Our Commitment to Anti-Bullying

Focusing on students' wellbeing

Part of The Anti-Bullying Alliance

Boland Companies Ltd is part of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, with all of our schools being members. Our top priority is to ensure every child has a welcoming and friendly environment to learn, putting their wellbeing first.

We stand together with the Anti-Bullying Alliance, taking part in Anti-Bullying Week and charity fundraising events. In 2024, we raised awareness for bullying in our lessons and held an Odd Socks Day event. We encouraged our students to get involved and to share their own bullying experiences and their messages for Anti-Bullying Week. We received heartfelt messages from our students, including recounts of their past bullying experiences and how that impacted them.

We are always striving to raise awareness about the impacts bullying can have on people's lives and the importance of putting a stop to it, as the effects caused are long-lasting.

Creating a Safe & Inclusive Online Learning Environment

At the Boland Companies, we believe that every student has the right to learn in an environment where they feel safe, respected, supported and valued.

Our online schools are committed to creating positive learning communities where students can develop academically, socially and personally without fear of bullying, harassment or intimidation.

We recognise that bullying can take many forms and can occur in both physical and digital environments. Our approach therefore considers not only behaviour during live lessons, but also interactions through online learning platforms, messaging, social spaces and other forms of digital communication connected with school life.

Bullying is never acceptable, and every concern will be taken seriously.

Bullying in an Online School

Online education provides students with wonderful opportunities to connect, learn and collaborate, but it also means that we must be particularly mindful of how students communicate digitally.

Our schools take online behaviour seriously.

Students are expected to communicate with classmates, teachers and members of staff with the same courtesy and respect online as they would in person.

This includes behaviour within:

Live online lessons
School learning platforms
School messaging and communication systems
Online group activities
School clubs and extracurricular activities
School-related social spaces
Other digital communication connected to school life

Students should never use technology to threaten, embarrass, humiliate, impersonate, exclude or deliberately upset another member of the school community.

Our Approach to Preventing Bullying

Preventing bullying is about more than responding when something goes wrong. We aim to develop a school culture where kindness, respect and inclusion are part of everyday student life.

Our schools promote:

Respectful Communication

Students are encouraged to listen to one another, communicate appropriately and understand that people may have different experiences, opinions, abilities and perspectives.

Positive Relationships

Through lessons, clubs, pastoral support and wider school activities, students have opportunities to develop positive relationships with other members of the school community.

Digital Responsibility

Students are encouraged to understand the responsibilities that come with communicating and learning online, including appropriate behaviour when using digital platforms.

Student Voice

Students should feel able to speak to a trusted member of staff if something is worrying them or if they believe another student may be experiencing bullying.

Early Intervention

Concerns are taken seriously and addressed as early as possible. We recognise that early support can help prevent a concern from becoming more serious.

What should a student do if they experience bullying?

If a student experiences bullying, they should know that they do not have to deal with it alone.

We encourage students to tell a trusted adult as soon as possible. This could be:
Their tutor
A teacher
A pastoral member of staff
A member of the student support team
A parent or carer
Another trusted adult

Students should provide as much information as they can about what has happened, including who was involved, what was said or done and when the incident occurred.

Where appropriate, students may also be encouraged to keep evidence of online bullying, such as messages or screenshots, so that the school can understand what has happened.

Students should never feel that reporting bullying is "making a fuss". Asking for help is an important and positive step.

What should parents do if they're concerned?

We encourage parents and carers to contact the school if they believe their child may be experiencing bullying or if they have concerns about another student's behaviour.

Changes in behaviour can sometimes provide an indication that a student is struggling. Parents may notice that their child:

Becomes reluctant to attend lessons
Appears unusually upset after using their computer
Becomes withdrawn
Loses confidence
Is reluctant to participate in online activities
Becomes anxious about communicating with other students
Has difficulty sleeping or concentrating
Suddenly stops engaging with activities they previously enjoyed

These signs can have many different causes, so they should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of bullying. However, they can be useful reasons to start a conversation with a child and, where appropriate, with the school.

How We Respond to Concerns

When a bullying concern is raised, we aim to respond promptly, sensitively and fairly.

Depending on the circumstances, our response may include:

Listening carefully to the concern and giving the student an opportunity to explain what has happened.
Gathering relevant information from students, parents, staff and available digital records where appropriate.
Assessing the situation and considering the nature, seriousness and context of the behaviour.
Providing support to the student who has experienced the behaviour.
Addressing the behaviour with the student or students involved.
Working with parents or carers where appropriate.
Putting further measures in place where necessary to help prevent the behaviour from continuing.
Monitoring the situation to ensure that appropriate support remains in place.

Every situation is considered individually, and our response will depend on the circumstances and seriousness of the concern.

Everyone Has a Role to Play

Creating a positive online school community is a shared responsibility.

Students

Students are expected to treat others with kindness and respect, communicate appropriately and report concerns rather than encouraging or participating in harmful behaviour.

Parents & Carers

Parents and carers play an important role in helping students understand responsible online behaviour and encouraging them to speak up when something does not feel right.

Teachers & Staff

Our staff are responsible for creating respectful learning environments, responding appropriately to concerns and helping students understand the importance of positive behaviour.

Our Schools

We are committed to providing clear expectations, appropriate support and effective responses to bullying concerns across our online learning communities.

Building a Culture of Kindness

Our aim is to create online schools where students feel that they belong.

Through our lessons, pastoral support, extracurricular activities and wider school communities, we encourage students to develop the confidence to be themselves while respecting the individuality of others.

We want our students to leave our schools not only with strong academic foundations, but also with an understanding of kindness, responsibility, empathy and respect.

Every student deserves to feel safe, heard and valued.

Safe

A learning environment where students can feel secure and supported.

Respectful

A community where every student is treated with kindness and dignity.

Supported

A school where students know who they can turn to when something isn't right.