Reporting bullying

Please report bullying in school to Waltham Toll Bar Academy in the first instance — or to someone you can trust to help if it happens outside school. Tell the police if the bullying involves a crime.

Bullying is usually defined as behaviour that is:

Deliberately repeated
intended to hurt someone either physically or emotionally
often aimed at certain groups, for example because of race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation

Everyone at the Waltham Toll Bar Academy is responsible for making sure bullying is not tolerated. You can talk to a Form Tutor, Head of Year, or any member of staff at school if you have any concerns about bullying.

Anonymous bullying reporting tool

You can report incidents of bullying anonymously using our bullying reporting tool.

Report bullying anonymously

Help outside school

We work with a number of agencies to prevent and tackle bullying and deal with the consequences of bullying. The following websites have useful resources and information for help when pupils are not in school.

You can also contact Childline by telephone on 0800 1111. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999.

Our Bullying Reporting and Action Process

Right-pointing arrow with four boxes: the first with a red background, the second orange, and the last two green.

We may deal with bullying in different ways, depending on each situation, with the ultimate aim of tackling the issue, educating pupils and ensuring parents know their child is safe. We might deal with it in school, for example by disciplining and educating those who bully, using restorative approaches, supporting and empowering those who have been bullied, or we might report it to the police or social services.

If you do not feel we have acted in accordance with our anti bullying policy you can complain to the school https://walthamtollbaracademy.co.uk/tollbar/media/files/complaints-policy.pdf

Anti-Bullying policy: https://walthamtollbaracademy.co.uk/tollbar/media/files/anti-bullying-policy.pdf

Police — reporting bullying Anyone can make a complaint to the police about bullying but it's usually a good idea to speak to us first. If you're reporting cyberbullying, keep a record of the date and time of the calls, emails or texts — don't delete any messages you receive.

What to do if your child has been bullying others

Some children may be involved in bullying other children at one time or another. In fact, some children who are bullied (either at school or elsewhere) also bully other children. Parents and carers are often not aware that their child is involved in bullying others.

Don't panic. We want to work with you in a supportive way to change the behaviour your child is currently demonstrating. Don't think your child is dreadful. They are exhibiting some anti-social behaviour at the moment, but this can be corrected if everyone works together.

Be prepared to listen to school staff and accept our advice.

How to stop your child from bullying other children

Talk to your child and explain that what they are doing is not acceptable and is making other children very unhappy.
Discourage other members of your family from ever using bullying behaviour or from being aggressive to get what they want.
Show your child how they can join in with other children without bullying.
Make an appointment to see your child's class teacher or form tutor to explain how you can work together to stop your child from bullying other children.
It is very important to work closely with the school. Regularly ask your child how things are at school. Give your child lots of praise and encouragement when he or she is co-operative or kind to other people.

What to do if your child is being bullied

If your child is being bullied, you need to contact us as soon as possible to arrange an appointment to meet with your child's form tutor. Tel: 01472 500 505 Email: enquiries@tollbaracademy.co.uk

Always try to be calm. We will want to resolve the problem with you, but we may not always be aware of the problem. In some cases, the causes may be very complicated.

Be as clear as possible about what your child says has happened — give dates, places and names of others involved.
Ask if there is anything you can do to help your child or the school.
Read our anti bullying policy. https://walthamtollbaracademy.co.uk/tollbar/media/files/anti-bullying-policy.pdf
When you speak with us make a note of what action we intend to take.
Stay in touch with the school and let them know if the problem continues or if things improve.
Please do not confront the child causing the bullying or their parents this can make matters worse.
Part of this process may involve the fact that your own child may need to change aspects of their behaviour. This is nothing to worry about. Schools need to ensure that the plans they put in place help your child to feel safe, and your child will have to take some responsibility for ensuring that this happens.

Stop Bullying — See it - Say it - Stop it