Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region 02 (Cagayan Valley)
SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE OF
ISABELA
Santa Maria District
SANTA MARIA CENTRAL SCHOOL
Santa Maria, Isabela

School
Child
Protecti
on
and

Anti-
Bullyin
g Policy
 SCHOOL CHILD PROTECTION AND ANTI-
BULLYING POLICY
I. INTRODUCTION
All school-aged children and young people have
the right to go about their daily lives without the fear of
being threatened, assaulted or harassed. No one should
underestimate the impact that bullying can have on a
person’s life. It can cause high level of distress, affecting
young people’s well-being, behavior, academic and social
development right through into adulthood.
At SANTA MARIA CENTRAL SCHOOL,
we are committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe
environment for all of the employees and our learners to
they can teach and learn in a relaxed and secured
atmosphere free from oppression and abuse.
II. WHAT IS BULLYING?
Bullying refers to any severe or repeated use by
one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic
expression, or a physical act or gesture, or any
combination thereof, directed at another student that has
the effect of actually causing or placing the latter in a
reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm or damage
to his property; creating the hostile environment at school
for the other student; infringing on the rights of another
student at school, or material and substantially disrupting
the education process of the elderly operation of a school;
such as, but limited to the following:
1. Any unwanted physical contact between the
bully and the victim.
2. Any act that causes damage to a victim’s
psyche and/or emotional wellbeing.
3. Any slanderous statement or accusation that
causes the victim undue emotional distress.
III. GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR PREVENTION
AND TACKLING BULLYING
The head of this school value the good
relationships between all of the school community as
forested by the school, and expect that every allegation of
bullying will be taken seriously. The head considers that
a child should be treated as being bullied simply because
he/she perceives that she is. All staff, pupils and parents
should be aware of the negative effects that bullying can
have on individuals and the school in general, and should
work towards ensuring that pupils can work in an
environment without fear.
BULLYING IS UNACCEPTABLE IN THIS
SCHOOL AND WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
The school recognizes that it must take note of
bullying perpetuated outside school which spills over into
school. The school will do what is reasonably practicable
to eliminate such bullying. SANTA MARIA CENTRAL
SCHOOL aims to promote emotional literacy, defined a s
people being able to recognize, understand, handle and
appropriately express their emotions.
We therefore take a strong stance against
bullying of any type, since it indicates a lack of
appreciation for the feeling of others. Bullying will not be
tolerated and will be addressed, for it can cause deep
distress, to the extent of victims refusing to attend school,
or even in extreme cases, attempting to or committing
suicide.
IV. OBJECTIVES OF THIS POLICY
We aim to create an environment where students
can grow and flourish without fear. Each pupil has the
right to be safe in and out of school and to be protected
when she/he is feeling vulnerable.
 All employees, teaching and non-
teaching staff, pupils and parents
should have an understanding of what
bullying is.
 All employees, teaching and non-
teaching staff should know what the
school policy on bullying is, and follow
it if there are cases reported.
 All parents and pupils should know
what the school policy is on bullying
and what they should do when bullying
arises.
 As a school, we take bullying seriously.
Pupils and parents should be assured
that they will be supported when
bullying is reported.
 Bullying will never be tolerated at
Santa Maria Central School.
V. IMPLEMENTATION
SCHOOL
The following steps should be taken by
the school authorities when dealing with incidents:
 If bullying is suspected or reported, the
incident will be dealt with immediately by
any member of the school authorities who
has been approached.
 A clear and precise account of the
incident will be recorded and will be
given to the School Child Protection
Policy Chairperson.
 Parents will be kept informed.
 Punitive measures will be used as
appropriate policy authorities will be
consulted.
PUPILS
Pupils who have been bullied will be
supported by:
 Offering an immediate opportunity to
discuss the experience with a guidance counselor
or any member of the Child Protection Council
of their choice.
 Offering continuous support
 Restoring self-esteem and confidence.
 No retaliation.
Pupils who have been bullied will be helped
by:
 Discussing what happened.
 Discovering why the pupil became
involved.
 Establishing the wrong doing and the
need to change.
 Informing parents or guardians to help
change the attitude and behavior of the child.
The following disciplinary steps can be
taken:
 Official warnings to cease offending
 Suspension
 Calling the attention of parents
  Exclusion from certain areas of school
premises
 Minor fixed-term exclusion
 Major fixed-term exclusion
 Permanent exclusion
VI. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Many children and young people do not
speak out when being bullied. But there are signs
or behavior suggesting that he or she is being
bullied. Adults should be aware of these possible
signs and should investigate if a child:
 Is frightened of walking to or from school
 Doesn’t want to go on schooling
 Begs to be driven to school
 Changes his usual routing
 Is unwilling to go to school
 Begins to truant
 Becomes withdrawn, anxious or lacking
with confidence
 Starts stammering
 Attempts or threatens suicide or runs
away
 Cries to sleep at night or has nightmares
 Uses excuse to miss school
 Begins to suffer academically
 Comes home with clothes torn or any of
school belongings damaged
 Has possessions which go missing or
damaged
 Ask for money or starts stealing money
 Becomes aggressive, disruptive or
unreasonable
 Changes his eating habits
 Goes to bed earlier than usual
 Is nervous and jumpy when a text
message is received
These signs and behaviors could indicate other
problems, but bullying should be considered a
possibility and should always be investigated.
VII. PREVENTION
We will use some or all of the following
to help raise awareness of and prevent bullying. As
when and appropriate, these may include:
 Writing and implementing a set of school Department of Education
rules Region 02 (Cagayan Valley)
 Signing a behavior contract SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE OF
 Regular reminders during convocation ISABELA
Santa Maria District
 Using art, drama, or music to reinforce SANTA MARIA CENTRAL SCHOOL
Santa Maria, Isabela
awareness
 Reading stories about bullying or having
them read to a class assembly
 Having regular discussions about bullying
and why it matters
 Setting up and sustaining a pupil support
scheme
VII. MONITORING EVALUATION AND
REVIEW
The school will review this policy
annually and assess its implementation and
effectiveness. The policy will be promoted and
implemented throughout the school.
IX. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
1. Any information relating to the
identity and personal circumstances of the bully,
victim, or bystander shall be treated with utmost
confidentiality by the School Child Protection
Council and the school personnel, provided, that
School
the names may only be available to the school
head, adviser, guidance counselor and parents or
guardians of students who are or have been
Child
victims of bullying or retaliation.
2. The school head shall include in
School Improvement Plan trainings and activities
Protection
that will provide opportunities for teachers,
pupils, and parents to develop their knowledge
and skills in preventing or responding to incidents
and
of bullying or retaliation.
3. And finally, the school will keep in tracking
and in monitoring reports on incidents of bullying
and retaliation.
Anti-
We stand against bullying.
Bullying
Let’s protect the
Republic of the Philippines
children!
Policy