Anti-Bullying

Bullying can happen to anyone at any age. No one has the right to hurt you or make you feel bad, and if you are being bullied you don’t have to put up with it. Please make an adult at home or at school aware of it so we can help stop it.

What is bullying?

Bullying is an action or actions, usually repeated several times, that is intended to hurt someone weather emotionally or physically. Bullying can occur due to someone’s race, religion, sexual orientation or general appearance.

Types of bullying:

Physical – Thankfully this is very rare at Westlands Academy. Physical bullying is where a pupil is regularly threatened or physically assaulted. More often than not, the bully is scared of being found out and will carry out ‘secret kicks’ under the table or a shove in the corridor. All of our staff are always on the lookout for this so we aim to stop it quickly.

Verbal – This is the most common sort of bullying in Britain and includes regular name calling that is aimed at upsetting a person. Again our staff and the majority of our students are very aware of this and will report it straight away.

Cyber – This is a new sort of bullying and is the fastest growing type. Nasty messages that are posted privately or publicly about someone is cyber bullying and the person who does this could be breaking the law.

What to do if you are being bullied or know someone who is

The first thing to understand is that it is the bully who is weak, not the person who is being bullied. If you think you are being bullied, or you know someone who is, please tell an adult at home or school and let us deal with it. Bullies are always found out but please help us in making Westlands a bully free zone.

Useful Weblinks

http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/

https://www.kidscape.org.uk/

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect/bullying-and-cyberbullying/

https://www.childline.org.uk/Explore/Bullying/Pages/Bullyinginfo.aspx