A Supportive Whole of College Environment
Chancellor State College strives to provide an environment in which all members of the College Community feel safe, respected and are afforded both agency and opportunity to advocate.
The College favours both restorative and educative practices to repair relationships, resolve conflict and encourage accountability. Our practices focus on students developing understanding and the skills to take accountability for their behaviour and involves training students to make plans and develop personal commitments. Key elements of our restorative practices address how students’ actions may impact upon the welfare of others and how stakeholders can learn to address the causes of harmful behaviour and explore ways of ‘making things right’.
What is bullying?
Bullying is an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviours that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power, or perceived power, over one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening.
Bullying may be perpetrated in person or via various digital platforms and devices. It may be obvious or hidden; e.g. the covert sharing of personal digital records. Bullying is a repeated behaviour, or has the potential to be repeated. Bullying of any form, for any reason, may have immediate, medium or long-term effects on those involved, including witnesses. (National Centre Against Bullying, 2020)
While it is important to understand and define what bullying is, it is also important to be clear what behaviours are not bullying. Dr Rigby (2010) identifies that for some people, the term ‘bullying’ is a highly emotive term and its use may lead to an over-reaction.
The National Centre Against Bullying acknowledges that while the following behaviours are often upsetting to those involved, they do not constitute bullying:
- Mutual arguments or disagreements (where there is no power imbalance).
- Not liking someone or single acts of social rejection.
- One-off acts of meanness or spite.
- Isolated incidents of aggression, intimidation or violence.