents should be assured
that they will be supported when bullying is
reported.

e. To ensure that bullying is never tolerated.

PROHIBITED ACTS
Being unfriendly, tormenting (hiding books, threatening
gestures);
Pushing, kicking, hitting, punching or any use of violence;
Racial taunts, graffiti, gestures;
Unwanted physical contact or sexually abusive comments
Homophobic because of focusing on the issue of sexuality
Name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumors, teasing
Mobile threats by text messaging and call; misuse of associated
technology (camera and video facilities)
 Preventions and Interventions
Programs
Initial Intervention:
 Pupil /parent reports an incident of bullying to any member of
the school child protection committee
 The committee member should make it clear to the victim that
revenge is not the solution
 The committee will record the details of the incident and discuss
it with the pupil to ensure accuracy
 The bullying behavior or threats shall be investigated
 Witness statements may be taken from other pupils.
 Every effort will be made to resolve the problem through
counseling of both parties.
 A restorative meeting shall take place between the parties
involved. The outcome shall include agreed strategies to ensure
that the bullying will not happen again.
 Following the restorative meeting, a contract of behavior may be
put into place to support both parties.
 In all cases, parents will be informed of the incident and shall
have the opportunity to discuss the problem.
 A review meeting shall take place to assess how successful
initial intervention has been and to decide weather any further
action needs to be taken.
Further Intervention:
 If there is no significant change in the behavior of the bully, a
further restorative meeting shall be arranged.
 Parents will be updated regarding interventions and will be
informed of future actions which or interventions that may, in
the event of another incident, be done.
 Further actions will be made to aid the bully in changing
his/her behavior.
 If bullying behavior continues, and counseling has not worked,
sanctions shall be imposed. Appropriate sanctions shall be
applied to the bully and if necessary, police authorities may be
consulted.
 It is important that counseling is maintained for both parties
even after the sanctions are imposed.
Outcome:
 The bully will be asked to offer sincere apology and must engage
in restorative process with the victim in order to reconcile the
pupils.
 Appropriate consequences shall likewise be imposed upon the
bully. In more serious cases, suspension or expulsion shall be
considered.
 After the incident have been investigated and dealt with, each
case shall be monitored to ensure that a similar occurrence will
not happen again.
Sign and Symptoms

- Fright in going to school - Unwillingness to go to school

- The child begins to truant - Anxiety, lack of confidence
- Stammering - Occurrence of nightmares
- Illness in the morning - Poor performance in school
- Comes home with clothes torn or books damaged
- Asks or steals money -unexplained cuts or bruises
- Comes home hungry -Loss of appetite
- Gives improbable excuses to any of the above
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Role of School Child Protection Committee

• Supports the administration in all attempts to eliminate

bullying. The committee will not condone any bullying within the
school. Any incident shall be taken seriously and shall be
accordingly dealt with.

• If a parent is dissatisfied with the way the school handles

bullying incidents, resort to the Department of Education’s

Complaints Procedure must be made.
The Role of all staff

• All forms of bullying shall be condoned and proactive

measures shall be taken to prevent them.

• Teachers are responsible fro reporting incidents concern as

soon as possible.

The Role of all pupils

• Pupils who are victims of bullying and those who know one

must let the teacher know immediately.

Our ethos as a school aims to create an atmosphere
where pupils who are being bullied, or other who know
about it, know that they will be listened to and believed,
and that action will be swift but sensitive to their
concerns.
THANK YOU!!