Bullying is aggressive or insulting behaviour by an individual or group, often repeated over a period of time, that intentionally hurts or harms. All children have a right to feel safe both in school, and on the way to and from school.
Devizes School is committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all its pupils so that they can learn in a secure and relaxed atmosphere. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable in the school. If bullying does occur, all pupils should be able to tell someone and know such incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively.
In order to support this, the school:
· Acknowledges that bullying does take place
· Promotes the ethos of respect and responsibility for each other
· Has a planned approach to anti-bullying in the curriculum
· Encourages pupils that it is right to tell if they see or experience bullying
· Takes seriously all reported acts of bullying
· Records all acts of bullying and what action was taken
· Informs and involves parents
· Offers support to those who bully and their victims
· Delivers regular training to staff and pupil/student volunteers
· Excludes persistent bullies who are unable or unwilling to respond to the support and guidance given by the school
· Fully support interventions from other agencies
Pupils at the school will:
· Show respect to everyone in the school
· Avoid saying or doing anything which will hurt others
· Report all incidents of bullying
· Take every opportunity to show they are anti-bullying and not ‘follow the crowd’ or ‘turn a blind eye’
· Support school projects against bullying
· Offer support to anyone they see being bullied
· Advise the school about ideas that they think will help to stop bullying
Bullying can be:
· Emotional – being unfriendly, excluding, tormenting (hiding possessions, threatening gestures)
· Physical – pushing, kicking, hitting, punching, jostling or any use of violence
· Racist – racial taunts, graffiti, gestures
· Sexual – unwanted physical contact and sexually abusive comments
· Homophobic - taunts re sexual orientation
· Verbal – name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, teasing, via email and mobile phone