At Ringwood School we are committed to preventing and tackling bullying behaviour. If left unaddressed, we know that bullying behaviour can have a significant negative impact on students’ mental health and well-being. It is therefore vital that we work together (staff, students and parents/carers) to ensure that bullying behaviour is reported and actioned.

At Ringwood School we use the Anti-Bullying Alliance’s definition of bullying behaviour:

‘The repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or psychological. It can happen face to face or online’.

This video by the Anti-Bullying Alliance helps explain the definition: Anti-Bullying Alliance Definition of Bullying (youtube.com)

We educate our staff and students on how to recognise bullying behaviour, the impact of bullying behaviour, and the importance of reporting incidents of bullying behaviour to ensure the safety of all our students. Reporting bullying behaviour is safeguarding, not snitching.

How can bullying behaviour be reported?

Bullying behaviour can be reported by anyone (students, staff, parents/carers, or anyone in our local community) and in many different ways:

• In person – students can speak to any member of staff to report bullying behaviour, however the best place to go during the school day is the On Call base (by Student Reception).
• Email – students can email any member of staff to report bullying behaviour, but the best people to email are our safeguarding team: safeguarding@ringwood.hants.sch.uk. Staff, parents/carers and other adults should all report bullying behaviour by emailing this address.
• Telephone – parents/carers/members of the local community may wish to call reception (01425 475000) and ask to speak to a member of the safeguarding team or their child’s Head of Year to report bullying behaviour.
• The Worry Box – some students may feel more comfortable reporting bullying behaviour via the Worry Box on our school website; this report can be done anonymously.

What happens if bullying behaviour is reported?

We follow a three-step process when following up on incidents of bullying behaviour and our definition will be kept in mind when deciding if an incident should be defined as “bullying behaviour” or not.

Sanctions for bullying behaviour

We have a three-step process for sanctions following confirmed incidents of bullying behaviour. We recognise that students sometimes need support and education to help them become better friends, however if the behaviour becomes repetitive then the sanctions become more serious. Incidents of bullying behaviour are recorded on Arbor for all students involved, alongside the support/education offered or given (as outlined in the ‘Action’ step above).

Our full Prevention of Bullying policy can be found here: https://www.ringwood.hants.sch.uk/policies

Useful links and resources

A full list of useful links and resources can be found in the last section of our Prevention of Bullying Policy. The two sources referenced on this webpage are:

• The Diana Award: www.dianaaward.org.uk
• The AntiBullying Alliance: https://antibullyingalliance.org.uk/

Parents/carers may also find this guide to anti-bullying, written by The Diana Award, helpful. Please find it at the bottom of the page.