Your safety and welfare are of the utmost importance to us at Little Heath School.

We recognise that sometimes students feel unhappy. Sometimes other people are the cause of that unhappiness. No one has the right to make anyone else feel unsafe or unhappy. Bullying is wrong and it is unacceptable.

At our Student Voice Conference students defined bullying as well as discussing how we all have a responsibility to support and help each other:

Bullying is the use of hurtful behaviour to harass, harm, humiliate or intimidate another person. This behaviour causes pain or distress to the victim and affects their self esteem. Bullying can take many forms including:

• use of mobile phones, social media or other technology to harass, humiliate or hurt someone;
• verbal threats, including name calling and spreading rumours;
• physical aggression;
• emotional, such as excluding someone from a group of friends or making someone feel inferior;
• peer pressure
• taking someone else’s possessions or messing around with them;
• harassment because of disability, sexuality, gender, race, religion or beliefs;
• using homophobic or racist language;
• being a bystander - standing by when someone else is suffering.

If someone or something is upsetting you, you should tell someone. You should never put up or shut up!

• Talk to parents, your tutor, your Head of Year, your Progress Leader, any teacher or any member of staff. They will then discuss with you what they are going to do to help you;
• Speak to a member of SMILE team;
• Go to your Key Stage Office at break or lunchtime.

Every year we run a Feeling Safe survey with students, to help us review our anti-bullying procedures.

Please take a look at our Internet safety page - we are very aware of the importance of internet safety for students and their parents, and hope that this page provides some interesting guidance and advice. We have attached some really good guidance to help you use social media safely.

You can also take a look at our Student Wellbeing page for more guidance and advice.

Parents and carers can visit our support page for useful information.