Anti-bullying
The Lighthouse Multi Academy Trust do not tolerate bullying of any kind and no member of the MAT community should ever turn a blind eye to bullying.
All members of Field Road Academy will be encouraged not to accept bullying of any form and if they ever experience, see or suspect bullying is taking place to ALWAYS speak up and TELL someone. ALL OF US WILL LISTEN and ALL OF US WILL ACT by involving appropriate staff.
There are steps we take to keep children and young people safe from bullying. Our staff are always available to talk to the children about their worries and make sure they know where they can go to for support. Through our PSHE curriculum we teach the children about bullying and how it can make people feel. We also teach the children about what to do if they feel they are being bullied, or know someone who is being bullied.
Please visit the Policies page on the website to read the Academy Anti Bullying policy for more information.
What is bullying?
Bullying is repeated, intentional behaviour that is meant to hurt someone physically or emotionally and often involves an imbalance of power. It can take many forms, including verbal abuse, physical aggression, social exclusion, and cyberbullying. This behaviour can occur anywhere, from school and work to online spaces, and can have serious and long-lasting negative impacts on a person's mental health and well-being.
Types of bullying
- Physical bullying: Hitting, pushing, kicking, or other forms of unwanted physical contact.
- Verbal bullying: Name-calling, teasing, sarcasm, spreading rumours, or making threats.
- Prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying, including:
- Homophobic/biphobic/ transphonic bullying – being hurtful or showing a dislike of or prejudice against someone’s sexual orientation
- Racist bullying- being hurtful about your skin colour or ethnicity
- Sizeist- being hurtful about your body size
- Sexist bullying- being hurtful about your sex, like saying mean things about you being a girl
- Religious bullying – being hurtful about your belief or faith
- Disabled bullying – being hurtful towards someone with disabilities.
- Emotional/Psychological bullying: Intimidation, manipulation, humiliation, and social exclusion.
- Sexual bullying: Explicit sexual remarks, display of sexual material, sexual gestures, unwanted physical attention, comments about sexual reputation or performance, or inappropriate touching
- Cyberbullying: Using electronic technology like phones and social media to harass, threaten, or spread rumours. Targeting someone online, often anonymously.
Who is at risk?
Any child can be bullied for any reason. If a child is seen as different in some way, or seen as an easy target they can be more at risk.
Signs of bullying
No single sign will indicate for certain that your child's being bullied, but watch out for:
- belongings getting 'lost' or damaged
- physical injuries, such as unexplained bruises
- being afraid to go to school, being mysteriously 'ill' each morning, or skipping school
- a change in how they are doing at school, including not handing homework in
- asking for, or stealing, money (to give to whoever's bullying them)
- a change in behaviour, including being nervous, losing confidence, or becoming distressed and withdrawn
- a change in eating or sleeping habits
Useful websites for support
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zj9h6g8
https://www.kidscape.org.uk/i-am-a-young-person
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/types-of-abuse/bullying-and-cyberbullying/
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/young-person/coping-with-life/bullying/