Bullying
Blue Sky Learning is committed to a policy of inclusion, equality and justice. We provide a caring and
safe place for all our children so that they can learn and play in a relaxed and secure environment. We believe that
bullying of any kind is completely unacceptable, and will not be tolerated in our setting.
We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young
people, to keep them safe and operate in a way that protects them.
What Is Bullying?
Bullying encompasses a range of behaviours which may be combined and may include the behaviours and actions we have set out below.
Verbal abuse:
- name-calling
- saying nasty things to or about a child or their family.
Physical abuse:
- hitting a child
- pushing a child
- physical assault.
Emotional abuse:
- making threats
- undermining a child
- excluding a child from a friendship group or activities.
Cyberbullying/online bullying:
- excluding a child from online games, activities or friendship groups
- sending threatening, upsetting or abusive messages
- creating and sharing embarrassing or malicious images or videos
- ‘trolling’ – sending menacing or upsetting messages on social networks, chat rooms or online games
- voting for or against someone in an abusive poll
- setting up hate sites or groups about a particular child
- creating fake accounts, hijacking or stealing online identities to embarrass a young person or cause trouble using their name.
We recognise that:
- bullying causes real distress and affects a person’s health and development and in some instances, bullying can cause significant harm
- all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or
belief, sex or sexual orientation, have the right to equal protection from all
types of harm or abuse - everyone has a role to play in preventing all forms of bullying (including online)
and putting a stop to bullying.
We seek to prevent bullying by: - developing a code of behaviour that sets out how everyone involved in our
organisation is expected to behave, in face-to-face contact and online, and
within and outside of our activities - holding regular discussions with staff, volunteers, children, young people and
families who use our organisation about bullying and how to prevent it - providing support and training for all staff and volunteers on dealing with all
forms of bullying, including racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic and sexual
bullying - putting clear and robust anti-bullying procedures in place.