Introduction

Our anti-bullying initiatives at Felixstowe School are called ‘Welcome, Safe and Heard’. This reflects our vision that every student and every member of staff should feel included, listened to, and safe while they are part of the Felixstowe School community.

Please click here to view our Anti-Bullying Policy.

Preventing Bullying Behaviour

‘Welcome, Safe and Heard’ assemblies take place multiple times throughout the year to remind students of the expectations of their behaviour, and what to do if they are the target of bullying behaviour or witness it taking place.

Students have been presented with the definition of bullying behaviour, and informed that this behaviour is not tolerated at Felixstowe School.

Bullying Behaviour – Any repeated negative behaviour intended to make someone feel upset, uncomfortable or unsafe.

It is important that when bullying behaviour is witnessed, it is reported. This helps to protect everyone in the school community, and ensures that issues can be dealt with early on.

We encourage students to promote positive behaviours, especially acts of kindness, which encourage a positive and inclusive culture where everyone can feel welcome, safe and heard.

Anti-Bullying Ambassadors

We currently have eight Anti-Bullying Ambassadors, who have been trained through the Diana Award. They meet weekly to plan campaigns and projects aimed at reducing and eliminating bullying behaviour across the school.

They have a weekly presence every Wednesday lunchtime in the Atrium, where they are available for students to speak to, and if necessary, students can report any bullying incidents directly.

Anti-Bullying Ambassadors wear their badges with pride, and they play a valuable role in promoting the ‘Welcome, Safe and Heard’ culture.

Social Media and Internet Use

We encourage students to use the internet safely and respectfully, and appreciate the additional challenges the internet poses to students, parents and families. This can create opportunities for online bullying behaviour, sometimes called ‘cyber bullying’.

We have five top tips for students when they are using the internet and social media:

• Think about what you are posting – is it true, kind and necessary? If posting images, videos or links to other websites, a good question to ask is ‘would my grandparents be happy with me posting this?’. If not, it’s probably best not to post or share.
   
• Check the age limits on social media – you need to be over 13 years old to use most social media accounts and websites, and over 18 years old to have your own YouTube account if you do not have parental permission. These age limits are designed to protect young people from harm.
   
• Check your privacy settings – check how many people you are sharing with. Is a post or message public or private? Checking your privacy settings might seem hard work, but it’s worth it to protect your account and prevent strangers accessing your content. Never give your usernames, passwords or logins to anyone else.
   
• Delete out of date data – young adults are regularly in the news after their old messages, tweets or videos have been found or shared years later on social media. If you don’t want messages or posts to be used against you in the future, make sure you delete them.
   
• Don’t respond- screenshot, block and report – if you experience bullying behaviour online, it is best not to respond to it. Instead, screenshot the messages (if appropriate), block the individual, and report the incident to the relevant social network or website. Many will keep you updated with the progress of your report and what action has been taken.

The Anti Bullying Alliance (2000) reports that nearly three out of four children (72%) who had experienced an online bullying behaviour experienced at least some of it at school or during school time. This makes it even more important that incidents of bullying behaviour (both online and offline) are reported quickly.