Approved by the Governing body : October 2022
Date of next review: Autumn 2024
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OUR L ADY IMMACUL ATE CATHOL IC PRIMARY SCHOOL
ANTI-B UL L YING POL ICY
(To be read in conjunction with the policy on Behaviour and Discipline also Care and Control Policy.)
1 Introduction
1.1 It is a legal requirement, under Section 89 of the Schools and Inspections Act 2006, that all
maintained schools must have in place measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils, and
that these should be part of the school’s behaviour and Anti-Bullying policies. We believe this
policy should be a working document that is fit for purpose, represents the school ethos, enables
consistency and quality across the school.
1.2 DFE guidance defines bullying as: “Behaviour by an individual or group, repeated over time, that
intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally”. The guidance
goes on to say that, “Bullying can take many forms (for instance, cyber-bullying via text messages
or the internet), and is often motivated by prejudice against particular groups, for example on
grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or because a child is adopted or has caring
responsibilities”. Bullying can be direct (either physical or verbal) or indirect (e.g. being ignored or
excluded from social interaction).
1.3 This policy has due regard to all relevant legislation and statutory guidance.
1.4 At Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School we encourage our children to understand Bullying
behaviours in a way which is commensurate with their age and development. Consequently, the
children are given the opportunity to provide their own clear definitions. Currently these
definitions are:-
Foundation Stage. “A bully is someone that makes us sad and scared every day. Make friends not
bullies.”
Key Stage One. “Bullying is hurting another person on purpose more than once……so you can be a
good friend by being kind in what you say and do.”
Key Stage 2. “Bullying is when a person or group of people physically or verbally mistreats or hurts
others including through any form of social media which is deliberately repeated over time,.”
1.5 The School Council have drawn up our Ant-Bullying Charter. All members of the school community
are invited to sign up to it. It is displayed around school and all visitors are made aware of it.
At Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School we do not tolerate bullying.
We treat others in the way we would like to be treated ourselves;-
We will;-
Include everyone
Make people welcome here
Say something if we see something
Do our best to keep each other safe
Encourage friendships to grow
Look after each others’ feelings
2 Aims and objectives
Approved by the Governing body : October 2022
Date of next review: Autumn 2024
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2.1 Bullying is wrong and damages children. We therefore do all we can to prevent it, by developing a
school ethos in which bullying is properly understood and regarded as wholly unacceptable.
2.2 We aim, as a school, to produce a safe and secure environment where all can learn without
anxiety, and measures are in place to reduce the likelihood of bullying.

Our Lady Immaculate understands that, under the Equality Act 2010, we have a responsibility to:
• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, including sexual harassment, victimisation and any other
conduct prohibited by the act.
• Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who
do not share it.
• Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share
it.
The headteacher will ensure that this policy complies with the HRA (Human Rights Act); understanding that they
cannot do this without fully involving their teaching staff.
Although bullying itself is not a criminal offence, some types of harassment, threatening behaviour and/or
communications may be considered criminal offences:
• Under the Malicious Communications Act 1988, it is an offence for a person to electronically
communicate with another person with the intent to cause distress or anxiety, or in a way which conveys
a message which is indecent or grossly offensive, a threat, or contains information which is false and
known or believed to be false by the sender.
• The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 makes it an offence to knowingly pursue any course of conduct
amounting to harassment.
• Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it an offence to send, by means of a public electronic
communications network, a message, or other matter, that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene
or menacing character. It is unlawful to disseminate defamatory information through any media,
including internet sites.
• Other forms of bullying which are illegal and should be reported to the police include violence or assault,
theft, repeated harassment or intimidation, and hate crimes.
Prevention
We clearly communicate a whole-school commitment to addressing bullying and have a clear set of values and
standards which will be regularly promoted across the whole school.
All members of the school will be made aware of this policy and their responsibilities in relation to it. All staff
members will receive training on identifying and dealing with the different types of bullying.
All types of bullying will be discussed as part of the relationships and health education curriculum, in line with the
Primary Relationships and Health Education Policy.
Our curriculum will explore and discuss issues at age-appropriate stages such as:
• Healthy and respectful relationships.
• Boundaries and consent.
Approved by the Governing body : October 2022
Date of next review: Autumn 2024
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• Stereotyping, prejudice and equality.
• Body confidence and self-esteem.
• How to recognise abusive relationships and coercive control.
• Harmful sexual behaviour, the concepts involved and why they are always unacceptable, and the
laws relating to it.
Staff will encourage pupil cooperation and the development of interpersonal skills using group and pair work.
Diversity, difference and respect for others will be promoted and celebrated through various lessons.
Opportunities to extend friendship groups and interactive skills will be provided through participation in special
events, e.g. drama productions, sporting activities and cultural groups.
Seating plans will be organised and altered in a way that prevents instances of bullying. Potential victims of
bullying will be placed in working groups with other pupils who do not abuse or take advantage of others.
2.3 This policy aims to produce a consistent school response to any bullying incidents that may occur.
Incident is logged on CPOMs
Class teacher and head gather the views of all children involved.
Review any current Behaviour Support Plans and /or Positive Handling Plans.
Restorative practices.
Learning opportunities are undertaken.
Close supervision afterwards to ensure children involved are supported
3 The role of the teacher and support staff
3.1 All the staff in our school take all forms of bullying seriously and seek to prevent it from taking
place.
3.2 All members of staff routinely attend in-service training which is led by the PSHE co-ordinator
training, which equips them to identify bullying and to follow school policy and procedures with
regard to behaviour management.
3.3 Teachers and other members of staff are particularly aware of the recent increasing opportunities
for ‘cyber bullying’ through text messaging on mobile phones, or on social networking sites on the
Internet. The school takes steps to make parents and carers aware of the dangers of unsupervised
use of mobiles phones or the Internet (Mobile Phone Policy) and to educate pupils about the
proper use of modern technologies. Each class teacher will deliver E-Safety as part of both the
computing curriculum but also PSHE.
3.4 Teachers use a range of methods to help prevent bullying and to establish a climate of trust and
respect for all. They use drama, role-play, stories etc., within the formal curriculum, to help pupils
understand and empathise with the feelings of bullied children, and to practise the restraint
required to avoid lapsing into bullying behaviour. Circle time is used to praise, reward and
celebrate the success of all children, and thus to help create a positive atmosphere. Within
Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Lower Key Stage 2, children benefit from them opportunity to
take part in the Massage in Schools Programme. Daily peer massage sessions take place in order to
promote positive relationships and communication skills.
Approved by the Governing body : October 2022
Date of next review: Autumn 2024
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4 The role of the headteacher
4.1 It is the responsibility of the headteacher to implement the school anti-bullying policies and related
strategies, and to ensure that all staff (both teaching and non-teaching) are aware of the school
policy, and know how to identify and deal with incidents of bullying. The headteacher reports to
the governing body about the effectiveness of the anti-bullying policy, on request.
4.2 The headteacher ensures that all children know that bullying is wrong, and that it is unacceptable
behaviour in this school. The whole school Code of Conduct clearly reminds everyone of the shared
values which are important at school. The headteacher draws the attention of children to this fact
at suitable moments. For example, if an incident occurs, the headteacher may decide to use an
assembly as the forum in which to discuss with other children why such behaviour is wrong, and
the actions which the school is taking to prevent it.
4.3 The headteacher ensures that all staff, including lunchtime staff, receive sufficient training to be
equipped to identify and deal with all incidents of bullying.
4.4 The headteacher sets the school climate of mutual support and praise for success, thereby making
bullying less likely. When children feel they are important and belong to a friendly and welcoming
school, bullying is far less likely to be part of their behaviour.
5 The role of governors
5.1 The governing body supports the headteacher in all attempts to eliminate bullying from our school.
The governing body will not condone any bullying at all in our school, and any incidents of bullying
that do occur will be taken very seriously, and dealt with appropriately.
5.2 The governing body monitors incidents of bullying that do occur, and reviews the effectiveness of
this policy regularly. The governors require the headteacher to keep accurate records of all
incidents of bullying, and to report to the governors on request about the effectiveness of school
anti-bullying strategies.
5.3 A parent who is dissatisfied with the way the school has dealt with a bullying incident can ask the
chair of governors to look into the matter. The governing body responds within ten days to any
request from a parent to investigate incidents of bullying. In all cases, the governing body notifies
the headteacher, and asks him/her to conduct an investigation into the case, and to report back to
a representative of the governing body.
6 The role of parents and carers
6.1 Parents and carers who are concerned that their child might be being bullied, or who suspect that
their child may be the perpetrator of bullying, should contact their child’s class teacher
immediately. If they are not satisfied with the outcome of this, they should contact the
headteacher. If they remain concerned that their worries have not been taken seriously or acted
upon appropriately, they should follow the school’s Complaints Procedure, as detailed in the
school Prospectus.
6.2 Parents and carers should be aware of the increasing dangers of ‘cyber bullying’, through the
sending of text messages to mobile phones or the posting of personal information or views on
Approved by the Governing body : October 2022
Date of next review: Autumn 2024
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social networking sites, and should exercise due parental responsibility in supervising their
children’s use of phones and the Internet.
6.3 Parents and carers have a responsibility to support the school’s anti-bullying policy, actively
encouraging their child to be a positive member of the school.
7 The role of pupils
7.1 Pupils are encouraged to tell anybody they trust if they think they are being bullied, and if the
bullying continues, they must keep on letting people know.
7.2 Pupils are invited to tell us their views about a range of school issues, including bullying when
pupil voice is collected in the form of school council discussions or pupil questionnaires.
7.3 Our School Council has developed its own anti-bullying charter and has an important role in
monitoring the effectiveness of our policy, and communicating their views to school staff.
8 Monitoring and review
8.1 This policy is monitored on a day-to-day basis by the headteacher, who reports to governors on
request about the effectiveness of the policy.
8.2 The anti-bullying policy is the governors’ responsibility, and they review its effectiveness annually.
They do this by examining the school’s anti-bullying logbook, where incidents of bullying are
recorded, and by discussion with the headteacher. Governors analyse information for patterns of
involvement of people, places or groups. They look out in particular for racist bullying, or bullying
directed at children with disabilities or special educational needs, having regard to the Equality Act
2010.
8.3 This policy will be reviewed every two years or sooner if necessary