This page is designed to enable schools to access up-to-date information, guidance and training to support their work in creating safe learning environments in which commonalities are identified and celebrated, difference is valued and nurtured, and bullying, harassment and violence are never tolerated.
Policy and guidance
To access documents (e.g. model policy, self-assessment and action planning tools, incident form templates, etc.) that support your work to effectively prevent and tackle all forms of bullying, visit our Policies and guidance page.
We All Matter
‘We All Matter’ is a termly publication from the Lead for Learner Engagement which aims to share good practice, raise awareness of topical issues, distribute resource links and promote training on issues that impact on learner engagement in Oxfordshire.
Please contact us if you would like to see previous editions.
Types of bullying
Resources and guidance to help you tackle the following types of bullying:
- Internet safety and cyberbullying
- Homophobic and biphobic and transphobic bullying
- Racism, religious and cultural bullying
- Sexist and sexual bullying
- Special needs and disability bullying
For general resources to support you with tackling bullying, including lesson plans and activities.
Parent/carers and young people
Direct parents/carers and young people to our Help if your child is being bullied page for more information on bullying, what to do if they are experiencing (or accused of) bullying and for useful links.
Universal offer to all Oxfordshire Schools:
Oxfordshire County Council’s Learner Engagement Service has a designed officer who works in partnership with our young people, schools, families and professional networks to:
- Offer support where relationships have broken down and young people don’t feel safe to attend school;
- Capture data to inform our work to prevent and tackle all forms of bullying in schools;
- Promote and provide training on creating a safe environment for all;
- Promote and provide training on the different ways that schools can celebrate diversity and achieve a sense of belonging and connectedness for young people;
- Promote and provide training on relationships (restorative) practice; and
- Share quality inclusive practice through the termly ‘We All Matter’ newsletter, webpages and Twitter @OCC_Be_Kind
For more information on free training available to all Oxfordshire Schools, go to: learner-engagement-school-training-offer
For more information on Learner Engagement Services, go to: learner-engagement-service
Early Intervention / Preventative Curriculum
This webpage aims to provide educational settings in Oxfordshire with information and guidance to support the implementation of effective whole-school approaches to mental health and wellbeing.
Targeting professionals working in and with schools, this page also seeks to enable children, parents/carers and school staff access to relevant mental health and wellbeing support.
In addition to the above training, you can access information and guidance to support you work in delivering the statutory Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (Secondary) and Health Education Curriculum on the below page: rshe-curriculum-resource-hub
Please read Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Self-Evaluation for Educational Settings (docx format, 120KB) to support your ongoing work to:
- Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010
- Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it
- Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
Becoming a Restorative School
Dealing with conflict and bullying in school can be challenging and time consuming. If dealt with effectively, the whole school community benefits. If not dealt with effectively, the whole school community can end up suffering.
Oxfordshire County Council is committed to supporting schools in embedding restorative approaches. Becoming a restorative school has many benefits, including increased attendance, reduced exclusions and improved achievement. Restorative Practice is also an approved approach by Children’s Social Care and Thames Valley Police.
A restorative school allows time to listen to the voice of children and young people, staff and families. It wants to hear people’s stories, help them clarify their issues and needs, and empower them to find their own solutions to what is concerning them. Restorative approaches can hugely benefit children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
For more information on Restorative Practice, training and ongoing support available to all schools.
Additional sources of training
As part of their All Together programme, the Anti-Bullying Alliance have developed a suite of free online training for anyone that works with children and young people.that works with children and young people.
Topics include:
- What is bullying?
- Bullying and the Law
- Bullying and SEN/disability
- Ten principles to reduce bullying
- Preventing bullying
- Responding to bullying
- Cyberbullying (Online bullying)
Speak out Stay safe is a safeguarding programme for children aged 5- to 11-years-old available put together and delivered by the NSPCC. It is available to all primary schools in the UK and Channel Islands.
Anti-Bullying Week
Anti-Bullying Week happens in the UK every November and is time set aside for people to come together to acknowledge the devastating impact bullying can have on people and reflect on ways we can effectively prevent and tackle bullying in our schools.
Anti-Bullying Week 2021 will be taking place from Monday 15 - Friday 19 November and the theme is One Kind Word.
More information on Anti-Bullying Week and to access useful resources, go to: https://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/anti-bullying-week
Anti-Bullying Ambassador Training
Email clare.pike@oxfordshire.gov.uk to request the link and password for the 2021 Anti-Bullying Ambassador Training. The pre-recorded primary and secondary training is approximately 40mins long yet requires you to pause for discussion and to watch a clip. Therefore, we recommend you assign an hour to this training aimed at pupils who wish to stand up and take action to prevent and tackle bullying in your school and adults who work with them.
In addition, the following event will take place for Anti-Bullying Ambassadors and Anti-Bullying Lead staff on Wednesday 17 November between 1.30pm-3pm:
Anti-Bullying Week 2021: Live Webinar for Oxfordshire Schools
This live event will enable those dedicated to taking action to prevent and eradicate bullying in their school to celebrate what is working in their setting and share ideas to further improve the lived experience for all learners in Oxfordshire Schools.
To receive an invitation to this live webinar, email clare.pike@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Relevant resources to accompany this training can found below:
- ABA job description (pdf format, 135Kb)
- ABA checklist (pdf format, 96Kb)
- ABA action plan (doc format, 20Kb)
- Bystanders sheet (pdf format, 160Kb)
Additional sources of support
Did you know that the following organisations have many resources that may also support your work in eradicating bullying from your setting?
2021 Oxfordshire Schools' Anti-Bullying Survey
The 2021 Oxfordshire Schools’ Anti-Bullying Surveys for KS1, KS2, KS3 and KS4 are now live. Surveys will close on Friday 5 November at 5pm.
Oxfordshire County Council worked with representative school leaders to put together the different 2021 surveys.
The law requires schools to take positive action to deal with particular disadvantages affecting individuals and groups.
While filling in this survey is optional for pupils and has been put together in-line with GDPR regulations, the information pupils share can be utilised by school leaders and the Local Authority to affect positive change in school communities across Oxfordshire.
A summary of the results and individual school responses submitted by 5pm on Friday 5th November will be sent to the headteachers of participating schools in advance of Anti-Bullying Week 2021 (which starts week beginning Monday 15 November).
Tell us what you would like to see
In order to make the resources and information available as relevant and useful as possible, email clare.pike@oxfordshire.gov.uk
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