Anti Bullying

Bullying is not tolerated at the Kimberley School. Every student has the right feel safe in school.

This page sets out what we expect of each other at the Kimberley School and what you should do if

you have any concerns.

Bullying: A Charter of Student rights

As a member of our school you have the right:

Not to be bullied
To say ‘no’ firmly to anything you think is wrong
To protect yourself by ignoring others or by walking away
To talk to somebody if someone is making you unhappy
To be listened to in confidence

Bullying: A Charter of Student Responsibilities

As a member of our school you are expected:

To work with others to stop bullying
Not to be afraid of reporting any incidents. If you do nothing, it might suggest that you are supporting the bullying
Not to put up with bullies in your group of friends
Remember, bullying may involve violence, name-calling, graffiti, damage to property or psychological bullying such as sneering, staring or ignoring.

How can parents or other adults report concerns about bullying?

By phoning the school reception and asking for the Student Support Team
By emailing the school reception (office@kimberleyschool.co.uk) who will refer this to the Student Support Team
Through the online, anonymous reporting system - SHARP on the school website
By contacting any other member of staff at the school

How can students report concerns about bullying?

By reporting to the Student Support Team
By reporting to any other adult that they trust in the school (tutor, teacher, Year Performance Leader, Senior Leader)
Through the online, anonymous reporting system - SHARP on the school website

Outline of the steps the school will take in the event of an allegation of bullying:

As soon as possible, but no later than within 1 working day, the year team will:

take statements from all parties to ascertain all sides of the situation

inform parents of the alleged victim and perpetrator of the allegation and set out that an investigation will now take place. If felt necessary, they will agree temporary measures to protect the student whilst the investigation is taking place.

The Year Team will conclude the investigation as soon as possible; but will take the required time to ensure the investigation is thorough and the outcome is fair.

If the allegation is found to be true and bullying has occurred, the year team will agree with the Assistant Head Teacher (Behaviour):

appropriate disciplinary sanctions in accordance with the school’s Behaviour Policy
appropriate actions to support the victim, including how and when the team will check in with the victim to ensure there has been no repeat
appropriate actions to prevent repeated bullying by the perpetrator
appropriate communication to all parties involved

The year team will then contact the parents and carers of both the alleged perpetrator and the victim again to inform them of the outcomes of the investigation and the action that they will be taking.

If appropriate, external agencies may be used, for example the police, school nurse or the Targeted Support Service; or working with the wider community if the bullying is taking place off the school premises i.e. in the case of cyberbullying or on the journey to and from school.

Recording bullying and evaluating the policy

Bullying incidents will be recorded by the member of staff who deals with the incident on SIMS and this will be accessed by the Accessed by the Assistant Head Teacher (Behaviour):

The information stored will be used to ensure individuals incidents are followed up.
It will also be used to identify trends and inform preventative work in school and development of the policy.
This information will be discussed by Year Performance Leaders in the YPL Forum.

Guidance for students

If you are being bullied:

remember it is not your fault

try to stay calm and look as confident as you can
be firm and clear – look them in the eye and, if possible, tell them to stop and tell them how you feel

After you have been bullied:

all bullying is wrong and you do not have to stay silent about it
tell an adult or somebody you trust about what has happened straight away. Adults in school have a responsibility to give you help and support around bullying
if you are scared to tell a teacher or adult on your own, ask a friend to go with you
keep on speaking until someone listens and does something to stop the bullying

When you are talking to an adult about bullying, be clear about:

what has happened to you
how often it has happened
who was involved
who saw what was happening
where it happened
what you have done about it already

If you experience bullying by mobile phone, text messages or e-mail

don’t retaliate or reply
save the evidence - do not delete anything
make sure you tell an adult who you trust
contact your service provider or look at their website to see where to report incidents
be careful who you give your mobile phone number or e-mail address to
make a note of exactly when a threatening message was sent

Guidance for parents/carers

If your child has been bullied or harassed:

calmly talk with your child about their experiences
make a note of what your child says, including who was involved, how often the bullying has occurred, where it happened and what happened
reassure your child that they have done the right thing to tell you about the bullying
explain to your child that should any further incidents occur they should report them to an adult in school immediately
report the incident/s to the Year Team using the routes set out on page 3 of this policy. Explain the problems your child is experiencing.

When talking with members of staff about bullying or harassment:

try to stay calm and bear in mind that the staff member may have no idea that your child is being bullied or may have heard conflicting accounts of an incident
be as specific as possible about what your child says has happened, give dates, places and names of other children involved
make a note of what action the school intends to take
ask if there is anything you can do to help your child or the school
stay in touch with the school and let them know if things improve as well as if problems continue

If you are not satisfied with how the school has followed procedures or the action it has told you it will take:

check with the school Anti-bullying policy to see if agreed procedures are being followed.
If you are still not satisfied, discuss your concerns with the Year Team who conducted the investigation following the report you made to the school.
If you are still not satisfied, then contact the Assistant Head Teacher (Behaviour) to discuss your concerns.
If this does not help, then you should use the schools’ complaints policy to raise your concerns. Complaints will not be pursued if the above steps have not been taken first.

If your child is displaying bullying behaviour towards others:

talk with your child and explain that what they are doing is unacceptable and makes other children unhappy
discourage other members of your family from bullying behaviour or from using aggression or force to get what they want
show your child how they can join in with other children without bullying
contact your child’s tutor or Year Team to explain the problems your child is experiencing as well as discussing how you can work together to stop them bullying others
regularly check with your child how things are going at school
give your child lots of praise and encouragement when they are co-operative or kind to other people

If your child is experiencing any form of cyber bullying:

ensure your child is careful whom they give their mobile phone number and email address to
check exactly when a threatening message was sent and keep evidence of offending e-mails, text messages or online conversations. Do not delete messages
if the bullying involves a student from The Kimberley School, contact the school to report this
contact the service provider to report the incidents
if the cyber bullying is serious and a potential criminal offence has been committed, you should consider contacting the police.

Online anonymous reporting for students, parents & carers.

SHARP