Co-op Academy New Islington

Anti-Bullying Policy

Quick read version for parents and carers

Introduction

Co-op Academy New Islington strives to maintain a positive, supportive and caring culture among all pupils and staff. We aim to deter bullying behaviour, detect it when it occurs, and deal with it in a proactive way, addressing the issues restoratively. It is everyone's responsibility – whether pupils, staff or parents – to ensure, whatever the circumstances, that no-one becomes a victim of bullying.

What is bullying?

Bullying is behaviour which, over time, hurts or causes distress by taking unfair advantage of another person in some way, making the victim feel uncomfortable or threatened. It is always unacceptable and will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Bullying can take many forms, including physical behaviour, verbal intimidation, or cyber-bullying via text messages, social media or gaming. It is often motivated by prejudice against particular groups, or by actual or perceived differences between children. Not all bullying is deliberate or intended to hurt, but all forms of bullying are equally unacceptable.

Anti-bullying culture

Everyone will uphold the school’s values by reporting incidents of bullying whenever we witness or hear of them. Complaints of bullying will always be taken seriously, and will be dealt with correctly and effectively.

Equal opportunities are upheld across all our classes. Children are taught that discriminatory words and behaviour are unacceptable, and positive attitudes are fostered towards people who are disabled and towards the different ethnic, cultural and linguistic group. Positive attitudes are also fostered towards both sexes and those with different sexual orientations.

Anti-bullying strategy

The school’s strategy to detect and deal with bullying includes the following activities: making sure staff are constantly vigilant; discussing bullying in staff meetings; educating all pupils, including through the PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) curriculum; making bullying the subject of school assemblies; regularly advising and informing parents about online safety; training staff in the risks and indications of bullying, and encouraging older pupils to be helpful to younger ones.

Dealing with bullying

We maintain records of the welfare and development of individual pupils. Every complaint or report of bullying must be recorded on our management systems (CPOMS).

There is a solution to nearly every problem of bullying. A pupil who complains will receive support and advice and in many cases the problem can be dealt with on a ‘no-names’ basis. The primary aim will be for the bullying to cease rather than the punishment of the bully, though there will be circumstances where the latter is necessary.

A bully who does not respond appropriately to advice will face sanctions provided for by our Relationships and Behaviour Policy and/or our Exclusions Policy.

Reporting

Parents who are concerned that their child is being bullied should inform the class teacher in the first instance without delay.

This document is a condensed summary of the Co-op Academy New Islington Anti-Bullying Policy. The school’s full policy on anti-bullying, which includes a list of independent organisations offering support, can be found here: https://newislington.coopacademies.co.uk/anti-bullying-policy/