Our Approach to Behaviour and Anti-Bullying

At Yorkswood school , the safety and wellbeing of our pupils are our highest priorities. In accordance with our Safeguarding Policy, we adopt a child-centred approach, ensuring that the best interests of the child are always the primary consideration in every decision we make.

Expected Pupil Behaviour

We strive to create a culture of mutual respect and high expectations. Our behaviour framework is designed to ensure that every child feels safe, heard, and supported. We expect our pupils to:

• Show kindness and empathy towards their peers and staff.

• Respect the diverse community within our schools.

• Understand that they have a right to feel safe and a responsibility to help others feel the same.

In line with our curriculum, we proactively teach children about healthy relationships and the importance of speaking out if they are unhappy or feel unsafe.

Understanding Bullying: STOP

To help our pupils identify and report concerns, we use the acronym STOP:

Several Times On Purpose.

This provides a clear framework for children to understand the difference between a one-off disagreement and bullying behaviour. However, our commitment to safeguarding goes further: Yorkswood school will always investigate and manage any reported incident of actual or perceived bullying. We do not wait for a pattern to emerge before taking action. If a child feels they are being mistreated, we listen, we record, and we act.

"Abuse is Abuse"

Following the principles set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) and our Trust policy, we maintain a zero-tolerance stance on child-on-child abuse. We recognise that bullying can take many forms, including:

• Physical or verbal abuse.

• Cyberbullying and online harassment.

• Relational aggression or social exclusion.

We never dismiss such behaviours as "banter" or an inevitable part of growing up. Our staff are trained to maintain an attitude of "it could happen here", ensuring that all concerns are reported to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and handled with the necessary rigour.

How We Support Our Families

We believe that safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility. We work in close partnership with parents and carers to ensure a consistent approach to behaviour.

• Listening to Children: We ensure that the "voice of the child" is at the heart of our response.

• Clear Procedures: All incidents are logged on our secure safeguarding system to monitor trends and ensure effective intervention.

• Proactive Support: We provide support for the target of the behaviour and use educational interventions for those displaying bullying behaviours to prevent recurrence.

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s wellbeing or the behaviour of others, please do not hesitate to contact the school office to speak with a member of our safeguarding team.