Good Practice Case Study

Woolenwick Junior

School No: 161

Anti-bullying Policy and Practice

At Woolenwick Junior they have appointed a pastoral teaching assistant. While this role is far broader than just an anti-bullying initiative, the approach has had significant benefits in the way the school can support pupils who are bullied and pupils who bully. In addition, the school’s work on Protective Behaviours has been enhanced by having this role.

Pastoral Teaching Assistant

Jackie Birch has been a teaching assistant at the school for some years but her role has been developed in that time so that she gives more and more of her time on dedicated pastoral support issues. She starts in the breakfast club every morning and is there throughout the day. Although Jackie has a timetable, there is flexibility within it for her to be available to spend time supporting individual children when they need it. In particular, she has 20 minute slots after each morning and lunch break protected as these are particular times when children may need attention.

The teaching assistants collectively share responsibility for keeping an eye on the most vulnerable children in the school, but Jackie is the member of staff who takes particular responsibility to overview and monitor their wellbeing and progress. She uses a grading system to determine the children who particularly need support and the list is reviewed regularly. The factors which might place a child onto her list will vary and may be educational, social, emotional or, more usually, a combination. Jackie spends time with each child that is on her list to build trust, involve them in self identification of their difficulties and to practice their protective behaviour strategies.

The school have found that in their experience when there are incidents of bullying usually either the bullied child or the child doing the bullying will be on the vulnerable children list. Having a member of staff that is already in dialogue with that child about the difficulties they are having means that incidents can be dealt with more effectively and understood in their wider context very readily. If there is telling off to be done that is still done by the head teacher or deputy. However, Jackie will then be there to help children deal with the consequences and their feelings about what has happened. She is a position to then help them think about how it will be different next time and to introduce suitable techniques or strategies for them to use in another such situation.

The school is proud that the role has contributed to a significant reduction in exclusions. In a challenging context they have had only 1 2-day exclusion in 3 years.