The Greek Academy Anti-Bullying Policy
Definition of Bullying: Bullying is defined as behaviour by an individual or group, repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group, either physically, emotionally, sexually, or through social media. Bullying can take many forms and may be motivated by prejudice against groups based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, special educational needs or disabilities, or because a child is adopted, in care, or has caring responsibilities. It can be driven by actual or perceived differences between children.
Main Types of Bullying:
- Emotional (verbal): Being unfriendly, name-calling, insulting, threats, whispering about the victim, making racist or other deliberately hurtful remarks.
- Physical: Pushing, punching, hitting, biting, kicking, hiding belongings, or any use of violence.
- Racial and Religious: Making racial comments, graffiti, gestures.
- Sexual: Unwanted physical contact, sexually abusive comments, or any inappropriate touching.
- Homophobic: Bullying based on sexuality, including issues related to same-sex parents.
- Direct or Indirect: Name-calling, spreading unpleasant stories, gossiping, laughing at someone, excluding someone from social groups, intimidation, sarcasm.
- Cyber-Bullying: Misuse of the internet, email, text messaging, photographs, social media, prank calls, and apps.
Actions We Will Take:
Pupils are encouraged to approach a member of staff if they are being bullied. They should understand that:
- It will be taken seriously.
- It will be investigated, and appropriate action will be taken.
- It will be recorded. All cases of bullying will be reported to the Head of School and the TGA committee, who will work closely with the class teacher to establish the facts and liaise with the children and their parents.
Support for Pupils Who Have Been Bullied:
- They will be offered an immediate opportunity to discuss the experience with a teacher or staff member.
- The level of support will depend on the individual circumstances and needs.
Support for Pupils Who Have Bullied:
- Discussing what happened.
- Establishing the wrongdoing and the need to change.
- Discussing the effect on the other child.
- Trying to understand the motivation behind the bullying.
- Offering support.
- Informing parents or guardians to help change the pupil’s attitude.
Parents of all children involved will be kept informed regularly and their support will be expected. If bullying persists, the school will implement disciplinary sanctions. The consequences will reflect the seriousness of the incident, showing that bullying is unacceptable. Pupils who persistently bully others risk losing their place at the school.
All Staff Responsibilities:
- Promote the emotional well-being of individual pupils.
- Create an ethos of good behaviour and teach children the right way to behave.
Class Teacher Responsibilities:
- Listen to children and provide opportunities for them to discuss issues (e.g., through thought boxes or worry catchers).
- Create an inclusive environment where pupils can discuss bullying without fear of discrimination.
- Explain how actions affect others.
- Discuss differences that could motivate bullying, such as religion, ethnicity, disability, gender, sexuality, or appearance.
- Teach that prejudice-based language is unacceptable.
- Note changes in friendship groups.
- Observe the socialisation of new pupils.
- Identify potentially vulnerable pupils.
- Address low-level incidents promptly to prevent escalation.
- Monitor attendance, lateness, and sickness patterns.
- Be aware of withdrawn behaviour or sudden drops in achievement.
- Be mindful of unintended outcomes when forming groups or pairs.
- Act immediately on parent suspicions or advice from support staff.
- Raise awareness through Circle Time, E-safety, and computing lessons.
- Provide pupils opportunities to discuss concerns and current affairs.
- Teach strategies to deal with bullying incidents.
Role of All Pupils at The Greek Academy:
- Care for each other and report any unkind behaviour or verbal abuse to any adult.
- Report bullying that occurs outside school, including cyber-bullying.
- Support peers who are targets of hurtful behaviour. Be a good friend and remember it could be you.
- Think before speaking unkind words and be aware of how your behaviour may be perceived.
- Never touch another pupil aggressively.
- Include others in social activities and involve everyone when possible.
- Do not suffer in silence. Reporting bullying is not ‘telling tales’.