Principles

  • Bullying behaviour is unacceptable in any form.
  • All children have a right to an education free from fear, harassment, or degradation.
  • Bullying behaviour is a problem for both the bully and victim alike.
  • Best outcomes follow when the setting can work with parents to address concerns about bullying behaviour and victimisation.

Definition

  • Behaviour by one person or group intended or perceived to cause hurt, pain, suffering, humiliation or degradation to another person or group.
  • Including (but not limited to) – Racism, Sexism, Disablism, Homophobia, Xenophobia

Scope

  • Redwood Early Years is legally responsible only for incidents of bullying which occur on the setting premises.  It is however concerned about pupils conduct and welfare outside school and will address issues that come to light from other sources.

Prevention

  • Redwood Early Years has a zero-tolerance attitude to bullying.  All staff have a responsibility for dealing with this problem.  Children will have their awareness of the issue raised through a variety of learning experiences and be informed of the setting’s expectations about the unacceptability of bullying and what to do if they experience or are aware of bullying by others.

Parental Involvement

  • Redwood Early Years recognises the important part parents/carers play in supporting their children and promoting change.  Our setting welcomes the active involvement of parents (of both victim and bully) in bringing this problem under control.  Parents/carers will be kept informed of any concerns the setting has about their children in relation to this issue.

Implementation

  • All staff are responsible for the rigorous application of this policy and ensuring that the incidents falling within the setting’s definition are properly recorded.

Post-Incident Responses

  • For the Victim – protection, sympathy/empathy/counselling, and advice on how to avoid future incidents, mediation (where appropriate) and support.

For the child responsible – reinforcement that behaviour is unacceptable, proportionate use of fairly and consistently applied sanctions (possibly of exclusion for serious cases); advice and instruction on how to behave better, reinforcement and support for improved behaviour (in line with our Achieving Positive Behaviour policy)