Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at our school. We recognise that it can damage children’s lives and undermine the cohesion of the school community. If bullying does occur, all children should feel able to tell and know that it will be dealt with promptly and effectively. 

We work closely with the children about the meaning of bullying as it is a word that can be used when children fall out with their friends or something happens that they do not like, such as their game not being chosen. Whilst we also take their concerns about this seriously and teach them how to manage such situations, we educate them that bullying is more than this. We define it as repeated verbal, non-verbal or physical abuse that is intended to threaten, intimidate or hurt another person.

At St James C of E Primary School, staff are vigilant for signs of bullying and always take reports of incidents seriously. The school uses the curriculum whenever possible to reinforce the ethos of the school and help pupils to develop strategies to combat bullying-type behaviour. It is everyone’s responsibility to prevent bullying from happening.

We work hard to ensure that any instances of bullying are dealt with quickly and followed up over time. We care deeply about all the children at our school and work closely with children and families to give every child the best experience.

Our policy outlines how we seek to prevent such occurrences happening in the first place through our Behaviour Policy, Values and Ethos but also how we deal with allegations and support the children should bullying incidents happen. The policy can be read here.