The following qualities are essential for a healthy and safe school environment. Bullying has no place in a safe school. We believe that by taking action against bullying, we can make a significant difference to the lives of all students, and have a profoundly positive impact on the climate of your school. Bullying in its truest form is comprised of a series of repeated intentionally cruel incidents, involving the same children, in the same bully and victim roles. This, however, does not mean that in order for bullying to occur there must be repeat offenses.
Bullying can consist of a single interaction.
Bullying behavior may also be defined as a criminal act if the bully is twelve years of age or older. Certain conditions must exist for a bullying incident to occur. Lots of kids joke around with each other, call each other names, or engage in some fairly physical horse-play and yet these incidents are not deemed as bullying when they occur between certain children. The difference lies in the relationship of the bully and victim, and in the intent of the interaction. Bullying usually, although not always, occurs between individuals who are not friends.