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It is vital that schools and settings have an agreed definition of bullying. This will enable everyone within the school community to prevent, identify (including avoidance of misidentification) and respond when incidents of bullying occur.

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It is vital that schools and settings have an agreed definition of bullying. This will enable everyone within the school community to prevent, identify (including avoidance of misidentification) and respond when incidents of bullying occur.

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It is vital that schools and settings have an agreed definition of bullying. This will enable everyone within the school community to prevent, identify (including avoidance of misidentification) and respond when incidents of bullying occur.

The Anti-Bullying Alliance and its members have an agreed shared definition of bullying based on research from across the world over the last 30 years:

‘The repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological. It can happen face-to-face or online’. There are four key elements to this definition:

1. Hurtful

2. Repetition

3. Power imbalance

4. Intentional

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A collection of FAQs around bullying from school colleagues, with guidance provided by NCC RSHE inclusion advisers.

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I have a parent insisting their child is being bullied, what do we do? 

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I have a parent insisting their child is being bullied, what do we do? 

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If a parent raises these concerns with you, is important to ensure that they feel they have been heard. Take time to listen and understand the parent's concerns.
Speak to the CYP about their experiences and listen to their wishes and feelings.
Look together at the school's definition of bullying and consider if that is what is happening and agree next steps, ensuring both the CYP and parent feel supported.

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Access step-by-step guidance on how to respond to a bullying incident, including editable resources and further links.

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Understand possible indicators for CYP who are being bullied. Please be mindful that the presence of these indicators does not always mean that the CYP is experiencing bullying, but considers further exploration of what is happening for that CYP.

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We would like to celebrate anti-bullying week, but then all the children think they are being bullied. How can we approach this better?

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We would like to celebrate anti-bullying week, but then all the children think they are being bullied. How can we approach this better?

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Celebrating anti-bullying week is important as it helps to raise awareness. It can help CYP recognise that they may be experiencing bullying and help them know how to seek help.

Following anti-bullying week, you may find that more CYP come forward with concerns that they are being bullied - if this happens:
1. Ensure the CYP feels as though their concerns are heard and listened to.
2. Explore the definition of bullying with the CYP to understand if that is what is happening.
3. If bullying is not happening, take steps to understand why that CYP felt worried - it may be an indication of another underlying need which might need further support.
4. If bullying is happening, follow the checklist within this padlet to ensure the right steps are taken!

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Complete this short checklist to identify your immediate actions following a bullying incident

If you would like some talk to a member of our inclusion team for additional support and guidance, please complete our referral form which can be found at the end of this padlet.

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Bullying behaviour can be:

Physical – pushing, poking, kicking, hitting, biting, pinching etc.

Verbal - name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, threats, teasing, belittling.

Emotional – isolating others, tormenting, hiding books, threatening gestures,  ridicule, humiliation, intimidating, excluding, manipulation and coercion.

Sexual – unwanted physical contact, inappropriate touching, abusive comments, homophobic abuse, exposure to inappropriate films etc.

Online /cyber – posting on social media, sharing photos, sending nasty text messages, social exclusion

Indirect - can include the exploitation of individuals.

Bullying as a group behaviour:

Bullying rarely takes place between a 'victim' and a 'bully' alone. It tends to be a group behaviour. Others can have a significant influence on the outcomes of behaviours among children and young people intentionally or otherwise.

Link to video’ Bullying as a group behaviour’

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Bullying can happen for any number of reasons, some children are more at risk of bullying and some are more impacted by bullying.

Any child can be bullied for any reason. If a child is seen as different in some way, or seen as an easy target they can be more at risk.

This might be because of their:

race or ethnic background

gender

sexual orientation

SEND.

Or it could be because they:

appear anxious or have low self-esteem

lack assertiveness

are shy or introverted.

Popular or successful children are also bullied, sometimes because others are jealous of them. Sometimes a child's family circumstance or home life can be a reason for someone bullying them.

Disabled children can experience bullying because they seem an easy target and less able to defend themselves.

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Some children and young people are more likely to experience bullying. Below are some resources and tools to help you support them:

Racist and faith targeted bullying

Looked after children

Young carers and bullying

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Identity-based bullying

Appearance targeted bullying

Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic

Sexual and sexist

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT)

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No single indicator will tell you that a CYP is definitely being bullied, but there are some signs to look out for, including:

Belongings getting lost or damaged

Coming home with physical injuries, like unexplained bruises

Torn clothes

Being afraid to go to school

Being mysteriously ‘ill’ each morning

Skipping school

Doing less well at school

Being nervous or losing confidence

Becoming quiet and withdrawn

Asking for or stealing money (to give to bullies)

Problems eating or sleeping

Bullying other children

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In April 2022, the DfE published a report that found 21% of all pupils had experienced bullying within the last year.

There are short and long-term impacts of bullying. The longer the bullying is sustained, the greater the risk of long-term impact that can last into adulthood.

Short-term impacts can include, but are not limited to:

Barriers to learning

Missing school (At any one time over 16,000 young people aged 11-15 are missing education primarily due to bullying, Natcen)

Being excluded (children that experience daily bullying are x3 more likely to be excluded, LSYPE)

Retaliating

Strain placed on families/carers

Self-harm and experience depression

Have impaired wellbeing

Long-term impacts can include, but are not limited to:

Experiencing a range mental health issue as an adult including suicide ideation

Earning less money

Not being in employment, education or training (NEET) into adulthood

Obesity (particularly in women)

Unstable relationships, including committing or being a victim of domestic violence

Experiencing homeless

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Sentence starters to support conversations around bullying

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Sentence starters to support conversations around bullying

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framework for speaking to a cyp who has been bullied.docx

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No matter what we try, we can not seem to eradicate bullying in our school. What can we do?

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No matter what we try, we can not seem to eradicate bullying in our school. What can we do?

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It can be really worrying if you feel that you have tried many things but are still facing issues with bullying.

Be mindful that eradicating bullying is not the aim, the aim is that bullying is effectively addressed and that CYP feel safe in your school, this can be achieved through a whole school approach.

To support you to identify areas for development, we have developed an audit tool and action plan linked to a whole school approach guide to anti-bullying.

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Some of our CYP with SEND struggle to understand the impact of bullying. What can we do? 

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Some of our CYP with SEND struggle to understand the impact of bullying. What can we do? 

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It may be useful to add some additional wording to your anti-bullying policy to support your approach to this.

Some CYP may display behaviour which is linked to difficulties in understanding social communication and interaction, and how to make and maintain positive relationships with others. We therefore seek to:

foster self-esteem, understanding, tolerance and respect between CYP

recognise individual worth and respect individual human rights, this permeates all school policies

actively promote British values by encouraging the growth of a sense of justice/fairness in all our CYP which is reinforced by our celebration of good behaviour

foster positive attitudes during assemblies, class, group and individual discussions (including and especially those arising out of specific incidents), literature (i.e. stories, poems etc.) and the daily modelling of appropriate behaviour by all the adults in the school

support staff to promote positive relationships and identify and tackle problematic relationships appropriately

develop the understanding of both CYP and staff in e-safety and the appropriate use of social media.

develop our CYP understanding of their own vulnerability, particularly outside of school, with regard to bullying and/ or extremist views, providing them with strategies and pathways to access support

ensure that CYP are aware that any concerns will be dealt with sensitively and effectively

report back to parents/carers regarding their concerns and deal promptly with complaints. Parents/ carers in turn work with the school to uphold the school ethos

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I think one of our nursery children is showing bullying behaviours. Are they too young?

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I think one of our nursery children is showing bullying behaviours. Are they too young?

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Bullying behaviour can be displayed by children as young as 3 years old - see some top tips for how to support this in early years settings.

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What if we are aware  of a bullying incident happening outside of school?

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What if we are aware  of a bullying incident happening outside of school?

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Schools have the powers to intervene in bullying incidents outside of the school ground including on home-to-school transport, in the community and online.

If an incident of bullying outside the school premises or online is reported to the school, it is important that it is investigated and appropriate action is taken. This will send a strong signal to pupils that bullying will not be tolerated and perpetrators will be held to account.

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Should we prioritise tackling some types of bullying over others? 

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Should we prioritise tackling some types of bullying over others? 

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Immediate physical safety obviously comes first. All bullying, whatever the motivation or method, is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. Some issues will be more familiar to schools than others and this guidance points to other specialist organisations for further information about how to tackle specific types of bullying. Please see ‘Further Sources of Information’ at the end of this document.

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How can we involve parents more in our anti-bullying work? 

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How can we involve parents more in our anti-bullying work? 

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Schools should talk to parents about their anti-bullying policy and make it available to them and prospective parents as part of their behaviour policy. Schools should ensure that parents know what measures are being taken to prevent bullying, as well as how incidents are responded to, and may also encourage positive messages about good behaviour and respect for others at home.

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Staff should develop a consistent approach to monitoring bullying incidents in their school and evaluating whether their approach is effective. For some schools, that will mean recording incidents so that they can monitor incident numbers and identify where bullying is recurring between the same pupils. Others do not want to keep written records. We want schools to exercise their own judgment as to what will work best for their pupils

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The Inclusion and SEND Team supports mainstream settings with training, advice and guidance on Inclusion and SEND provision.

If you have a CYP at imminent risk of permanent exclusion, please contact our helpline: 01603 307736. Monday - Friday 9am-4.30pm.

For all other cases, please make a referral to the Inclusion and SEND team, by completing this referral form.

If your query relates to training, please email the training mailbox: sendandinclusiontraining@norfolk.gov.uk

If your query relates to Element 3 funding, please email the Element 3 funding mailbox: element3funding@norfolk.gov.uk

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We have a child who has received unkind comments from lots of different people and says they feel bullied. There is no connection between the people making the comments - is this bullying?

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We have a child who has received unkind comments from lots of different people and says they feel bullied. There is no connection between the people making the comments - is this bullying?

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This is a great question and demonstrates the complexity of bullying, unkind or thoughtless comments and banter that doesn't land as intended. We would recommend addressing this as guided by the Anti-Bullying Alliance; those making the comments are not 'bullies' but may be complicit (unknowingly or unintentionally) in group bullying behaviour. The 2023 Anti-Bullying Alliance Anti-Bullying Week resources have resources and lesson plans which explore this; highlighting the importance of being thoughtful with your comments and the responsibility that goes with making unkind ones. When it comes to the child receiving the comments; we would recommend responding as you would if the child had received the comments from on person in the traditional 'bullying' scenario. It is important that the impact is not minimised because it has been perpetrated by multiple people as it may be greater because there are many sources. It is also important to consider that if the recipient has a protected characteristic or an ACE the recording and responding will need to reflect that.

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What can we do to prevent online bullying?

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What can we do to prevent online bullying?

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You need to to ensure your school community has the knowledge, skills and values required. This content from the Anti-Bullying Alliance is a great place to starts as it explores:

Teaching about online bullying

What is online bullying?

Understanding online bullying

Online bullying and SEN/disability

'Stop / speak / support'-resources from AB Week '18 which focused on online bullying.

The UK Safer Internet Centre has some great information, advice and guidance for children and young people, families and schools on cyberbullying Online Bullying - UK Safer Internet Centre and leads the annual Safer Internet Day which raises awareness about cyber safety. Their top tips are that school teach children and young people:

Understand the tools available for reporting cyberbullying outside of school,

Understand the in-schools mechanisms for reporting concerns,

Discuss cyberbullying and its consequences.

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This section is designed to help you understand and respond to the particular challenges presented by online bullying in all its forms.

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We are worried that one of our CYP with autism is being bullied. How can we respond to this?

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We are worried that one of our CYP with autism is being bullied. How can we respond to this?

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In this guide you will find information about what bullying is, why autistic CYP may be more likely to be bullied, and how you can help.

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Dealing with bullying - a guide for teachers

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In this guide you will find information about what bullying is, why autistic students are more likely to be bullied, and how you can help.

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If you require specific support regarding the following, please use the contacts provided below:

Attendance. The NCC Attendance Team can be contacted via emailat csattendance@norfolk.gov.ukor via the attendance duty line on 01603 223681

Harmful Sexual Behaviours. Consultations can be requested by emailing hsbproject@norfolk.gov.uk with a brief summary of what the consultation is for

Special school consultations / placements. Contact the EHCP team on 01603 679183

Processes around exclusions. Contact the NCC exclusions team on 01603 303333

Mental health Visit Just One Norfolk: Emotional Health - Just One Norfolk

Mild to moderate mental health referrals Support for Mild to Moderate Mental Health Needs (justonenorfolk.nhs.uk)

Specific health needs. Visit Just One Norfolk and search for the need: Health Advice & Support for Children - Just One Norfolk or call Just One Number 0300 300 0123

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It is not appropriate for the CYP being bullied to be put into isolation as the long term solution, they need social contact and support.

It is the perpetrators that need to be removed until their behaviours are addressed through other means e.g. educational consequences and pastoral support as needed.

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How can I support a CYP with their confidence or assertiveness skills?

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How can I support a CYP with their confidence or assertiveness skills?

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ZAP offer free assertiveness workshops for young people aged 9-16 and their parents and carers.

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ZAP workshops for children impacted by bullying

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Free assertiveness workshops for young people aged 9-16 and their parents and carers Our ZAP workshops are for young people aged 9-16 who have experienced bullying behaviour or currently dealing with a bullying situation. and want to learn effective ways to be assertive