Bullying - How to Help

How Parents Can Help?

• Be aware of the signs of bullying.
• If you are worried that your child is being bullied, ask him/her   directly and find out the facts.
• Take an active role in your child’s education; enquire about their day in school, the journey to and from school, their friends.
• Inform the school immediately if you feel your child is a victim of bullying.  It will be taken seriously and appropriate action will follow.
• Encourage you child to report any incidents to a member of staff as soon as possible.
• Advise your child not to fight back.
• Keep a written diary of incidents - who, what, when and where.
• Reassure your son/daughter that there is nothing wrong with them and that it is NOT their fault.
• Remember that if you are not aware your child is being bullied then the school may not know either!  If the school is not informed it is highly unlikely that the situation will resolve itself.

 

What can School Do?

• We treat bullying as a serious offence.
• We deal with all reported incidents quickly, firmly and fairly, involving parents where necessary.
• We provide opportunities to discuss bullying through LLW classes and Tutor and Form Teacher time.
• We have introduced Mentors for our new intake pupils.
• All reported incidents of bullying are recorded in the school Bullying Log.
• We liaise with outside agencies as required.
• Pupils are actively encouraged through the pastoral care system, the curriculum, school assemblies and in their personal homework diaries, to report any instances of bullying.
• Anti-Bullying ambassadors in place for pupils to seek help - see our anti - bullying section on our website - https://www.rathfrilandhigh.co.uk/students-information-/anti-bullying-ambassadors/ 

 

What is Bullying?

“Bullying is the willful, conscious desire to hurt, threaten or frighten someone.”

Bullying includes:

Physical - pushing, kicking, hitting, pinching and other forms of violence or threats;

Verbal - Name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, persistent teasing

Emotional - excluding, tormenting, ridicule, humiliation;

Racist - racial taunts, graffiti, gestures;

Sexual - unwanted physical contact or abusive comments;

All the above forms of bullying can not only be delivered on a personal, face to face basis, but also by using existing and new technology, becoming known as cyber-bullying.

 

Possible Signs Of Bullying

A child may indicate by their behaviour that he or she is being bullied.  If your child shows some of the following signs, bullying may be responsible and you might want to ask if someone is bullying or threatening them. 

Children may:

• Be frightened of walking to and from school or not want to go on the school bus;
• Be unwilling to go to school;
• Feel ill in the mornings;
• Be quiet and withdrawn;
• Be moody and bad tempered;
• Be aggressive with their siblings;
• Coming home with cuts and bruises;
• Have their possessions ‘go missing’;
• Constantly ‘lose’ their dinner or pocket money;
• Doing less well at school work;
• Insomnia;
• Anxiety.

This list is not exclusive and each child’s experience will be different.