Wellbeing, Bullying Prevention and ICT at St Andrew’s

At St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School Werribee, we are committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment where every student can flourish. Governed by Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Ltd (MACS), our school policies and procedures prioritize Bullying Prevention and positive behaviour support.

Student Bullying Prevention and Response

In alignment with MACS directives and the National Framework for Addressing Bullying in Australian Schools, St Andrew’s takes a whole-school approach focused on proactive prevention, early intervention, and student wellbeing.

What Bullying Is (and Is Not)

Bullying

Bullying is an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour 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 can happen in person or online, via various digital platforms and devices, and it can be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert). Bullying behaviour is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time (for example, through sharing of digital records).

Bullying of any form or for any reason can have immediate, medium and long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders. Single incidents and conflict or fights between equals, whether in person or online, are not defined as bullying.

There are four main types of bullying behaviour:

physical bullying: examples include hitting, pushing, shoving, intimidating or otherwise physically hurting another person, or damaging or stealing their belongings. It includes threats of violence.
verbal/written bullying: examples include name-calling or insulting someone about an attribute, quality or personal characteristic.
social bullying or relational or emotional bullying: examples include deliberately excluding someone, spreading rumours, sharing information that will have a harmful effect on the other person, and/or damaging a person’s social reputation or social acceptance.
cyberbullying: any form of bullying behaviour that occurs online or via a mobile device. It can be verbal or written and can include threats of violence as well as images, videos and/or audio.

Bullying behaviour can include specific forms:

racist bullying: belittling, mocking, intimidating or shaming someone because of their physical appearance, ethnic background, religious or cultural practices, and/or the way they dress or talk.
homophobic and transphobic bullying: bullying on the basis of sexuality or gender expression. It can include physical violence, cyberbullying, name-calling, exclusion, ‘jokes’ and/or sexual harassment. It is a common experience for young people who are same-sex attracted, gender diverse or for those who may not behave according to gender stereotypes. Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender diverse, intersex, queer, asexual and questioning (LGBTIQA+) students may not feel confident or safe enough to tell anyone about being bullied, especially if they have not disclosed their sexuality or gender identity to friends, family or teachers.

Bullying can be easy to see and detect (overt) or hidden, subtle and hard to detect (covert):

overt bullying: involves physical actions such as punching or kicking, or observable verbal actions such as name-calling and insulting.
covert bullying: can be very difficult for someone outside of the interaction to identify. It can include hand gestures and threatening looks, whispering, excluding or turning your back on a person, or restricting where a person can sit and who they can talk with. Social bullying (spreading rumours, manipulation of relationships, excluding, isolating) is often covert bullying.

Bullying is not:

mutual conflict that involves a disagreement but not an imbalance of power – however, unresolved mutual conflict can develop into bullying if one of the parties targets the other repeatedly in retaliation
single-episode acts of nastiness or physical aggression, or aggression directed towards many different people
social rejection or dislike, unless it involves deliberate and repeated attempts to cause distress, exclude or create dislike by others.

Single incidents and mutual conflicts are managed under our general Student Behaviour Support Policy and Procedure

Reporting Concerns: Parents, carers, and students are encouraged to share any concerns early. Parents can email their concerns directly to wellbeing@sawerribee.catholic.edu.au.
Response Timeline: In accordance with MACS guidelines, the school will make reasonable efforts to initiate a response to reported concerns within 2 business days during the school term.
Guiding Framework: All matters are managed under the St Andrew’s Student Bullying Prevention and Response Procedures and the MACS Student Bullying Prevention and Response Policy.

Acceptable Use of ICT Agreement

Digital citizenship and online safety are central to our student wellbeing strategy. Guided by MACS policy, St Andrew’s provides clear expectations for student device and network usage across all year levels:

nForma Agreement: Families will be asked to review and sign the MACS-aligned Acceptable Use of ICT Agreement digitally through nForma.
Core Expectations:
- Using polite, respectful language online and protecting personal information (passwords, addresses, phone numbers).
- Utilising technology solely for learning purposes and reporting any unsafe or uncomfortable online interactions to a teacher immediately.
- Adhering to school safety measures regarding mobile phones and smart watches (which must have communication features disabled during the school day).
Policy Integration: Breaches of the ICT Agreement are addressed through logical consequences guided by the St Andrew’s Student Behaviour Support Policy and the Student Bullying Prevention and Response Policy.