What is Bullying?
We aim to ensure that students learn in a supportive, caring and safe environment at Atherton High School, without fear of being bullied. Bullying is anti-social behaviour and affects everyone: it is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Only when all issues of bullying are addressed will students be able to fully benefit from the opportunities available at our school.
Atherton High School is committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe establishment for all our students, so they can learn in a positive and secure environment. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at Atherton High School. If bullying does occur, all students should inform any member of staff and be confident that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively.
Bullying is the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It can happen face to face or online.
If you are being bullied in any way or are worried about somebody else who might be you must tell somebody. As a school we take bullying very seriously. Pupils and parents should be assured that they will be supported when bullying is reported.
Bullying behaviour can be:
- Physical – pushing, poking, kicking, hitting, biting, taking someone’s belongings.
- Verbal – name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, threats, teasing, belittling, racist or sexist comments.
- Emotional – isolating others, tormenting, hiding books, threatening gestures, ridicule, humiliation, intimidating, excluding, manipulation and coercion, tormenting, graffiti.
- Sexual – unwanted physical contact, inappropriate touching, abusive comments, homophobic abuse, exposure to inappropriate films, comments relating to sex or sexuality.
- Online/cyber – posting on social media, sharing photos, sending nasty text messages, social exclusion.
- Indirect – Can include the exploitation of individuals, spreading rumours, sending abusive texts, excluding somebody from a group.
Many of these types of bullying can take place in the online environment and this is known as “CYBER BULLYING” eg. Misuse of all areas of the Internet, inappropriate messaging and emailing, sending offensive or degrading images by phone or via the Internet, misuse of any social media.
If there are any serious offences reported this information may be given to other agencies to assist in helping you with your problem. For advice on cyberbullying go to the following Website: http://ceop.police.uk/
How to react
- Try to ignore bullies. Walk away and do not let them see that you are upset. Don’t give them the satisfaction of getting a reaction from you.
- If you can, calmly stand up for yourself and ask them to stop their behaviour.
- Try to stay with your friends and avoid being on your own.
What to do next
Tell someone you trust. This could be a friend, someone at home or a teacher. Alternatively, you could email HOY@athertonhigh.com, speak to one of the pastoral staff. Just talking to someone may help you to find a solution to the problem.
If parents/carers have any concerns, please contact your child’s Head of Year: enquiries@athertonhigh.com
