Bullying is: “the intentional hurting of one person by another, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It is usually repetitive or persistent, although some one-off attacks can have a continuing harmful effect on the victim.”
Diyafah International School believes that every child and adult should be able to work and study in a safe and enriching environment where the act of coming to school is something to look forward to. It is the responsibility of all to ensure that our community promotes mutual respect, understanding and equality where bullying is not tolerated at any time. Bullying is wrong and damages the well-being of individual children. We therefore do all we can to prevent it by developing a school ethos in which bullying is regarded as unacceptable. If it occurs, pupils, staff and parents should feel confident that they can report the behaviour and that swift action will be taken. We aim to make all those connected with the school aware of our opposition to bullying, and we make clear each person’s responsibilities with regard to the eradication of bullying in our school.
Bullying can take many forms (for instance, online bullying via email or social media – distance learning platform) and is often motivated by prejudice against groups, for example on grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or because a child is adopted or has caring responsibilities. It might be motivated by actual differences between children, or perceived differences.
Any incident of bullying should be reported to a staff member who will deal with it promptly and effectively. It is important that time is spent with the victim and the aggressor to consider the reasons.
The school’s Policy should be followed in cases of reported incidents, keeping in mind that:
Opportunity is given for both victim and bully to express their point of view and time taken to find out what motivates the behaviour. Parents of both the victim and the bully will be kept informed and any actions taken by the school should be explained to them. At all times, it is stressed that bullying is not acceptable, and that action will always be taken.
Al Diyafah International School was founded in September 1982, by Late Mrs. Winnie D’Cunha. It started as a Nursery with only 2 children in a small villa located on Al Diyafah Street, in Dubai. That’s how it got its name.