Bullying is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our school.

Everyone has a responsibility to prevent bullying.
Everyone has a responsibility to report any actual or suspected bullying.

All members of our community have the right to learn and work in a supportive, caring and safe environment without fear of being bullied. No person should be subjected to abuse or intimidation, but should bullying occur the school will offer full support and take the matter seriously.

We actively encourage students and parents to report instances of bullying and will take appropriate and sensitive action. We want all students to be as concerned about others being bullied as much as if it were themselves who were the victims.


Bullying can seriously damage a young person’s confidence and sense of self worth, and they will often feel that they are at fault in some way. It can lead to serious and prolonged emotional damage for an individual. All members of our school community must be alert to the signs of bullying and act promptly and firmly against it in accordance with our school procedures.

To prevent bullying, assemblies, PSHCE time and cross curricular opportunities are used to explore and consider issues surrounding bullying. We have a positive school ethos, clear Student Charter and a strong pastoral system to support students and help them make good choices. Anti-Bullying week (in the Autumn term) is used a as a focus for reminding the school community about aspects of bullying and the importance of telling. During this week students are consulted to check:
•Whether they feel safe from bullying incidents
•Whether they have confidence to talk to staff and others when they feel at risk
•Whether they understand their rights and responsibilities

What is Bullying?

Bullying is defined as behaviour by an individual or group, repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally.


The four main types of bullying are:
•Physical (hitting, rude gestures, kicking, theft or demanding property)
•Verbal (name calling, teasing, racist, sexist or homophobic remarks)
•Indirect (spreading rumours, excluding someone from social groups, deliberately being unkind)
•Cyber (using the internet or mobile phones to bully)
Possible signs that a student is being bullied:

•A student may appear unusually withdrawn and uncommunicative, or shy and nervous
•He or she may be unable to concentrate in class.
•His or her behaviour may change and may be clinging to adults
•He or she may have unexplained cuts/bruises - or give unconvincing explanations.
•He or she may be absenting or truanting from the school or feigning illness.
Procedures

If bullying is suspected or reported, the incident will be dealt with promptly by the member of staff who has been approached.

Students who have been bullied will:
•Be listened to and given the opportunity to fully discuss the experience with their pastoral coordinator or another member of staff of their choice
•Be given support, on a continual basis, until their self esteem and confidence has been restored and the issues fully resolved

Students who have bullied will
•Be challenged and action will be taken
•Be helped as commonly they have experienced emotional harm themselves and need support

The Pastoral Leaders and Coordinators will:
· Fully investigate reported incidents of bullying and inform parents and staff. They will obtain a complete account of the incident or incidents and will see whether there are friends, classmates or witnesses who can verify any accounts, and will get written statements from the students themselves
· Record all incidents of bullying and their outcomes
· Use their professional judgement to decide upon the best course of action for those involved.

Action taken will be one of the following or a combination of the strategies below:

1.Restorative Justice: this is a very successful strategy which allows all those involved to consider the choices they have made and the impact these have had on themselves and others and how best to rectify their mistakes.

2.Apology and informal warning: occasionally this is enough to stop the bullying and for a bullying student to take responsibility for the impact of their behaviour.

3.Peer mediation: these are students trained in resolving issues such as bullying and have a responsibility to report back to pastoral coordinators and youth workers.

4.Mutual respect contract: this will be a set of signed promises made between students who have been involved in bullying or conflict. Any breaches of the promises are likely to result in an internal or external exclusion. Copies are sent home to parents.

5.Circle of Friends: this can be used by a member of staff to help develop a friendship group for a student who feels isolated and is in need of peer support

6.Weekly 1-1 sessions with Pastoral Coordinator: these sessions will be tailored to meet the individual needs of the student who has been involved in bullying

7.Counselling: the effects of bullying and being bullied can sometimes require professional counselling. Our Pastoral Coordinators can make a referral.

8.Involve the Police: particularly for events that have occurred outside of the school, it is often appropriate to report incidents to the police, and our Police Community Support Officer can assist students and their parents in this process.


Sanctions for the bully could vary from: Sort it Out session, lunchtime and breaktime isolation, internal exclusion, fixed term external exclusion and, in some cases, permanent exclusion