What Bullying Is – and What It Is Not
At Fishponds CE Academy, the school believes it is important for pupils, parents and staff to share a clear understanding of what bullying means. This helps everyone recognise concerns early and work together to keep every child safe, supported and respected.
What Bullying Is
Bullying is deliberate, repeated behaviour that hurts someone else physically, emotionally or socially. It involves an imbalance of power, where the person being targeted finds it difficult to defend themselves.
Bullying can include:
- Physical harm – such as hitting, kicking or damaging someone’s belongings
- Verbal harm – name‑calling, insults, threats or unkind comments
- Social or relational bullying – leaving someone out on purpose, spreading rumours, or encouraging others to isolate someone
- Online or cyberbullying – unkind messages, posts or images shared to hurt, embarrass or intimidate
In all cases, bullying is intentional, happens more than once, and causes the child targeted to feel upset, scared or vulnerable.
What Bullying Is Not
Not all conflict or unkind behaviour is bullying. Children sometimes fall out, make mistakes or act impulsively. These incidents are still taken seriously and addressed, but they do not meet the definition of bullying unless they are repeated and intended to cause harm.
The following are not bullying:
- One‑off disagreements or arguments between pupils
- Accidental behaviour, such as bumping into someone without meaning to
- Mutual fallouts, where both children are upset or involved equally
- Occasional unkind comments that are not repeated (though the school will always follow up and support pupils to make better choices)
Understanding the difference allows the school to respond appropriately and ensure pupils learn how to manage relationships positively.