Defining Bullying 

Our school asked children to define bullying and they responded that bullying is: 

• ‘People being nasty or doing nasty things to you’ 
• ‘People picking on you and when you feel like the joke has gone too far’ 
• ‘When someone has more power over you’

In generic terms (and as stated in the DfE document 2011 “Preventing and Tackling Bullying – Advice for School Leaders, Staff and Governing bodies”) bullying is described as ‘behaviour by an individual or group, repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally.’   

The school defines bullying as: 

• Behaviour which is deliberately harmful 
• Behaviour which is repeated over a period of time 
• Behaviour which makes it difficult for those being bullied to defend themselves 
   

There are four main types of bullying. They are: 

• Physical for example, hitting, kicking, taking belongings 
• Verbal for example, name calling, insulting, racist remarks 
• Indirect for example, spreading unpleasant and hurtful remarks about someone 
• Exclusion for example, excluding children form their friendship groups 
  
  This school recognises the harm caused by bullying ‘beyond the school gates’. This may include cyber-bullying, which the school takes very seriously. St. Joseph's has links with the Anti-Bullying Alliance, of which several resources are below and can be accessed here: www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk