One of Bristol’s newer schools has responded to a complaint about bullying, reiterating its “zero tolerance” approach to such behaviour. An anonymous source contacted Bristol Live and raised serious concerns about alleged bullying at Trinity Academy, which opened at its permanent site in Lockleaze in 2021 after two years in temporary buildings.
The person expressed concern that bullying was not being addressed quickly enough, stating that the response from high school leaders had been to “sweep it under the rug.” They described several specific incidents, but the school has said these claims were “unfounded and not recognized by academia.”
A spokesperson for the high school said: “As an academy, the protection, health and well-being of our students and staff is our highest priority. We hold the highest expectations for all students and have a zero tolerance policy towards any violent behavior. or intimidating.” .
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“In accordance with our robust policies and procedures, these allegations, which have not previously been brought to our attention, have now been promptly and thoroughly investigated. As such, we can confirm that they are unfounded and unrecognized by the Academy.”
“Our goal is to foster mutual respect and kindness throughout the Academy and ensure a safe, calm, and productive learning environment for all students. In keeping with these key values, we work hard as a team to support our students through our comprehensive pastoral work, personal, social, health, and economic (PSHE) curriculum, assemblies, and commitment to important initiatives.”
The school said it has developed an Anti-Bullying Charter with its students and supports important initiatives like Anti-Bullying Week. Their statement continued: “This is an ongoing process and on the rare occasions that an incident of violent or bullying behavior occurs, we take immediate steps to ensure that issues are resolved quickly, appropriately and effectively, including liaising with the relevant authorities”. external agencies if necessary.
“We actively encourage all of our students, families, and staff to always raise concerns directly with us, so we can investigate and support as needed, and we regularly remind our community of the systems in place for reporting any concerns.”
Trinity Academy is one of nine schools belonging to the Cathedral Schools Trust (CST) based in the South West. In accordance with its mission statement, the Trust is “unapologetic” in its “pursuit of excellence for the people and communities” it serves.
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