Waingels College

Bullying is intentionally causing physical or emotional harm to others.
This can result in somebody feeling hurt, threatened or frightened.
Bullying can be damaging, deliberate and repetitive. It is carried out both by individuals and by groups.

The staff and students of Waingels College wish to make it clear that bullying is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. People who bully face serious punishment, including fixed term or permanent exclusion.

• Hitting or kicking, including ‘happy slapping’
• Intimidation or threatening behaviour

• Making offensive remarks
• Deliberately excluding people so they feel alone
• Unkind and abusive notes,  text messages or e-mail messages, abusive chat room messages
• Taking or damaging belongings

Tell someone about it. We can’t help if you keep quiet. Remember that you aren’t doing anything wrong, the bully is.

• Speak to your Learning Coach
• Tell your Parents and ask them to contact the College
• Talk to a Friend and ask them to come with you to tell a member of staff
• Write down what has happened on a piece of paper and place it in the anti-bullying box in reception in student services
• Tell a Sixth Form Mentor (they wear a black uniform and wear a badge with ‘Mentor’ written on it)
• Tell a member of Staff you feel comfortable talking to.
• Inform your Learning Manager or Team Leader

Turing: Mrs Tillyard ; Astor Miss Stacey ; Team Leader Mrs Edwards

Brunel: Mr Dore ; Da Vinci: Miss Evans ; Team Leader Mr Wood

Holmes: Mr Gunderson ; Rowling ; Miss Parsons ; Team Leader Miss Aggio

• Tell Mr Blunt, who is the college coordinator for anti bullying
• Send an e-mail to blugb@waingels.wokingham.sch.uk

You will alwayswill be taken seriously. If you are worried or frightened we can arrange a safe place for you whilst the issue is being dealt with.

If your child is being bullied or is bullying in College, we can help.
Contact the College and ask to speak to your child’s Tutor or Head of Key Stage.
(Ideally this should be with the consent of your son/ daughter, who will naturally be worried about what will happen)

Try not to let your child talk you out of contacting the college. If the problem is to be solved, we all need to be open.
Tell your son / daughter that they have done the right thing by telling you.

If a student comes to you and says that they are being bullied in College:

Listen, Take it seriously.

Log the incident using reports manger

Make it clear that they have done the right thing by telling you. They have done nothing wrong, the bully has. Don’t tell the pupil that what they say will be confidential, it may be necessary to pass on what they have said in order to deal with the issue.
Offer the support of a safe room if they feel frightened or threatened. When you inform the Learning Manager or Team Leader make it clear that the pupil has requested this.

If you receive information about bullying from any other source, e.g. parents record the issue in the same way and pass it on to the Learning Manager or Team Leader

If a member of staff feels threatened or intimidated by a student or another member of staff, they should report this immediately to Ruth Evans.

If you receive a report of bullying from any source, please log the incident using the reports manager pastoral recording system.

Investigate the report and inform parents when appropriate.
Please copy the incident log and discuss an appropriate strategy with GB

If a student reports an incident of bullying to you:
Listen
Take it seriously
Tell the Student’s learning coach what has happened

Make it clear to the pupil that they have done the right thing by telling you, but do not agree to keep anything you are told confidential; you may need to pass the information on.

This Policy is a clear statement for pupils, parents and staff about our attitude to bullying and the strategies we use to prevent it. It is published for all to see and reviewed every year in the light of experience, and data collected, about any incidents of bullying.

Research shows that schools where the least bullying occurs have a nominated member of staff who coordinates the approach to anti-bullying and monitors all incidents of bullying according to race, gender and ethnicity. At Waingels College the member of staff is: Mr Blunt e-mail:  blugb@waingels.wokingham.sch.uk

All of our students attend sessions on Anti-Bullying as part of their PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) lessons. They learn about why people bully and explore strategies to avoid being bullied. This includes assertiveness training and the importance of self-confidence and self esteem.

Learning Coaches, Learning Managers and Team Leaders will endeavour to stop bullying in a sensitive way that will not make the situation worse for the student reporting it. This tends to be a major worry for any student reporting incidents of bullying.

Student Mentors are appointed for their outstanding personal skills.

• Mentors are students in Years 12 and 13. They wear a badge.
• Mentors are professionally trained by external counsellors to deal with incidents of bullying.
• Mentors deal with situations themselves or know where to seek help.
• Mentors are attached to tutor groups, especially in years 7 and 8.
• Mentors are also available to all year groups on a duty rota so there is always someone available to talk to.

If a student continues to bully despite clear warnings then there are a number of sanctions that Waingels College will use to enforce our Anti-Bullying Policy.

Every incident will be dealt with individually and the following sanctions can be applied:

• Detention
• Formal letter to parents that is filed and logged in case of repetition
• Parents of the bully invited to College to discuss their child’s conduct
• Police liaison officer is involved
• External agencies involved, including BEST (behaviour support team) ; CAMS (child and mental health support team) ; EWO (Educational Welfare Officer)
• Bully required to participate in social skills course
• Removal from extra curricular activities, including trips and representative sports   
• Removal from social areas during registration, break and lunch time
• College includes details of bullying in all subsequent references to other Colleges and employers
• Fixed term exclusion
• Permanent exclusion

We aim to stop one hundred per cent of bullying that is reported to us. If a student continues to offend despite clear warnings and sanctions, they will be permanently excluded.