All forms of bullying are unacceptable and are not tolerated at Mark Rutherford School.

Bullying is:

• Deliberately hurtful
• Repeated, often over a period of time
• Difficult to defend against

Students must report all incidents of bullying, so that they can be dealt with quickly and effectively by staff. These incidents may not directly involve them, but if they have witnessed this behaviour, they are encouraged to report all incidents to a member of staff.

Students should:

• Inform a member of staff, this may quite often be their pastoral team or the DSL/DDSL

Staff will:

• Report the incident using the school’s reporting and monitoring systems
• Respond to all reports sensitively, gathering the appropriate evidence
• Deal with students who have intentionally physically or emotionally harmed another student severely
• Support students so that they feel happy and safe

As a parent/carer/peer, if you would like to bring to our attention behaviours which you believe are bullying, please bring it to the attention of the school at your earliest convenience by:

• Contacting the appropriate form tutor/year room by telephone or email
• If there is a concern of immediate harm, please contact the DSL
• Using the SHARP system if you would prefer the report to be anonymous