Anti-bullying Policy 

Date: September 2022

To be reviewed: September 2023

Persons responsible: Rimah Aasim and Claire Spivey

Co-op Academy Oakwood is committed to safeguarding every student. We acknowledge that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and ensure all of our staff are trained to be vigilant and aware of the signs and indicators of abuse and understand and follow safe working practices.

The viewpoints and voice of students is of paramount importance to our Academy and we will always listen to their wishes, thoughts and feelings, as well as identifying and supporting their needs. We will work alongside students to develop trusting, consistent and professional relationships and show we care by advocating the early help processes where possible. We will identify any difficulties or concerns early in order to act preventatively. We will always provide support and advice for families and parents/carers, whilst acting in the best interests of the student at all times and doing what matters most. Safeguarding also includes ensuring we work in an open and honest way, enabling our students to feel safe by providing a secure learning environment, are equally protected regardless of any barriers they may face and are able to grow and develop in the same way as their peers.

Co-op Academy Oakwood safeguards students by:

• Maintaining a secure site and ensuring that all visitors to the Academy are recorded, monitored and clear about how to raise a safeguarding concern should one arise.
• Ensuring that safer recruitment practices are followed to prevent those who pose a risk to children gaining access to our students.
• Filtering and monitoring all internet traffic into the Academy to ensure that students cannot be exposed to harmful material and communication.
• Ensuring that all staff employed by the Academy have received Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance which is recorded in the Single Central Record
• Providing regular training and briefings for all staff in child protection and ensuring that all staff and visitors know who our designated safeguarding officers and designated senior lead are.
• Ensuring that admission and attendance procedures are robust to protect students, ensure that they are safe and prevent students from going missing from education.
• Empowering young people to identify risks both within the Academy and in their community; ensuring that they have the skills and confidence to help and protect themselves and others.
• Making sure that all students understand the importance of reporting concerns about themselves and peers and giving them the confidence to discuss sensitive issues.
• Providing pastoral and inclusion support to ensure that all students have access to guidance and advice, and when needed referrals for additional agency support to meet their needs.
• Sharing information when appropriate with other agencies and services to ensure that students, children and their families have support to meet their needs and prevent students from harm or further harm
• Taking immediate action and contacting the appropriate agencies when we believe that a student is in danger or is at risk of harm.

Co-op Academy Oakwood is committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of all of our pupils. We expect our staff, governors, wider professionals, volunteers and all other stakeholders to share this commitment. All of our policies are underpinned and linked to our safeguarding policy through this commitment.

Policy aims:

• To ensure that all members of the school community feel valued and respected. 
• To promote positive behaviours for learning.  
• To prevent bullying, including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying
• To make it clear that all forms of bullying are unacceptable.
• To enable everyone to feel safe whilst at school and encourage pupils to report incidences of bullying.
• To deal effectively with bullying and ensure all staff feel supported in doing this.
• To support and protect victims of bullying and ensure they are listened to.
• To help and support bullies to change their attitudes as well as their behaviour and understand why it needs to change.
• To ensure that pupils feel secure in their surroundings so that learning can take place. 
• To build good relationships between staff/ pupils/ parents.
• To maintain good communication between home and school to share both successes as well as concerns about pupils’ behaviour. 
• To  monitor incidents closely and track them to look for patterns of behaviour.
• To maintain a consistent system of dealing with all behaviour, including challenging behaviour. 
• To encourage and teach pupils to take responsibility for their own behaviour and actions. 
• To ensure that pupils reflect on their actions.
• To ensure that staff reflect on the needs of the pupils to ensure positive actions, choices and behaviours.

School behaviour will be supported by the Ways of Being Co-op:

• Be yourself, always
• Do what matters most
• Succeed together
• Show you care

These values will be explicitly taught and modelled through assemblies, circle time and PSHE curriculum. As well as being explicitly being taught, the ‘Ways of Being Co-op’ will permeate through the entire curriculum and academy ethos. At Oakwood,we encourage everyone to follow the ‘Ways of Being Co-op’ within a safe environment where education can prepare all pupils to be ready for life.

As an academy that is working towards the Peace Mala accreditation we focus on the Golden Rule: "Treat others as you would wish them to treat you".

Co-op Academies Trust is committed to co-operative values and principles. The Trust expects all of its academies to have these at the core of their work. Through our values we strive to ensure children, young people and their families and staff at all levels in the Trust develop:

• Self-help – so that we can help ourselves to improve and make a positive contribution to society
• Self-responsibility – so that we take responsibility for, and answer to our actions
• Democracy – through having a say in how we run our Trust and the academies
• Equality – through ensuring that the voice of each individual can be heard
• Equity – a fair and unbiased community
• Solidarity – through sharing interests and common purposes for the benefit of all.

Co-op Academy Oakwood we have the six ‘R’s.

We are:

Ready to learn

Respectful to all

Responsible

Resilient

Reflective

We show all these qualities so we can build Relationships.

All of these contribute to our anti-bullying ethos in the academy. Pupils are taught how to be respectful, responsible and reflective individuals where the building of relationships is at the heart of academy life.

There is no legal definition of bullying. However, it is usually defined as behaviour that is:

• Repeated
• Intended to hurt someone either physically or emotionally
• Often aimed at certain groups, for example because of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

This is the definition that will be used at Co-op Academy Oakwood.

Types of bullying

Bullying can be, but isn’t limited to:

• Physical – punching, kicking, hitting, pinching, spitting or any use of violence.
• Verbal – name calling of the victim or their family, sarcasm, rumour spreading and teasing.
• Emotional – excluding from groups, games or work; tormenting (i.e. hiding or damaging belongings, threatening gestures); being unfriendly; name calling and inciting others to be unfriendly.
• Racial – racial slurs and language, graffiti and gestures.
• Homophobic / transphobic – homophobic and trasnphobic slurs and language, graffiti and gesturesfocusses on the issue of sexuality or gender or gender identity.
• Sexual – sexual abuse (as defined in KCSIE paragraphy 29), sexual violence, sexual harrassment, engagement with sexual activity, sharing of inappropriate images, upskirting, initiation rituals and sexualised online bullying as listed and expanded on in KCSIE (paragraph 49).
• Cyber – threatening messages, abusive messages, sharing of images, unkind rumours exclusion from groups,

Bullying can relate to:

• Race, religion or culture
• Special educational needs, health conditions or disabilities
• Appearance
• Sexual orientation
• Gender identity
• Family and home circumstances
• Being a young carer
• Being a child looked after
• Economic circumstances

Signs of bullying

Pupils may:

• behave out of character
• be frightened to be in school or walk to/from school
• be unwilling to go to school
• be showing signs of struggling with school work
• be withdrawn, distressed, anxious
• have unexplained injuries
• have books, clothing or possessions torn, lost or damaged
• become distressed
• have issues with eating e.g. under eating or over eating
• have problems sleeping
• cry easily
• become disruptive or aggressive.
• be frightened to say what is wrong
• take, ask for or steal money and possessions to give to the perpetrator

These signs are not limited. They also may indicate other problems and issues that a pupil is facing.

Tackling bullying:

Pupils will be taught about the different types of bullying including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying through the PSHE curriculum, computing curriculum, assemblies and through class discussion. They will also be taught about how to be a responsible, respectful member of our academy where relationships matter. As part of the PSHE curriculum, pupils will learn about what positive friendships and relationships look like and how to form and maintain these. Pupils will be taught how and who to report bullying too.

Pupils will learn about bullying and its definition using the STOP acronym.

Several

Times

On

Purpose

They will also learn how to deal with bullying through the STOP acronym.

Start

Telling

Other

People

Bullying is tackled by all members of the academy. If a pupil reports bullying, it should be reported to the pastoral team and acted upon.

When bullying is reported or suspected:

The pupil should:  

• Start Telling Other People such as a trusted member of staff, family members or friends
• Stay calm
• Find support either an adult or trusted friend
• When related to online bullying, save / screenshot messages
• When related to online bullying, close the app
• When related to online bullying, tell an adult

Other pupils should  

• Start Telling Other People such as a trusted member of staff, family members or friends
• Help someone who is being bullied by being a friend
• Do seek adult support - they are the best people to help

The academy will:

• Deal with incidents of bullying effectively and promptly
• Equip all staff with the skills necessary to deal with bullying
• Ensure that all incidents of bullying are reported to the senior management team as soon as possible, who will ensure they are dealt with promptly
• Record all incidents on CPOMS and monitor the information and take any necessary actions
• Communicate effectively with parents/carers.
• For serious incidents the school may consult the police.
• Will work with the victim and perpetrator
• Will work with the parents of the victim and perpetrator

Parents should:

• Speak to a member of staff about any concerns.
• Be clear about exactly what your child has told you, including names, times and dates if you can.
• Keep in touch with the school and let them know if the situation gets any worse or improves.

Support for the victims of bullying

Support for the victim(s) of bullying will be provided by the class and pastoral teams. Each incidence of bullying will be dealt with on a case by case basis as the impact and effect may vary depending on the pupil, bullying experienced and what the bullying relates to. Children are affected by bullying in different ways. Co-op Academy Oakwood will support pupils relating to their needs.

Support may take the form of:

• Class-based support
• Building of friendship groups
• Support from the pastoral team
• Support from external agencies
• Support with confidence and resilience
• Putting in safeguards to keep the victim and perpetrator separate
• Working with parents

Support for the perpetrators of bullying

Bullying is not tolerated at Co-op Academy Oakwood. Bullying can be a sign of an unmet need and / or other factors affecting their life. However, perpetrators need to understand that their actions are not acceptable and will not be tolerated in school. Each incidence of bullying will be dealt with on a case by case basis. Co-op Academy Oakwood will support pupils relating to their needs.

Support may take the form of:

• Class-based support
• Building of friendship groups
• Education and support will also be given to the perpetrators of bullying to ensure that they make positive behaviour choices.
• Support from the pastoral team
• Support from external agencies
• Support with confidence and resilience
• Putting in safeguards to keep the victim and perpetrator separate
• Working with parents

Sanctions for bullying

Ensuring pupils are taught about bullying and understand its impact is key to our anti-bullying policy. Sanctions can be used by the academy if a pupil is the perpetrator of bullying. Decisions surrounding the sanctions will be considered by the SLT on a case-by-case basis. Sanctions could take the form of:

• alterations to timetables so that victim and alleged perpetrator(s) are separated to avoid sharing classes and sharing space
• behaviour plans
• support from the pastoral team
• internal seclusion
• fixed term exclusions
• permanent exclusion. Exclusions will be dealt with in line with the Exclusion Policy.

Bullying which occurs outside school premises

Where bullying outside school is reported to school staff, it should be investigated and acted on. The headteacher should also consider whether it is appropriate to notify the police or anti-social behaviour coordinator in their local authority of the action taken against a pupil. If the misbehaviour could be criminal or poses a serious threat to a member of the public, the police should always be informed. While school staff members have the power to discipline pupils for bullying that occurs outside school, they can only impose the disciplinary sanction and implement that sanction on the school premises or when the pupil is under the lawful control of school staff, for instance on a school trip.

Taken from Preventing and Tackling Bullying

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/623895/Preventing_and_tackling_bullying_advice.pdf