Dear Parent/Carer,
I hope this letter finds you and your family well despite the wet June weather we have had so far. Today, I am writing to inform you of an update regarding the ways in which we deal with bullying in our school.
At TPSH, we have always taken our duty to provide a safe and positive learning environment very seriously. We have an Anti-Bullying policy and have addressed concerns whenever they have emerged or been communicated with us.
That being said, some recent student and parent feedback has indicated that sometimes it is unclear how we approach these concerns and what steps take place once we have received a report of bullying. Furthermore, some students have indicated that they would appreciate an additional method of reporting that enables them to share concerns without speaking directly to a member of staff in the first instance. Sometimes speaking directly to a member of staff can be somewhat daunting for students to do during the heavily timetabled school day.
In light of this feedback, I am pleased to announce that last week I delivered assemblies to every year group focussed on our new Ladder of Consequences and Peer Postcard. Our Ladder of Consequences clearly outlines the steps we take when bullying is reported to us. This poster is now on display in every form room and in prominent places around the school. It also reinforces our community commitment to ‘no bystanders’ when bullying takes place.
In addition to this, our new Peer Postcard provides students with the opportunity to report concerns about themselves or their friends in writing. These postcards are located in the school library with a view to giving students a quiet place to write down what they are worried about. Your child will also have the option to share concerns about their friends anonymously if they wish. Once students have completed their Peer Postcard, they can drop it in our designated post box which is checked regularly by colleagues in the pastoral team and actioned.
We are sometimes made aware of behaviour between students that is unacceptable, but falls short of the threshold for it to be defined as ‘bullying’. In our conversations in school and with students, we refer to this as ‘unkind behaviour’. This is still taken very seriously and we will do our best to support students to resolve these issues, but we wanted to make you aware of the language we try to use in these instances. In line with UK government guidance, we define bullying as ‘Any repeated behaviour which is reasonably perceived by the targeted individual or any other person, as intending to hurt, intimidate, frighten, harm or exclude. It is usually persistent and an abuse of power, leaving the targeted individual feeling defenceless’.
I very much hope that these measures reinforce to students our commitment to them that we take all incidents of bullying seriously at TPSH. If you are concerned that your child is being bullied, please encourage them to speak with an adult in school whom they trust or to complete a Peer Postcard. I include copies of our Ladder of Consequences and Peer Postcard below for your reference.
Thank you for your continued support in helping us address bullying wherever it arises.
Yours sincerely,
Matt Blayney
Headteacher