Help us to stamp out bullying! What is Bullying?  Bullying is when somebody does something unkind or hurtful (physically or verbaly) Several Times On Purpose (STOP). It is when the same person or group of people are picked on over and over again. This can happen anywhere and can be about anything. It is NEVER acceptable.   There can be lots of types of bullying:  Physically hurting someone (punching, kicking, pushing etc) Calling names/ saying unkind things (including using inappropriate language) Excluding someone and not letting them join in Spreading rumours about people or saying nasty things about them to others Cyber bullying (sending nasty messages, pictures or comments to people) Making fun of people for being different (beliefs, appearances or ethnicities) Laughing at people unkindly and making fun of them in front of others Bullies want to make others feel like they do not have any power. At St John’s we believe we always have the power to stop bullying if we all work together. Nobody deserves to be bullied. Everyone should be treated with kindness and respect. We are a TELLING school: we encourage all members of our school community to report bullying. What to do if your child is being bullied Help your child to talk to you. Praise your child for telling you. Help your child feel valued and important. Make sure your child knows who to go to for help. Tell your child you need to involve the school and talk to us as soon as possible. Keep any text messages, emails or website comments. What to do if your child is a witness to bullying Help your child to tell you what is happening. Remind your child that they are not ‘telling tales’, they are helping stop a dangerous situation. Talk to your child about what they can do to help a child who is being bullied: tell a teacher what is going on be friendly to the other child include the other child in games   What to do if you are told your child is bullying others Listen to their side of the story. Try not to call them a ‘bully’ – it’s a label that sticks. Remind them that you love them – it’s the behaviour that you do not like. Talk to them about other people’s feelings and how much their behaviour hurts, upsets and frightens the person they are bullying. Talk to them about anything that is making them unhappy or angry. v The anti-bullying lead at St John’s School is Miss Bodley rbod2277@st-johns-banbury.oxon.sch.uk