Cyber-bullying

The Mosley School

Guidance on Cyber-bullying

Guidance statement

Cyber-bullying is an issue of considerable concern amongst employees and pupils. It represents a cruel, dangerous and inescapable form of bullying that causes humiliation, stress and trauma to its victims.

Cyber-bullying is never acceptable and should not be tolerated.

Definitions

"Cyber bullying is the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), particularly mobile phones and internet, deliberately to upset someone else"

[Cyber bullying: Guidance issued by the DCSF 2007]

"Cyber bullying is a "method" rather than a "type" of bullying. It includes bullying via text message; via instant messenger services and social network sites; via e-mail; and via images or videos posted on the internet or spread via mobile phone….It can be used to bully by reasons of race, religion, sexuality, disability etc."

["Safe to Learn: Embedding anti-bullying work in schools" DCSF 2007].

The aim of this guidance is to provide education establishments with information and practical assistance to combat and eradicate abuse, harassment and intimidation through cyber-bullying. It has been produced by County Officers from HR, Legal Services and Education Child Protection Officer in consultation with and in response to concerns raised by trades unions representing teaching and support staff in Staffordshire schools.

Rights, roles and responsibilities

Governing Bodies and Local Authorities have legal duties as employers to protect employees from unlawful harassment as well as mental and physical injury at work. A complaint from any member of staff should be taken as seriously as one from a pupil or parent.

This brief guide should be read and used in conjunction with existing school policies on related issues and with documents produced by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) on the theme of "Safe to Learn: Embedding anti-bullying work in schools".

The following sections provide an understanding of what cyber-bullying is and how victims may be affected. It also describes the legislative framework and provides ideas and practical guidance on responding to and preventing cyber bullying.

The final section lists other guidance documents, information sources and contacts for further assistance.

Features of Cyber-bullying

Cyber-bullying might be perpetrated by anyone and it may have the following characteristics and features:

electronically circulated – audience may be large and reached rapidly

single incidents may be copied and posted / shared

likely to be anonymous

may take place on or off the education premises

invades home and personal space at any time

intended to threaten, manipulate or humiliate, defame or impersonate

likely to be deliberate

occasionally unintentional (but no less potentially damaging)

malicious

Prevalence and effects

Research and employee surveys* have demonstrated not only that cyber bullying is a feature of many people’s lives but that the level of cyber bullying is increasing and is affecting staff. Some of the noted affects on employees have been:

depression

stress

anxiety

consideration of leaving the job

refusal to teach offenders

consideration of industrial action by colleagues where refusal to teach becomes an issue between them and the governing body

damage to personal reputation

damage to career

* See DCSF guidance on cyber bullying 2007, page 7 and surveys conducted by the NASUWT

Legislative framework

The law (education, criminal and civil), provides powers that might be used to combat cyber-bullying. For legal advice on particular issues and circumstances, the Local Authority’s Legal Services should be consulted before action is taken.

The Education and Inspections Act 2006 [EIA 2006]

The EIA 2006 affords the power to take reasonable action to:

regulate the conduct of pupils when they are off-site or not under the control or charge of any member of staff

confiscate items from pupils, including mobile phones, when they are being used to cause a disturbance in class or in contravention of behaviour or anti-bullying policies

request a pupil to reveal a message or show other content on their phone for the purpose of establishing if bullying has occurred

search through a phone where a pupil is reasonably suspected of involvement and where the school’s behaviour policy expressly provides for this

Other Legislation

Although bullying is not a specific criminal offence, criminal law exists to prevent certain behaviours. These behaviours may constitute harassment, or cause a fear of violence. Sending indecent, grossly offensive or threatening letters, electronic communications or other articles to another person is illegal

Other legislation protects against the publication of obscene articles or data (e.g. over a school intranet), hacking into someone else’s computer, invading their privacy, damaging their reputation or engaging in anti-social acts.

Associated policies

Cyber-bullying issues have an impact upon existing policies. These should be reviewed and may have to be changed or adapted to include procedures to prevent cyber bullying and to respond to incidents. Examples are:

Anti-Bullying Policy

Behaviour Policy

Staff Development

ICT Support and Lessons

E-Learning Strategies

Pastoral Care

Acceptable Use Policies [AUPs] for ICT

[an example of an AUP is given in the DCSF guide]

Managing Allegations

Policies should support the whole community and be acceptable to all – pupils, teachers, support staff, parents, school leaders, governors and extended education providers. A first step, therefore, is for governors and school managers to audit existing policies and procedures. Co-ordination of the school’s approach is likely to be most effective if undertaken by a member of the senior management team and / or the staff member responsible for co-ordinating overall anti-bullying activity.

Strategies suggested by trades unions include:

Zero tolerance

Use of exclusion

Limits to the use of mobile phones by pupils whilst on education premises

Firewalls on education networks set to deny access to certain sites

Not releasing personal mobile phone numbers or contact details

Advice to employees against the dangers of using social networking sites

Reporting and investigating

All incidents should be properly recorded and investigated. Making sure everyone knows who they can report incidents to is also a good way of raising awareness (see also County Council policy on "Whistle Blowing"). Reporting routes should be established within existing policies. Incidents can be logged using incident report forms but should be specifically identified as related to cyber-bullying for monitoring purposes.

It may be appropriate to report incidents of cyber bullying direct to an internet service provider or mobile phone company. Content may be blocked and / or removed if it is illegal or breaks the provider’s own terms and conditions. Some providers issue conduct warnings to users and are able to delete the accounts of those who have broken the rules. The DCSF guide provides contact details of a range of providers.

Recording abuse is necessary for the conduct of investigations. In addition to logging an incident, evidence should be preserved through noting the dates, times and content of messages and, where possible, the sender’s identity or web address. Taking an accurate copy of the whole web page address, for example, helps service providers to locate offending material. Such evidence may be required also to show to those who need to know, including parents and police. Saving evidence of texts and images on the device itself is useful. It is important they are not deleted.

Some evidence may raise child protection concerns and / or allegations against staff. In such cases, immediate reference should be made to the one of the Local Authority Designated Officers for child protection {LADOs} whose contact details may be found in the "References" Section of this guide.

Key questions for an investigating officer are:

can the bully be accurately identified ?

could the bully have used someone else’s phone or computer without their knowledge and / or consent ?

are there identifiable witnesses ?

was the bullying carried out on a mobile or particular internet service ?

if the bullying took place via a mobile phone, is it possible that the number can be identified ?

could a criminal offence have been committed ?

are there child protection issues that should be referred immediately to the Local Authority Designated Officer ?

Advice and support for the victim

Give re-assurance that the person has done the right thing by telling someone and arrange pastoral / emotional support
Advise on next steps

- not to retaliate or return the message

- ask the person to think about information they may have in the public domain

- help the person to keep relevant evidence for any investigation

- check the person understands ways of preventing it happening again, e.g. by changing contact details, blocking contacts or leaving a chat room

Take action to contain the incident

- seek removal of the content by the offender or provider

- use disciplinary powers to confiscate phones that are being used for cyber bullying

Where it is believed the content may be illegal, contact the police

[The above points are taken from a DCSF leaflet concerning Childnet but apply equally to adults]

Applying sanctions

Once identified, consideration should be given to possible sanctions to be applied. The aim of sanctions is to demonstrate that cyber-bullying is never acceptable and that there are ways of dealing with it

Practical safety tips for staff

There are simple measures that people can take to safeguard against cyber bullying:

being careful about personal information and images posted on the internet
not leaving their mobile phone or personal computer around for others to gain access or leaving details on view when left unattended
choosing hard-to-guess passwords and not letting anyone else know them
being aware of the risks of giving their mobile number or personal e-mail address to others
making use of blocking facilities made available by website and service providers
not replying or retaliating to a bullying message
saving evidence of offending messages
making sure they inform others of any mobile phone or online bullying or harassment in accordance with relevant policies.

Practical steps for governors and managers

Undertake an audit of existing policies
Assign someone to take responsibility for the co-ordination and implementation of cyber bullying prevention and response strategies
Discuss and develop amongst the whole school community strategies for promoting awareness and understanding of cyber bullying (e.g. through assemblies, events for parents, using the school website) and for preventing and combating it
Identify positive advantages and possible misuses of information technology – see DCSF guides
Publicise rights, responsibilities and sanctions for misuse (refer to bullying policy)
Identify key partners from the Local Authority and outside agencies
Align strategy with curriculum (e.g. Citizenship, PHSE, Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning – SEAL, see "Safe to Learn", Annex "C" for more information on this)
Establish reporting and communication lines between those responsible for:

- pastoral care

- behaviour

- IT systems

- School Council

- Parents

- Trades unions

Establish monitoring and review arrangements

References and contacts

DCSF publications on Cyber bullying, "Safe to Learn" and "Safeguarding Children" can be downloaded and copies ordered online at

www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications

The Local Authority Designated Officers for child protection issues – See SLN

The Local Authority’s Legal Services Unit

HR Advisers – See SLN

Trades unions may be contacted through accredited representatives .