All UK state schools, by law, need to have an anti-bullying policy.
The core values of Aspire – Alternative Provision Academy are: Empathy, Courage and community. In order to promote this the themes of equality, tolerance and a respect for others run throughout our curriculum and pastoral core.
Aspire’s aim is for students to leave with all the tools they need to be a successful, positive contributor to society, both within and outside of their own local communities. Bullying is counterproductive to this aim and therefore bullying is not tolerated at Aspire Academy.
Aspire Academy uses a range of approaches to educate our young people thus preventing incidents of bullying. Aspire Academy considers an act of bullying to be any act designed to willfully hurt, upset or threaten another person. This is inclusive of actions which are: Verbal, physical, cyber and emotional. This includes incidents where the aggressor’s motivators are based on: Racism, homophobia, a superior sense of possessing physical or intellectual attributes, accent or socio-economic status.
Aspire Academy also has a range of approaches in place to resolve and deal with bullying issues, should they still arise. These include: Restorative practice and circle time and run in conjunction with the behaviour systems.
Aspire Academy students are expected to treat all others with fairness and respect and to report incidents of bullying.
To read our Anti-Bullying Policy, please visit our policies page.
Reporting a concern
If you have a bullying concern please contact us immediately in one of the following ways:
Tel: 01482 318789 – please telephone Aspire and ask for your child’s Key Stage Manager or SLO.
In person: Ask your child to approach any member of staff.
For many of you, there are bound to be times when you need some extra support whilst at the Academy. During your time here, there are a number of places and people you can access help from:
Your tutor is there to provide day-to-day support. You can speak to them about any concerns you are facing, any learning difficulties you are having or just generally to discuss how things are going. Your Tutor will be in regular contact with your parents / carers and will check in on you if you are not in, or unwell. If you have any worries, however minor, do speak with your tutor.
SLOs and Heads of Year
Student Liaison Officers are there to provide additional support to you and your tutor. They can be there to help you if you are finding a lesson difficult or if you are experiencing problems outside of school and don’t know where to turn. Many of our students build up good relationships with the SLOs. They can make contact home, check where you need to be and help you become familiar with the Academy if you are new. The SLOs are usually out on corridors during lessons and the SLO office is on the bottom corridor. Heads of Year will keep an eye on your progress, behaviour and attendance – and offer additional support to you if you are finding things difficult.
Most of you will get to know the Attendance well. Mrs Benstead is our Education Welfare Officer. She is always around first thing in the morning, checking you are in. If you are struggling with getting into the Academy or getting home, do speak to one of the staff in this office. This team provides things like Mega Riders and organises the taxis and school minibus service to get you in and home. The Attendance Team will also look for ways to help you attend school more regularly if this is a problem.
Mrs Boyton is the Academy’s Safeguarding Lead. Mrs Lane deputises for Mrs Boyton on Child Protection issues. If you are working with professionals such as social workers, agencies like Refresh or Youth Justice, or working with Early Help, it is likely that Mrs Lane or Mrs Boyton will be working closely with these people to keep you on track to do well. You might be invited to spend some time with the Team to support your needs or discuss how things are going. This helps Mrs Boyton and Mrs Lane understand your feelings and worries better. The Safeguarding Team may also offer ways to help support you, such as counselling, referrals for services like Headstart or Refresh. All staff have a duty of care, under safeguarding rules, to report any concerns around you to the Safeguarding Team.
External Sources of Support
If you need support out of hours, you can use the following contact details:
Cornerhouse (Support for Sexual Health and Emotional Wellbeing): 01482327044
MIND (Support for Mental and Emotional Health): 01482 240200
CAMHS Contact Point: 01482 303688 (Crisis Team = 01482 301701 Option 2)
Step Out (Support group for LGBT+ young people aged 11-17): call or text Viv on 07580417577, or email firstname.lastname@example.org
Kooth (Online emotional and mental wellbeing service for young people)
Childline: 0800 1111
BEAT (Eating Disorders): 0808 8010711
Cruse (Support for young people experiencing bereavement: 0800 8081677
Refresh (Support for young people experiencing difficulties with drugs or alcohol): 01482 331059