Cardinal Newman Catholic School

At Cardinal Newman we take an educative approach to bullying. Click here to see our anti bullying policy.

We provide pastoral support for both the victim and the instigator as we believe that bullying violates our Gospel Values and that all students need to be reminded of their worth as a child of God.

What is bullying and how can we identify it?

Bullying is any behaviour that makes someone feel upset, uncomfortable and unsafe. This is deliberate and repetitive and can take many forms such as Verbal, Indirect and Physical.

Types of bullying

Bullying can manifest itself in a number of ways but primarily has three things in common:

• There is an imbalance of power
• It is deliberate, hurtful behaviour
• It can be repeated over a period of time.

Bullying can also come in various forms:

• Verbal – insulting remarks, name calling
• Physical – hitting, kicking
• Indirect – excluding people from friendship groups, spreading rumours, bringing issues from outside of school into school
• Cyber bullying – Using social media, sending text messages etc within or outside school to directly or indirectly cause annoyance and hurt to another person. This also includes encouraging someone to send or sending inappropriate or illegal images.

Roles and responsibilities

All staff are responsible for the well-being of students. Within Cardinal Newman Catholic School there are key staff, in consultation with the Headteacher, who are responsible for the implementation of the school’s anti-bullying policy.

What should a student do if they think they are being bullied?

There are a range of ways for students to report any incidents that they see or experience.

1. Students can speak to a member of staff and report the incident – staff will complete a bullying referral form and this will then be passed to the staff anti bullying lead to be dealt with promptly
2. Students can email CN_SpeakUp@hccmac.co.uk for advice and support,
3. Students can speak to our trained anti bullying ambassadors in CA01 at break time
4. Students can use the post box in student reception. 

All students are asked to:

• Encourage the victim to speak to the anti-bullying ambassadors through drop-in sessions.
• Report the bullying to the email.
• Encourage the student not to isolate themselves.
• Involve themselves in discussion about bullying during pastoral time.

What happens if a student reports bullying?

Actions as a result of the reporting of bullying:

• Statements will be taken from parties involved.
• Appropriate investigation will occur informing parents and carers.
• A student may be issued a detention
• A student may be placed in the Reflection Zone
• Fixed term exclusion (if appropriate)
• Police involvement (if appropriate)
• Permanent exclusion (if appropriate)
• Meetings with parents
• Restorative Justice meetings between both parties.
• Continued monitoring or victim/bully with regular drop-in sessions.

Parents are encouraged to contact the school if they suspect their child is being bullied. In the first instance, this should be done via the relevant Head of Year.

Advice for parents/carers

Incorrect or inappropriate use is very often messaging on mobile phones to individuals through group chats.

We talk often about this in school but it remains the responsibility of ALL parents to manage and monitor their child’s usage of mobile phones and wider internet usage

• Be aware to the dangers of cyber-bullying and monitor your child’s online usage
• Set some time aside to speak with your child and advise them on ways they can keep themselves safe, speak up and avoid retaliation.
• Turn on in-built internet safety features
• Don’t retaliate
• Keep evidence
• Report cyberbullying to CEOP, police, or Childline 08001111
• Childline website: https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/types-bullying/bullying-cyberbullying/#:~:text=speaking%20to%20a%20counsellor%20using,practise%20saying%20things%20out%20loud.  
• Parents can also access the anti-bullying ambassador’s website on: https://www.antibullyingpro.com/resources
• NSPCC: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/bullying-and-cyberbullying/
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Anti bullying ambassadors

Our anti bullying ambassadors have all received training through The Diana Award Anti-bullying programme. The Diana Award Anti-Bullying Programme raises awareness of bullying behaviour and supports schools and young people to tackle it across the UK and beyond. The Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme has a strong peer-to-peer focus, with the facilitators giving young people the skills and confidence to become Ambassadors to tackle bullying in our school long after the training has finished. Their anti-bullying work is recognised as world-class thanks to this sustainable and youth-led approach.

You can read more here: https://diana-award.org.uk/our-programmes-and-initiatives/anti-bullying

Well done to Grace and Shabarish who won the anti-bullying poster competition, hopefully you spot these around the school. 

 

Please meet our team.

 

Well done to Grace and Shabarish who won the anti-bullying poster competition, hopefully you spot these around the school.