Anti-Bullying Information

Forest Hall School is committed to ensuring all students feel safe at School. We work actively to prevent any behaviour that is deemed as bullying.

What is Bullying?

Bullying is when people deliberately hurt, harass or intimidate someone else. Every year, more than 20,000 young people call ChildLine: these are some of the ways they describe bullying:

Being called names.
Being teased.
Being punched, pushed or attached.
Being forced to hand over money, mobile phones or other possessions.
Getting abusive or threatening text messages, emails or MSM comments.
Having rumours spread about them.
Being ignored or left out.
Being picked on because of their religion, gender or race.

This information has been designed by the Student Executive Team (SET) and Staff at Forest Hall School to help students who are affected by bullying.

What do you do if you are being bullied?

Those who bully like to think that they have power over their targets, so you need to remove that power!

These are things that you can do to deflect people who bully:

Act more confidently.
Hang around with friends or an adult at times when you're most in danger of being bullied.
Don't fight back - it can make the situation worse.
Tell someone!

Breaking the silence is the most important part in fighting back against bullying. If you have kept a diary of when the bullying has been taking place, this can help you when you tell a teacher or parent about what has been going on.

Online / Mobile Phone Bullying:

If you are being targeted by mobile phone, always tell someone you trust at School. Please do not feel too scared to tell because of the repercussions and being called a 'snitch', we will always deal with your reports sensitively.

What to do if you are bullying other people?

If you feel you are acting in a bullying way, you need to talk to someone you can trust and try to explain why you do it.

There is probably something going on in your life that is making you take it out on somebody else. Some things to think about if your are bullying somebody:

Think about the pain and upset you are causing to the person you are picking on. It could be seriously affecting their day-to-day life.
Imagine how scared you would feel if the bullying were happening to you.
Is it worth getting into trouble?
You will probably be much happier in yourself and more popular if you stop bullying.
Be mature enough to stop and think about what you are doing.
Bullying wont win you any friends; it just makes people scared of you.

If you think you are bullying others, try and get to the bottom of why you are acting that way. Is there a reason you are taking out your anger or frustration on someone else? Talk to someone you trust and try to work things out!

Remember! Bullying is wrong and nobody deserves to be bullied!

What do you do if someone is being bullied?

It is hard to see your friend being picked on, and although you feel powerless to act, there are things you can do to help.

Be a friendly ear.
Tell someone - go to your Form Teacher or another adult.
Don't encourage the bullies by laughing or smiling at the things they say or do.
If you can, tell the bullies that you don't accept what they are doing and try to get them to stop.
Don't ditch your friend - stand by them.
Don't get into fights with the bullies.

Your friend may be reluctant to tell somebody what is going on; try and be there for them and encourage them to speak out. If you and your friend ignore what is happening, the person who is bullying is winning. It may be worth having a word with a parent or teacher on your friend's behalf.