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Bullying Prevention Plan

SCHOOL: Centre Dufferin District High School                                DATE: October 17, 2023

Everyone at our school is committed to making our school a safe, inclusive and equitable environment for all.  We treat each other with respect and we will refuse to tolerate inequities in any form at our school. We know that a “whole-school” approach where all stakeholders are involved in supporting our students helps create and maintain a positive school climate.

Definition of Bullying

“Bullying” means aggressive and typically repeated behavior by a student where,

  1. The behaviour is intended by the student to have the effect of, or the student ought to know that the behavior would be likely to have the effect of,
  1. The behavior occurs in a context where there is a real or perceived power imbalance between the student and the individual based on factors such as size, strength, age, intelligence, peer group power, economic status, social status, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, family circumstances, gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, disability or special education needs.

Bullying takes different forms of contexts with age.  It can be physical, verbal, social/emotional or through electronic means (cyber-bullying).  Bystanders contribute to bullying by doing nothing to prevent it or become actively involved in supporting it.

“Cyberbullying” includes electronic communication that:

Examples of Bullying

Safe Schools Committee

(Note: mandatory for all schools – an existing committee may assume this role)

School Administrator:   Stacey-Ann Dunkley

Equity Rep: Deb Walks

Teacher(s): Amanda Storey, Kristen Henry

Parent: Lisa Thompson 

The role of this committee should include but is not limited to the following:

School Monitoring and Review Process

This Bullying Prevention and Inclusive School Plan was developed or reviewed by our Safe School Committee on: 

Our most recent school climate survey was conducted on: February 2022

67% of students, 15# parents, and 28# staff completed our most recent school climate survey.

Data from our most recent climate survey indicated that:

77.8% of students feel safe at school.

20.7% of students identify that they have been bullied at school or on the bus in the past year.

32.5% of students indicated that they told an adult about bullying that had occurred.

Training Strategies for Staff and Members of the School Community

Members of our school community will receive Bullying Prevention and Equity & Inclusive training through:

Parents/Community Communication and Outreach Strategies

We will communicate our Bullying Prevention and Equity & Inclusive strategies and initiatives by:

Bullying Prevention and Equity & Inclusive Strategies, Education Programs/Activities

Note:  Our Bullying Prevention and Equity & Inclusive goal(s) are determined after analysis of the results of our school climate survey.

School Bullying Prevention and Equity & Inclusive Goals(s):

  1. We will continue to respond to acts of bullying, oppression or discrimination
  2. We will continue to teach all students how to access & use the bullying tool
  3. We will work with teaching staff and our social worker to develop a plan of support for students who are being bullied and those who are bullying others
  4. We will continue to work towards creating a school culture that is safe, inclusive and welcoming for everyone 

Bullying Prevention and Equity & Inclusive, Education Programs and Activities:

Our school currently implements or will implement the following bullying prevention and equity & inclusive education programs and activities that focus on developing healthy relationships and provide leadership opportunities for our students:

  1. We will continue with our social equity initiatives e.g. Day of Pink, Orange Shirt Day, Black Chapter, GSA & MSA initiatives
  2. Super council will continue to be a space of education and leadership development for all student leaders to enhance their understanding of bullying prevention and creating safer spaces
  3. We we continue to work with out athletic council and student council in creating inclusive social events
  4. Continue to support teachers so they they are confident when addressing and reporting acts of bullying, discrimination and oppression
  5. Mental Health awareness activities organized by Jack.org student group
  6. We will work to strengthen our relationship with Dufferin Child and Family Services to ensure continued support of our students and community
  7. Equity committee will be working with various community stakeholders to create awareness around consent and cyber-bullying
  8. Complete the healthy schools certification to promote and enhance the mental health and wellbeing of students, school staff and community

Bullying Prevention and Equity & Inclusive Responsibilities

Staff:

Students:

Parents:

Intervention Strategies

Our staff will use the following process when bullying is reported:

Acknowledge the Incident / Affirm

Gather Information / Ask Questions

Assess Safety / Make a Plan

Act / Follow-up

Reporting Incidents of Bullying

Students, parents, school staff and volunteers may use the following methods to report incidents of bullying as appropriate:

Student to Student:

When responding to a bullying incident, our school staff uses a progressive discipline approach.  Use of Progressive Discipline supports a safe, inclusive and equitable learning and teaching environment in which every student can reach his or her full potential. Strategies may range from early intervention to more intensive intervention in cases of persistent bullying, with possible referral to board support personnel, community or social service agencies.

These may include but are not limited to:

(2023)