Dorset Road Infant School has an anti-bullying policy which is available on our school website. We cannot say that bullying will never occur but we will do our best to resolve any incidents and ensure the children know who to talk to and where to find help. If you have any concerns about bullying please talk to your child’s teacher or any member of the Senior Leadership Team.

What to do if a child is being bullied? Staff will:

Investigate

Investigate bullying incidents thoroughly and talk to everyone involved, e.g. witnesses and appropriate staff

Record

Record the incident – Get a written statement from all individuals involved. This may include staff and other children. If a child cannot write down what happened you should scribe for them.

Respond

Respond to the child concerned by:

• Listening actively
• Offering support and strategies to deal with unacceptable behaviour
• Protecting the child and ensure their safety,  as and when necessary
• Involving parents
• Involving external agencies to support the child as appropriate

Respond to the child who bullied by:

• Ensuring he/she recognises his/her behaviour and how it affects others
• Applying appropriate sanctions
• Guiding, supporting, advising and offering strategies to change behaviour
• Encouraging him/her to take responsibility for actions and help them to make amends
• Involving parents                                                                                                   ]

Prevent

Prevent further situations by providing opportunities for children to explore the issues. This will take the form of a circle time or discussion with all children involved. Children should have an opportunity to discuss their feelings and how the actions and behaviours made them feel. The children should also help to construct a solution to the issue.

Review

Review the situation with the child and parents and others, throughout the investigation and afterwards. Review policies and procedures - consider changes that can be made to environment, groupings, rules and codes of conduct etc.

Monitor the situation

Provide opportunities for children to say how safe they feel and if the policy is working. This should take place on a regular basis.