Inclusion

Guidance for parents, guardians and pupils

Guidance for parents, guardians and pupils about bullying, prejudice and racism incidents (BPRI)

Is your child an assailant or suspected assailant of an incident?

Establishments understand that if your child has been involved in such incidents, it can be quite a trying and unsettling time for the family. Very rarely are incidents that children report false and the establishments must take them seriously.

Of course, children’s perceptions of incidents should be considered and this is where you can expect the establishment to complete a thorough investigation if needed. If the establishment believes your child is an assailant (instigator) of an incident you can expect the following:

  • The establishment may withdraw your child from normal lessons and provide learning in an intervention room.
  • To contact you and explain the incident and if any consequences have been decided on. They may also suggest additional interventions they will provide regarding the incident, to prevent a recurrence.  The establishment will outline the next steps for your child, such as a restorative meeting or the expectation that the child apologises.
  • It is a good time to ask the establishment what support is in place for your child and ask to be directed to the establishments policies on the matter. These should be available on their website.
  • The establishment will complete a bullying, prejudice and racism incident log (BPRI) with the local authority. Further details of how the local authority use this is below.
  • If you are still concerned, or your child needs further support, ensure this is voiced to the establishment. The principal or director will be happy to have a meeting to discuss next steps.
  • If you are not satisfied with the process, you will be able to find the establishment’s complaints procedure on their website and you will be able to make a formal complaint.

Has your child been a victim of bullying, prejudice or racism (BPRI)?

When your child reports to you an incident that has occurred, the majority of the time establishments deal with these incidents effectively.

What can a parent or guardian do:

  • Reassure your child that they are loved and supported. Hear their report of the incident and if need be, write down the events. Be mindful to not lead or ‘put words’ in their report.
  • If you have any concerns, the next step is to contact the establishment and report the incident, as the child may not have done so, or done so clearly enough. Provide the establishment with all the information you have and ask them for a time frame that you can expect a call back.
  • Provide support to the child. The BPRI resource 2022 has lots of suggestions. Don’t hesitate to ask the establishment what support they can provide and suggest. There are various sources for support including webinars and counselling, such as Stop.Breathe.Think.
  • When the investigation, consequences and support has been completed by the establishment, feel free to enquire if they have reported the incident to the local authority. Due to GDPR, establishments will not share the details of their report to the local authority with you. You can also access lots of information from the establishments own policies. These should be displayed on their website.
  • If you are still concerned, or your child needs further support, ensure this is voiced to the establishment. The principal or director will be happy to have a meeting to discuss next steps.
  • If there are continued concerns, please contact the establishment and/or follow their complaints procedure.
  • You should have followed your concerns with the establishments complaints procedure in full, then you are able to report the incident to the local authority for review. This is not the same as making an Ofsted complaint. Your report to the local authority will be dealt with the same as the establishment’s report will be.

What do we do with the incident logs?

When we receive an incident log from an establishment or parent or guardian, we will review the incident and the actions taken in response to the incident. We aim to ensure that the response is sufficient to educate the assailant, support the target and that there are steps in place to prevent further incidents. If we need to, we will provide further advice and support.

All data is protected under GDPR and only those that require the information to perform their duties will have access. Reports are only shared to those investigating Ofsted complaints or Ofsted themselves, if they request the information. Full names are never recorded (just assailant initials), their year group and gender.

We also collate the data to build a Devon-wide picture, which helps us to direct resources and support.

Bullying, prejudice and racism (BPRI) resource 2022

Reporting a bullying, prejudice or racism incident

Further support

Your establishment will be able to provide lots of support, so please do contact them.


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