Bullying

At Locking we are committed to developing an anti-bullying culture where the bullying of adults, children or young people is not tolerated in any form.

Bullying can take place Face to Face, Online, on games and apps and on Social Media platforms and can take many different forms including physical and emotional.  Locking aims to prevent and tackle all forms of bullying by teaching our children what is safe and unsafe behaviour, what is a healthy friendship and the difference between jokes and banter and when this becomes bullying.

By effectively preventing and tackling bullying our school can help to create a safe and disciplined environment, where pupils are able to learn and fulfil their potential.

Our pupils are actively involved in the prevention of bullying behaviours.  We are developing Anti-Bullying ambassadors  who are children across the school who are positive role models and act to support and reinforce the development of healthy relationships in the school.  They are creating anti-bullying campaigns in the school and embedding messages in the wider school curriculum. 

As a school we joined the Diana Awards to train pupils and staff in helping to educate the whole school community as to what bullying is, how to prevent this and how to support children to develop more healthy choices relating to friendship behaviours.

To learn more about the Diana Award please go to their website.

The Diana Awards Anti-Bullying Ambassador programme sees trainers working with pupils to change the attitude surrounding bullying. The programme has a strong peer to peer focus, with trainers giving pupils the skills and confidence to become Anti-Bullying Ambassadors to tackle bullying in their school long after the training has finished. The Diana Awards anti-bullying work is recognised as world class, thanks to this sustainable approach. 

The training looked at bullying in different situations including face to face and online. At the end of the day pupils started an action plan of how to approach bullying issues that may arise in their school and committed to their roles as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors. 

The Diana Award by the charity was founded as a legacy to Diana, Princess of Wales' belief that young people have the power to change the world for the better. Its mission is to foster, develop and inspire positive change in the lives of children.

Take a look at the links below if you would like to know more. 

• https://diana-award.org.uk/anti-bullying/
• https://www.facebook.com/thedianaaward
• https://twitter.com/dianaaward
• https://www.instagram.com/dianaaward/

Our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors received their certificates and badges for completing the training and discussed ideas for their future campaigns. 

Why is bullying a safeguarding concern?

Whether bullying is taking place online or in person, children are negatively impacted and affected by it.  They can be physically and emotionally hurt by bullying behaviours and it is important that as a school and parents we take steps to make sure that children are supported and that we address bullying directly.

What can you do if you are worried your child is being bullied?

• reassure them that they have done the right thing by telling you and can always talk to a trusted adult
• let them know who can help them
• report the bullying to school
• report the bullying to the platform/social media app
• remind your child that online behaviour
• talk to your child:  tell them about what a healthy friendship looks like
• show your child what is safe behaviour

What work do we do in school to address bullying?

• Listening to all children who are involved
• Support for children
• Pastoral support work:  1:1 or nurture sessions
• A curriculum that discusses online safety/safe behaviours
• Small groups focusing on healthy friendships and healthy online behaviours
• Individual work with those that are displaying bullying behaviours
• Assemblies to talk about expectations of behaviour
• External organisations to teach children about bullying, to gain support for children who have been bullied
• Clear focus on Respect throughout the school
• Challenege of "banter" and how this links to bullying
• Listening to what parents are saying about how we manage bullying and supporting parents

If you are concerned that your child is being bullied or is bullying someone please contact the school and talk to the Safeguarding Team or for more information please see our anti bullying leaflet below.