Great Heath Academy is a 3-form entry primary academy with an attached nursery, currently catering to around 600 pupils.

How have you found tootoot so far?

We’ve been using tootoot for 18 months now at Great Heath Academy and we have found that it really compliments our existing anti-bullying practices.

Our school is passionate about keeping pupils safe both in school and on the internet which is why we have regular talks, assemblies and classes on bullying as well as cyberbullying and how to stay safe online.

“The pupils had used tootoot to report in their own time and were able to do so in confidence.”

Do you have any examples of tootoot working at Great Heath Academy?

In March we had a few cases reported through the tootoot app concerning cyberbullying on the popular online games console Xbox Live where gamers can talk online and message each other. Over the course of a few weeks we had four of our year five pupils report instances of cyberbullying on Xbox Live, the pupils had used tootoot to report in their own time and were able to do so in confidence. 

School staff responded to the messages immediately and built up a dialogue with the pupils, offering support and advice. One of the pieces of advice we gave to the pupils who reported the cases was to report the bullying on Xbox Live, as a result the aggressors’ account is now banned from the platform. 

“From all the reports we were able to build up a clear picture with each pupil giving their views and experiences separately.”

From all the reports we were able to build up a clear picture with each pupil giving their views and experiences separately. With their messages we were able to identify the aggressor as a pupil in the same year group, we then spoke to the pupil responsible for the nasty Xbox Live comments to resolve the case.

“What I found interesting in this case is that all of the pupils were much more comfortable to report to us through tootoot, rather than tell their parents”

What I found interesting in this case is that all of the pupils were much more comfortable to report to us through tootoot, rather than tell their parents. To me this shows that pupils are confident using the app and confident that our school will be able to take address their concerns effectively and do something about it. 

Our anti-bullying approach is very effective with cases like these because the combination of modern technology with tootoot to report, and the level of awareness the pupils have thanks to our regular talks, assemblies and classes about online safety.