Good Practice Case Study

St Margaret Clitherow RC Primary

School No: 149

Anti-bullying Policy and Practice

St Margaret Clitherow has involved parents fully in the development of a new anti-bullying policy. The approach has been so successful they intend to use it as a model for other aspects of school development. The end result has been a policy which directly addresses parents concerns and an accompanying parent leaflet both of which were launched at a special anti-bullying evening for staff, governors and parents.

How it Was Done

When it was time to review the anti-bullying policy the head teacher at St Margaret Clitherow School put a notice in the school newsletter inviting any interested parents to join a working party that would develop the new policy. The five volunteers that replied were joined by 3 governors, 2 of whom were parents, and the head teacher in forming a working party of nine people.

“We were absolutely delighted with the response,” said Geraldine Cartwright. “At our first meeting we began with nothing except a few headings and we simply shared together what we wanted our new policy to say. Everyone had already done some research or thinking in advance and had some clear thoughts about what was important so getting started wasn’t difficult at all.

“We had a scribe who recorded all the ideas that we agreed upon, took them away and organised it all into an evolving framework. Then at each meeting we built up layer upon layer of detail, phrasing and rephrasing until our meaning was exactly as it should be. It was a very positive and rich experience and the policy that has emerged is really accessible to parents and truly reflects our school community.”

The working party met on 9 ocassions in total before the policy and an accompanying parents leaflet were sent out to all parents with an invitation to a launch evening. The event was introduced by one of the parent volunteers from the working party and included a presentation about the content of the policy, opportunities for questions and an introduction to Protective Behaviours which the school will be introducing into the school next year.