At Oaklands, we are committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all of our pupils so they can learn in a relaxed and secure atmosphere. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at our school. If bullying does occur, all pupils should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively. We are a TELLING school. This means that anyone who knows that bullying is happening is expected to tell the staff.

What is Bullying?

Deliberately hurtful behaviour repeated over a period of time. Bullying can be:

Emotional – Being unfriendly, excluding, tormenting
Physical – Pushing, kicking, hitting, punching or any use of violence
Sexual – Unwanted physical contact or sexually abusive comments
Racist – Racial taunts, graffiti, gestures
Homophobic – Focussing on the issue of sexuality
Verbal – name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, teasing
Cyber – All areas of the internet, such as email & internet chat room misuse, mobile threats by text messaging & calls, misuse of associated technology, i.e. camera and video facilities

What is not Bullying?

• Odd occasion falling out with friends
• name-calling, arguments
• Or when the occasional joke is played on someone (where no malice is intended)

What should you do if you or someone you know is being bullied?

• Tell an adult you trust about what is happening
• Don’t join in, it’s not cool to bully or to encourage bullying.
• Tell the person or people doing the bullying to stop, if it is safe to do so.
• Form a friendship group for the person being bullied to make sure they are not isolated.

Here are some useful links and resources: