Bullying and harrassment

Bullying is behaviour intended to hurt, intimidate, or coerce someone, often repeatedly and over time. It may be physical, verbal, relational (damaging someone's reputation), or digital (cyberbullying). Bullying can happen in any environment - educational, professional, or social - and can affect anyone.

Harassment is any unwanted conduct that violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. It may relate to a person's identity, such as their race, gender, sexuality, disability, religion, or other protected characteristics, and often involves an abuse of power or position.

Bullying and harassment refer to unwelcome, inappropriate, or harmful behaviour that causes distress, fear, or humiliation. This behaviour may be repeated over time or occur as a single serious incident. It can take many forms, including:

Verbal abuse or name-calling
Physical intimidation or threats of violence
Deliberate exclusion or isolation of individuals
Spreading rumours or malicious gossip
Mocking, ridiculing, or making offensive jokes
Online harassment or cyberbullying, including messages, posts, or images shared through social media, email, or messaging apps
Misuse of position or power to intimidate or belittle others
Damage to personal property or belongings

There may be other forms of bullying and harassment not listed here that are equally harmful and unacceptable.

How to get information and support

There is a wide range of support available both within Sunderland College and externally for anyone experiencing bullying or harassment. Whether you're a student or a staff member, you don't have to go through this alone - support is available.

Support within the college

At Sunderland College, the safety, dignity, and wellbeing of everyone in our community are our top priorities.

Each campus has a designated safeguarding representative who can provide confidential guidance and support. They can also help you access the right services. You can contact them by visiting your Future Ready Hub or email safeguarding@sunderlandcollege.ac.uk. Alternatively, you can find more information on safeguarding and wellbeing support here.

If you are a student and have experienced or are experiencing bullying or harassment, our counselling and wellbeing services can help. You can self-refer for a face-to-face or virtual appointment by emailing counselling@educationpartnershipne.ac.uk. Alternatively, with your consent, a member of staff can make a referral on your behalf. Find out more information here.

All staff can access free and confidential support through our Employee Assistance Programme, delivered in partnership with MLC Medics. To speak to a trained advisor or counsellor, email EAP@mlc-medics.com or call 0808 196 1441.

Staff members may also with to speak to our People, Organisational and Development team to access any available support.

If you are a member of staff, you can also view our Dignity at Work policy via our internal Policy Hub, which can be found on the People, Organisational and Development SharePoint.

College policies and procedures

We have a range of policies and procedures that help us to govern and manage the College. Below are our policies that may be relevant when addressing hate incidents. You can click on each of the policies listed below to find out more information and read the full policy or procedure.

External support

If you or someone you know is affected by bullying or harassment, there are also several external organisations in the North East of England that can help:

Anti Bullying Alliance - Offers information and advice to individuals experiencing bullying in schools, colleges, or the workplace
Childline - Offers confidential support to anyone under 19 who needs someone to talk to. Available 24/7 at 0800 1111 or online
NSPCC- Offers support for children and young people facing abuse, bullying or harassment
Young Minds - Offerssupport for young people and parents and carers around the impact of bullying and harassment
Kooth - an online platform to help young people with their mental health and wellbeing. It’s a welcoming space to safely explore your feelings
Bullying UK (Family Lives) - Provides practical advice and support for young people, parents, and schools
Victim Support Northumbria - Offers emotional and practical support to anyone affected by bullying, hate crime, or harassment

Reporting

There are two ways to report:

If you select 'Report anonymously', the College will not be able to directly help you or follow up with you on your report. We will be able to track incidents and concerns, identify trends and improve things based on these.

If you would like someone from the College to contact you in regard to your report, please 'Report with details'.

You can report a number of different types of concerns. For example, you can report an incident of sexual harassment, bullying or hate incidents. If your are unsure which category your concern is most relevant to, or you would like to find out more information about the support available, please see the How to get the right information and support section, which provides information on the definitions of the various types of concerns you can report.

The College will keep the information you provide in the form confidential and only share with those who need to know. Your personal data will be maintained pursuant to data protection legislation, regulation and our policy and procedure. You can learn more about this by reading our Student Privacy Notice and our Staff Privacy Notice.