Anti Bullying

If I feel my child is being bullied, who do I report it to?
You should contact the school as soon as possible and report the incident(s) to your child’s Head of Year who will investigate the incident.  The school will take statements from all students involved and any witnesses to the bullying.

What if the bullying does not stop?
Once we have investigated and dealt with an incident, we speak with the students involved to determine whether or not the issue has been resolved.  However, if you have evidence that the bullying is still ongoing, please contact your child’s Head of Year as soon as possible.  If the bullying has continued, this would be considered to be an even more serious matter.  The vast majority of students realise, when challenged, that such behaviour is unacceptable.  However, where children persist in making the wrong choices despite advice, warnings and sanctions, then the school would impose a more serious sanction and in some cases consider permanent exclusion. 

My child has fallen out with her friend who has said some unpleasant things about her.  Is this bullying?
Unfortunately, children do fall out with friends from time to time.  This can result in children saying unkind things to one another.  Most of these situations are quickly resolved and the children “make up” after a short time, generally both being very sorry for the hurt they have caused one another.  However, if the situation continues, this can become bullying in nature, and needs intervention to ensure that this stops. 

My child has fallen out with friends and is now being ostracised by a group of students, what should I do?
Children cannot be forced into friendships.  However, deliberate ostracising is a form of bullying and will be dealt with accordingly by the school. 

What is “cyber-bullying?”
Cyber-bullying is when a person, or a group of people, uses the internet, mobile phones or other digital technologies to threaten or abuse someone.  This is illegal and can be reported to the police.

My child has received abusive messages on a social network site.  What should I do?
Report it to the social network site.  You can also report this to the police. Please also let the school know so we can do our best to not let the matter be brought in to school and cause disruption to students learning and time in school.

My child has retaliated to being bullied by another student, and is now being punished.  How is this fair?
Retaliation is never acceptable. We don’t accept physical violence as a solution to a problem.  If a child is being bullied, they must report it to the school so that appropriate action can be taken.  We never advise students to take matters into their own hands, as this can escalate the problem, or even develop into bullying itself.   

Will I be informed of the sanctions given to the student who has bullied?
We will inform the parents that the student has been dealt with and a sanction has been issued; however, the details of this sanction will not necessarily be shared as these are a private matter regarding another student.

What if I think my child is treated unfairly by a member of staff?
Please let us know your child’s concerns, or they can talk directly to their Head of Year, or member of SLT, if they prefer. Usually, it is due to the student feeling upset about being sanctioned, and not recognising that others are treated in the same way. However, this perception can have a negative effect on relationships. We would therefore raise the concern with the member of staff and identify any problems that need to be addressed by either the student or staff member.

What do I do if I don’t agree with your policy on bullying?
As always, if you feel an approach is unfair or unreasonable, then you can write to the Governing Body asking for a review.  However, whilst any such policy is in place, the school will operate as stated.

Cyber-bullying

Cyber-bullying is when a person or group of people use modern technology, such as the internet, mobile phones or other digital technologies, to deliberately cause upset to someone by threatening, harassing, abusing or teasing them.

Dealing with cyber bullying:

If cyber-bullying takes place in school, this will be dealt with in the same way as any other form of bullying in line with the school’s Safe to Learn/Behaviour for Learning policies.

If cyber-bullying is happening outside of school through, for example, texts, calls, or social networking communication, then it would still be helpful for the school to be aware. If those involved are known/suspected, we would contact the parents of the other children and let them know what has been alleged.  We would also explain that cyber-bullying is a form of harassment and thus a matter that can be passed to the police.  The police would be the correct contact for concerns of ongoing harassment when children are out of school and in the care of their parents. 

Preventing cyber-bullying:

This is a matter which the school takes very seriously and therefore we educate students about the damaging effects of this type of behaviour. Bullying and cyber-bullying are issued that are covered in How to Thrive, Extended Learning Days, Form Time activities and assemblies throughout the year.

What if your child is a perpetrator?

Although it may be uncomfortable to accept, you should be aware that sometimes children get caught up in cyber-bullying simply by not thinking about the consequences of what they are doing.  You may find that your child has been involved in cyber-bullying others. It is therefore important that you talk with your children and understand the ways in which they are using the internet and their mobile phone. The internet is a ‘faceless’ area where people sometimes say or write things that they would not during face-to-face conversations. They need to understand that the consequences of what they say or write online or by text are just as serious as those that they say directly to a person.

What is an Anti-Bullying Ambassador?

Set up in 2011, the Anti-Bullying Ambassador programme is part of the charity the Diana Award. In 2013 the programme received funding from the Department for Education. The programme offers resources and training to schools and youth organisations in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland. After receiving  our training students become Anti-Bullying Ambassadors in schools. In their role they help educate their peers on bullying, lead on anti-bullying campaigns, promote a culture which celebrates and tolerates difference and help keep their peers safe both online and offline. We have 9 trained Anti-Bullying Ambassadors at Copthall from Year 7 to Year 13

“I wanted to become an Anti-Bullying Ambassador because I strongly believe that bullying has a very damaging impact on an individual, both physically and mentally. It’s something that can take any shape, form or effect which means it can take place anywhere, telling us that no one is immune to it. I wish to be able to prevent this and be able to help support these individuals who are struggling to cope with this, as I feel that they should have the right to be able to feel safe anywhere without fearing the consequences. This unfair treatment towards them can have consequences on both the bully and the person being bullied, I wish to make them aware of this so that this can be prevented. I hope to be able to educate people on bullying, so that we can all accept cultural differences, and be able to make them feel secure in their environment both online and offline as I feel that we should be celebrating our differences, not using it as an excuse to downgrade someone.” Year 12 Anti Bullying Ambassador.  

Report a case of bullying

If bullying does occur, and that includes cyber-bullying, all students should be able to tell someone, and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively. If you want to report that you are being bullied you can alert any member of staff by completing the form below.

Don’t forget – if you do not give your name we will not know who you are so it will be difficult for us to help. The information you send will be treated confidentially.

 

Additional information

If you are an adult who has a concern about a young person who attends Copthall School please download and complete a Record an incident form.

If you wish to report any concerns you have regarding children and young people’s safety against radicalisation and violent extremism you are able to use the Home Office reporting tool, and for other online concerns you can report directly to CEOPS.

Please view our Safeguarding pages  for advice and guidance on safeguarding.