Bullying. Protocol.

Bullying: Definition and Characteristics.

Bullying is defined by regulations as psychological, verbal, or physical abuse toward a student by one or more peers, occurring repeatedly over a specific period of time.

The characteristics of bullying are as follows:

• Intentionality.
• Repetition.
• Power imbalance.
• Helplessness and personalization.
• Collective or group component.
• Passive observers.

Bullying can take various forms:

• Social exclusion and marginalization.
• Verbal aggression.
• Humiliation and degradation.
• Indirect physical aggression.
• Direct physical aggression.
• Intimidation, threats, blackmail.
• Harassment through technological means or cyber-bullying. Intimidation, spreading insults, threats, or publishing unwanted images via email, websites, or mobile phone messages.
• Harassment or aggression against sexual freedom and orientation.
• Sexual harassment or sexual abuse.

Bullying: Andalusia Protocol.

The Autonomous Communities, by virtue of their powers in Education, have developed different protocols for cases of bullying. In Andalusia, for example, this protocol is regulated within a broader regulatory framework in the ORDER of June 20, 2011. This regulation establishes the following:

PROTOCOL

Step 1. Identification and communication of the situation

Any member of the educational community who has knowledge or suspicion of a bullying situation involving a student has the obligation to report it to a teacher, the tutor, the person responsible for guidance at the center, or the management team, depending on the case and the member of the educational community who becomes aware of the situation. In any case, the recipient of the information will always inform the director or, in their absence, a member of the management team.

Step 2. Immediate actions

Following this communication, the management team will meet with the tutor of the affected students and the person or persons responsible for guidance at the center to gather information, analyze it, and assess the appropriate intervention.

The holding of this meeting must be recorded in writing, specifying the information collected and the actions agreed upon.

In all cases where it is estimated that a bullying situation may exist, the Provincial Education Inspection Service will be informed of the initiation of the action protocol.

Step 3. Emergency measures

If deemed necessary, the emergency measures required to protect the victim and prevent further aggression will be adopted:

• Measures that guarantee the immediate safety of the bullied student, as well as specific support and aid measures.
• Precautionary measures directed at the bullying student.

Step 4. Notification to families or legal guardians of the students

The tutor, or the person or persons responsible for guidance at the center, with the prior knowledge of the management team, with due caution and through an interview, will bring the case to the attention of the families or legal guardians of the students involved, providing information on the situation and the measures adopted.

Step 5. Notification to other professionals attending to the bullied student

The director, with due reservations regarding confidentiality and the protection of the privacy of the affected minors and their families or legal guardians, may inform the teaching team of the students involved about the situation. If deemed appropriate, they will also inform the rest of the center’s staff and other external bodies (social, health, or judicial, depending on the initial assessment).

Step 6. Collection of information from various sources

Once the appropriate emergency measures have been adopted, the management team will gather the necessary information regarding the incident from the various sources listed below:

• Collection of existing documentation on the affected students.
• Systematic observation of the indicated indicators: in common areas of the center, in class, or in complementary and extracurricular activities.
• Likewise, the center’s management will request the guidance department or the educational guidance team to complete the information with the collaboration of the tutor. This will be done, as appropriate, by observing the affected students, contrasting opinions with other peers, speaking with the affected students, or interviewing the families or legal guardians of the students. If deemed convenient, the information will be supplemented with other sources, such as administrative and service staff, or staff from the corresponding social services.
• Once all the information has been collected, the center’s director will prepare a report with the data obtained, for which they will contrast the information provided by the different sources.

In this process, the following aspects must be considered:

• Guarantee the protection of the minors.
• Preserve their privacy and that of their families or legal guardians.
• Act immediately.
• Create a climate of basic trust for the minors.
• Collect all types of evidence and indicators.
• Do not duplicate interventions and avoid unnecessary delays.

Step 7. Application of corrections and disciplinary measures

Once all the information has been collected and contrasted, the center’s director will proceed to adopt corrections for behaviors contrary to coexistence or disciplinary measures for the aggressor students involved, based on what is established in the center’s coexistence plan, and, in any case, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter III of Title V of Decrees 327/2010 and 328/2010, both of July 13. These corrections or disciplinary measures will be recorded as established in article 12.1 of this Order.

Step 8. Communication to the coexistence commission

The center’s director will transfer the report prepared after the information collection, as well as, if applicable, the disciplinary measures applied, to the center’s coexistence commission.

Step 9. Communication to the educational inspection

The management team will send the report to the Provincial Education Inspection Service, without prejudice to the immediate communication of the case, as established in Step 2 of this protocol.

Step 10. Measures and actions to be defined

The management team, with the advice of the person or persons responsible for educational guidance at the center, will define a set of measures and actions for each specific case of bullying. Likewise, if considered necessary, they may seek advice from the Provincial Cabinet for Advice on School Coexistence and the educational inspection.

These measures and actions will refer both to those applicable in the center and in the classroom, and to those applicable to the students in conflict, ensuring individualized treatment for both the victim and the aggressor(s), including specific awareness actions for the rest of the students as well as for the observing students. All this, without prejudice to the application of the corrective measures included in the coexistence plan to the bullying student.

As a guide, the following measures and actions are proposed for each case of bullying:

• Actions with the bullied person: explicit and indirect support and protection actions, emotional education activities and social support and attention strategies, individualized intervention by the guidance counselor for the learning and development of social skills, communication, self-esteem, and assertiveness, and referral, if appropriate, to services of the Ministry competent in matters of child protection.
• Actions with the aggressor student: application of the corresponding corrections stipulated in the coexistence plan, educational actions in the center’s coexistence classroom, if applicable, or specific behavior modification and personal help programs and strategies, and referral, if appropriate, to services of the Ministry competent in matters of child protection.
• Actions with passive observer peers: actions for the development of social, communication, emotional, and empathy skills, awareness campaigns, as well as mediation and peer support activities.
• Actions with families: guidance on how to help their children, whether they are victims or aggressors, actions for better coordination and communication regarding the socio-educational process of their children, information on possible external supports and their follow-up, as well as the establishment of coexistence commitments.
• Actions with teachers and administrative and service staff: guidance on how to intervene positively in the situation and how to follow up, guidance on detection indicators, as well as specific training activities.

The center’s management will be responsible for ensuring that the planned measures and actions are carried out, periodically informing the coexistence commission, the families or legal guardians of the students, and the reference inspector of the degree of compliance and the school situation of the students involved.

Step 11. Communication to the families or legal guardians of the students

The families of the students involved will be informed of the individual measures and actions, as well as the organizational and preventive measures proposed for the group, level, and educational center, observing absolute confidentiality in the handling of the case at all times.

Step 12. Follow-up of the case by the educational inspection

The reference inspector will monitor the measures and actions defined and applied, as well as the school situation of the students involved.

Specialist Lawyers for Minors | IN DIEM: Malaga, Seville, Madrid, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Almeria, Huelva…

Our goal is to provide our clients with the utmost satisfaction… which is why our team is unbeatable. Currently, IN DIEM Lawyers has offices in Malaga, Seville, Madrid, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Almeria, Huelva… We are at your disposal for whatever you need. You can reach us via the IN DIEM Lawyers Phone.   (+34) 901 900 071. For emergencies, you can reach us on the IN DIEM 24-Hour Emergency Lawyers Phone: (+34) 610 667 452.

For more information about our IN DIEM Juvenile Lawyers team, you can link HERE

Would you like to know more about us…? We leave you this brief introductory video: