Anti-Bullying at St Edward’s Church of England Academy
Our Aim
At St Edward’s Academy we strive to provide all our pupils with a safe, secure, and happy environment in which to learn, to express themselves and to develop as a person.
We expect high standards of behaviour and encourage our students to develop into responsible and valued members of the community who can build and sustain good relations with others.
As a “Rights Respecting Gold School” , we embed the UN Convention on the Child’s Rights (UNCRC) into our ethos, policies and daily culture – fostering a safe, inclusive environment where students learn rights, respect, and global citizenship, significantly reducing bullying and improving wellbeing by empowering children and adults to advocate for fairness and care for one another.
Our Anti-Bullying Strategy is underpinned by our Behaviour and Achievement Policy as well as our Anti-Bullying Policy. These documents can be found here.
What is bullying?
There is no legal definition of bullying. But it is usually defined as repeated behaviour which is intended to hurt someone either emotionally or physically and is often aimed at certain people because of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation or any other aspect such as appearance or disability.
Bullying can take many forms including:
· Physical e.g. fighting, pushing, taking belongings
· Social bullying e.g. name calling, excluding from a group, making insulting remarks
· Threatening behaviour e.g. ‘ganging up’ on someone, threatening to hurt them, blackmail / extortion
· Cyberbullying e.g. texting, use of social media
Cyberbullying can also be referred to as online bullying, which is via social networking sites, gaming sites, chat rooms or anywhere online. Irrespective of whether the bullying takes place in person or online, it is still bullying and must be reported. If you are being bullied online, make your parents / carers aware straight away, and if possible block the person sending unkind message. As soon as possible, make someone in school aware.
What do I do if I think I am being bullied?
You MUST report bullying as soon as possible. There is no need for anyone to ‘suffer in silence’ as we have a huge amount of support available for you. Please either report the bullying to any adult in school.
What do I do if I think my child is being bullied?
It is important that you talk to your child about your concerns and try to gather as much information as possible, particularly the names of the bullies. It is also helpful to find out when and where the incident(s) happened and the names of any witnesses. You should try to encourage your child to speak to a member of staff they feel comfortable with at school. With the permission of your child the bullying can then be investigated and dealt with.
How can I help someone who is being bullied?
People who are being bullied can feel really distressed and it can have a serious impact on their life. Below is some things you can do if you are worried that a friend is experiencing bullying at school.
· Report the bullying using the ‘pupil worries’ form at the bottom of this page
· If you are at school, let a teacher know what you suspect is taking place
· Go with the person being bullied and back up what they say to the teacher
· Tell your parents or an adult you trust
What action will St Edward’s Academy take of a report bullying?
· We have a zero-tolerance bullying policy. However, we do recognise that confronting the bullies could make the situation worse. As long as the safety of your child or any other is not at risk we are happy to deal with the problem as your child wishes. This may mean simply monitoring the situation or we can do a full investigation. This will involve collecting statements from all students concerned, including witnesses. On receiving these, we will do an investigation to establish the facts and from these sanctions will be given if necessary.
· It is important to be aware that whilst all unkind actions towards any members of our community are unacceptable, and will be sanctioned, a single unkind act does may not automatically constitute bullying. We keep careful records of all unkind behaviours between peers. These records are kept in order to establish patters of unkind behaviour that would constitute ‘confirmed bullying’.
What support will I be given if I have been bullied?
The first priority in any report of bullying is your welfare. We will want to support you in whatever way you need. This may include support through your form tutor, Pastoral Leader or member of staff that you choose.
We will continue to monitor any instances of confirmed bullying to ensure that there are no further issues. We will also ensure that the person who carried out the bullying is provided with education (following on from their sanction) in respect of why the behaviour they exhibited was unacceptable.
Preventative Curriculum and Anti-Bullying Strategies
St Edward’s Academy takes every opportunity to educate students on anti-bullying by raising awareness through the curriculum. The table below details the actions that leaders have taken to create an environment where bullying is simply not tolerated.
| Priority Areas | Key Strategies/Approaches |
| Creating a culture where bullying is not tolerated | Core Values – Courage, Friendship, Hope, Respect Culture of respect in lessons, on the corridors and around school Culture of reporting unkind behaviour to pastoral team Pupil friendly anti bullying policy Student and parent voice Student Leadership – Antibullying Ambassadors |
| Raising awareness through the curriculum | Anti-Bullying Week Collective Worship (including National Anti-Bullying weeks) Form Time resources PSHE and RSHE Curriculum Restorative practice following a bullying incident |
| Safeguarding | Reporting of bullying concerns via MyConcern / Designated Safeguarding Lead Inclusion support for the victim Pastoral support and interventions with the perpetrator Parental meetings with strategic target setting |
| Pastoral support | Behaviour and Achievement policy Strategic 1-1 intervention from Pastoral team Monitoring of behaviours / pupils following a bullying incident Follow up calls with parents and carer Tiered support for perpetrator |
| Working in partnership with parents/carers | Pastoral phone calls Face to face meetings with parents and carers Parent voice / OFSTED Parent View |
Anti-Bullying Ambassadors
Having had training from The Diana Award, our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors are trained, passionate young people who want to make changes for the better. Our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors want to encourage pupils to be ‘upstanders’ and spread the message that bullying behaviour is not acceptable and should not be part of Academy life. Through Collective Worship, posters, tutor time and PHSE, pupils are encouraged to look out for their peers and report concerns through:
- Anti-Bullying Ambassadors
- Form Tutors
- Pastoral Leaders – Mrs Stubbs, Mrs Mulroy or Mrs Matthews.
- Senior Leadership Team – Mr Simm is our Designated Safeguarding Lead. Mrs Matthews is our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Click here for online ‘pupil worries’ form:
Useful websites
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/listen-up-speak-up/