Anti-Bullying
Bullying generally takes one of four forms:
- Indirect - being unfriendly, spreading rumours, excluding, tormenting (e.g. hiding bags or books);
- Physical - pushing, kicking, hitting, punching, slapping or any form of violence;
- Verbal - name-calling, teasing, threats, sarcasm;
- Cyber - all areas of internet misuse, such as nasty and/or threatening emails, misuse of blogs, gaming websites, internet chat rooms and instant messaging; Mobile threats by text messaging & calls; Misuse of associated technology, i.e. camera and video facilities.
Although not an exhaustive list, common examples of bullying include:
- Racial bullying;
- Homophobic bullying;
- Bullying based on disability, ability, gender, appearance or circumstance.
Prevention
As a school we take bullying seriously. We use a range of proactive strategies to prevent bullying. These include;
- Effective school leadership that promotes an open and honest anti-bullying ethos.
- Use of curriculum opportunities, in particular tutor periods and PSHE classes where issues of diversity and inclusion are discussed and anti-bullying messages are drawn out.
- Use of opportunities throughout the school calendar and at certain times of the school day to raise awareness of the negative consequences of bullying, e.g. Anti-Bullying Week in November of each year
- Whole school assemblies.
- Pupil surveys.
- Poster campaigns.
- Improved supervision in potential problem areas.
- Peer mentoring and Buddy Schemes.
- Workshops with ‘Bullies Out’
- Student anti-bullying ambassadors
Reporting
Report – Don’t ignore what you have seen or heard. It could be historic and/or and on-going issue. If a student feels they are being bullied, they can report this in the following ways.
- Students or parents can also send a discreet email to: nobullying@DACA.uk.com
- Speaking to an anti-bullying ambassador
- Speaking/emailing a teacher