Anti-Bullying

At Boughton-under-Blean and Dunkirk Methodist Primary School we work hard to ensure that it is a bully-free zone. We want everyone in our school to feel safe and valued. We are committed to ensuring that all pupils learn in a supportive, caring and safe environment without fear of being bullied. Our school is a place where every person has the right to be themselves, to be included and to learn.

What is Bullying?

Bullying is defined as 'behaviour by an individual or group, usually repeated over time, which intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally' (DfE definition).

No form of bullying will be tolerated and all incidents will be taken seriously and dealt with in line with our anti-bullying policy.

How do we prevent bullying in our school?

We are really proud of the work that we do to stop bullying in our school.

We have 32 Anti-bullying Ambassadors (ABAs) from Years 3-6 who help lead on our anti-bullying initiatives. They are our eyes and ears on the playground, run games and activities for the other pupils and run competitions to promote anti-bullying. They also help to spread the message to the classes by helping to lead assemblies and teach activities in class.

Each year, we as a school take part in Anti-Bullying Week (held in the month of November). Anti-Bullying Week shines a spotlight on bullying and encourages all children, teachers and parents to take action against bullying. Over the course of Anti-Bullying Week, we hold a school assembly and each class completes a number of activities designed at educating the children about what bullying is and how to deal with its different forms effectively. However, as a school we believe that anti- bullying is not just one week of the school year. Therefore we participate in activities throughout the school year in PSHE lessons to strengthen the children’s understanding.

Children can report bullying behaviours in a number of ways. Every class has a worry box where children can report any worries they may have. There is an anti-bullying post box located on our playground. Children can also report any concerns to our ABAs. This website also has a worry box function which can be used to report any concerns. Class teachers are available every morning on the playground before school for any parents who wish to raise any concerns. Our FLO, Laura, is also available in the Wellbeing Hub every lunchtime for children to talk to. We complete annual pupil surveys to collect their views on bullying.

This year we took part in the United Against Bullying programme by the Anti-Bullying Alliance. As part of this we asked pupils to complete questionnaires about bullying and wellbeing and used the findings to create an action plan. We had to submit evidence for review including case studies. We are really proud that we were given the United Against Bullying Gold Award for our work on anti-bullying. Please see our certificate below.

UAB Gold Award

Key members of staff:

Mr Simon Way, Head Teacher 

Mrs Jo Cottenden, Deputy Head Teacher
Laura Jakob, Family Liaison Officer