Anti-Bullying: A Parents Guide

We take a zero tolerance approach to all types of bullying at Marine Academy. We firmly believe that every member of our community has the right to attend school without the fear of being bullied. We are working in partnership with the Diana Award to empower our students, giving them the relevant skills to effectively tackle bullying and all behaviours associated with it. We challenge our students to be upstanders and not bystanders.

If you have just found out that your child is experiencing bullying behaviour, it can be an emotional situation for both you and your child. Please find below a step by step Action Plan for you to use when working with the Academy to address the bullying behaviour. There are also additional steps you can take to further escalate your concerns should the bullying behaviour continue.

Step one: Talk about it

Talk to your child about what has happened and what they would like to do next.

It is important that your child is able to verbalise what has happened factually and clearly. It may be useful to talk through the incident with them so they have what happened clear in their mind before they come in to school to speak with staff.

Step two: Make contact with the school

Your child is to come in and speak with their Head of year who will be able to ascertain key details and take the appropriate actions.

Alternatively, you can contact the year team who can book in a meeting with you or discuss the incident over the phone.

Please remember the most effective way for us to deal with any concerns is to speak with the student directly so that we have the most accurate information.

You can also complete a form online reporting your concerns. This will also go directly to the Head of Year.

https://www.marineacademy.org.uk/how-to-report-bullying

Step three: Has the bullying behaviour stopped?

• Is your child receiving the support that they need?

• Is your child’s confidence beginning to grow?

YES

The situation has been resolved. However, we as a school will ensure that we keep in contact with parents and regular check in with the student to ensure you and your child feel fully supported. This is because we do not want a recurrence of the situation.

NO

Arrange a meeting with your child’s Head of Year. In this meeting, we will discuss next steps and what other support now needs to be put into place.

Step four - Escalate your concerns

You can escalate your concerns by putting your concerns in writing. Please address this to Mr Christopher Watmore, Associate Assistant Principal; Pastoral Care and Next Steps (Christopher.Watmore@marineacademy.org.uk) and copy in the relevant Head of Year