Is it bullying?

It is if individuals or groups are:

• persistently calling your child names;
• threatening them;
• pressuring your child to give someone money or possessions;
• hitting/hurting your child;
• damaging or stealing your child's possessions;
• spreading rumours about your child or your family;
• using text, email or web spaces to write or say hurtful things about your child (cyber bullying).

It is also bullying if your child feels hurt because of things said about their ethnic background, religious faith, gender, sexuality, disability, special educational need, appearance or specific issues in your family.

What should you do if your child is being bullied?

Talk to school staff about the bullying. At Lindsworth School your first contact point to report concerns about bullying is your child’s Pastoral Manager.  They are best contacted on 0121 693 5363, or by email at enquiry@lindsworth.bham.sch.uk.

It will help to sort out what action to take if you can bear in mind that the teacher may have no idea that your child is being bullied or may have heard conflicting accounts of an incident.

• Be as specific as possible about what your child says has happened.
• Give dates, places and names of other pupils involved.
• Make a note of what action the school intends to take.
• Ask if there is anything you can do to help your child.
• Stay in touch with the school; let them know if things improve as well as if problems continue.

What will Lindsworth School do?

Lindsworth School does not tolerate bullying. This is what we do about bullying:

• work to make sure that the person being bullied is safe;
• work to stop the bullying happening again;
• provide support to the person being bullied;
• take actions to ensure that the person doing the bullying is supported to help them understand the consequences of their actions and change their behaviour.

 Families who feel that their concerns are not being addressed appropriately by the school might like to consider the following steps:

• check with the school Anti-Bullying Policy to see if agreed procedures are being followed;
• make an appointment to discuss the matter with the Headteacher and keep a record of the meeting and if this does not help, write to the Chair of Governors explaining your concerns and what you would like to see happening.