Dear Parents/Guardians,

At Ashgate Primary School, we are committed to providing a safe, nurturing, and positive learning environment for all our pupils. A key part of this commitment is our zero-tolerance approach to bullying.  It is important however to make a clear distinction between bullying and childhood friendship development/conflict.

What is Bullying?

To be clear, we define bullying as 'repeated aggressive behaviour that is intended to cause harm or distress to another person, and involves an imbalance of power'. This can take many forms, including:

• Physical bullying: Hitting, kicking, pushing, or any other physical contact.
• Verbal bullying: Name-calling, teasing, taunting, threats, or offensive remarks.
• Social/Emotional bullying: Excluding someone, spreading rumours, damaging reputations, or manipulating friendships.
• Cyberbullying: Using electronic communication to bully, such as sending hurtful messages or sharing embarrassing content.

Ofsted commented in our report in 2023 'Behaviour is as a strength with bullying rare and children have confidence and trust in their teachers to support their wellbeing.'

We want to assure you that any reported incidents of bullying are taken very seriously and addressed promptly and effectively in line with our school's anti-bullying policy.

Helping Children Manage Childhood Friendships: Non bullying incidents

While we are unwavering in our stance against bullying, it's also important to acknowledge that children, as they develop and form relationships, will occasionally experience minor disagreements and fallouts. These are a normal and often valuable part of growing up and learning to navigate social interactions.

Children will, and need to experience childhood confrontation in order to be successful in building and managing relationships.  This is not the same as condoning or encouraging it; but the skills needed to manage these must be nurtured.

Examples of these minor and intermittent fallouts might include:

• Disagreements over games or toys.
• Arguments about who gets to go first.
• Temporary exclusions from a group.
• Brief moments of frustration or unkind words exchanged in the heat of the moment.

Although it can be hard, it is not always helpful for a parent or other adult to rush or jump in to assist or view/inform every fall out as an act of bullying.

Our approach to these situations is to support our children in managing them independently, where appropriate. This means we will:

• Listen to their concerns.
• Help them articulate their feelings.
• Guide them in finding solutions.
• Encourage them to develop empathy and understanding.

We believe that by providing guidance and encouragement during these minor disagreements, we are equipping your children with essential life skills. Learning to resolve conflicts, compromise, and communicate effectively are crucial for developing healthy relationships, building resilience, and managing challenges throughout their lives.

We appreciate your partnership in fostering a supportive and understanding school community. If you have any concerns about your child's well-being at school, please do not hesitate to contact their class teacher.