All adults are crucial in creating and maintaining a safe and supportive school environment. The school’s behaviour policy about bullying is an important place to start to establish a shared understanding of bullying and how best to respond. It is important that everyone is looking for the same types of behaviours before labelling a person as a bully, as incorrectly labelling a child as a bully can also lead to stigmatisation and harm.
Adults also play an important role in responding to and intervening in bullying behaviours. Many young people do not report being bullied because they are too embarrassed, they are worried that the bullying will get worse, or that the adults won’t believe them or won’t stop the bullying, so it’s important that adults are aware of the signs that could indicate a child is being bullied.