Gosforth Central Anti-Bullying
We take bullying very seriously at GCMS.
What is bullying?
The Anti-Bullying Alliance defines bullying as “the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It can happen face to face or online"
Advice to Parents and carers
Your child may be worried about your reaction so please stay calm and thank them for telling you. Listen to them. Ask them what they would like to do. A good first step is to contact the school so that together we can stop the bullying.
Report suspected bullying incidents to a member of staff. Your child's form teacher or Head of Year would both be a good first contact but you can of course contact any member of staff you and child feel comfortable talking to.
- The incidents will be recorded by staff and the Head Teacher notified.
- Parents/carers will be informed and may be asked to come into school to discuss the problem.
- In the case of cyberbullying, take screenshots of the bullying activity to assist us.
We advise that you do not:
- Attempt to sort the problem out yourself by speaking to the child whom you believe to be the bully or by speaking to their parents.
- Encourage your child to retaliate or bully others.
Tootoot
Your child will be given a username and password, which allows them to log in and use tootoot. They are then able to quickly report issues and concerns directly to designated safeguarding staff. Only staff at GCMS will be able to see the message left by your child. All students are anonymous at the point of reporting, but identities can be uncovered by our Headteacher or Designated Safeguarding Lead and we will do so only if there is a genuine concern that a child is at risk of harm.
Students can access tootoot on any web-enable device (Chromebooks, desktop computers; laptops; tablets or mobiles) by following these 4 simple steps:
Step 1: Type www.tootoot.co.uk into their web browser. - there will be quick links on our school website and on the pastoral streams
Step 2: Click the ‘Login’ button in the top right of the screen
Step 3: Start typing ‘Gosforth Central Middle School’ and select it from the box
Step 4: Enter their username and password, and log their concern with us
Advice for parents / carers supporting a child who is being bullied
Report online abuse to CEOP here
Support for cyberbullying
Support for bullying that targets race or religion
Support for bullying that targets LGBT