Reporting bullying: tutor, head teacher and the school protocol

Terms used

• Jefatura de estudios — The jefatura de estudios is the school's head of studies, who helps assess a report and manages discipline and daily school life.
• Orientador — The orientador is the school counsellor who supports pupils and helps assess bullying cases.
• Coordinador de bienestar y protección — The coordinador de bienestar y protección is the staff member each school must name to handle child welfare and protection.
• Inspección educativa — The inspección educativa is the regional education inspectorate, which oversees schools and hears complaints when a school does not act.
• Fiscalía de Menores — The Fiscalía de Menores is the juvenile prosecutor's office, which handles offences involving minors.

Key rules

• Written report: A written report to the director with a date-stamped copy is what formally obliges the school to assess your concern.
• Order: You can skip the tutor and go straight to the director in a serious case.
• Deadlines: The number of days the school has depends on your region's protocol, so ask the school for it.
• All schools: Public, concertado and private schools must all have an anti-bullying protocol.
• If nothing happens: Go to the education inspectorate if the school does not act or you disagree with the outcome.

Put it in writing and address it to the director

Talking to the tutor is a good first step, but a written report to the director is what puts the school on formal notice. Put your report in writing, address it to the director, and get a copy stamped with the date at the school's registry. That stamped copy is your proof of when the school knew. The director then has to assess your report and decide whether to open the protocol.

The template letter below gives you wording to start from.

Do you have to start with the tutor?

No. The usual advice is to start with the tutor, then go up to the head of studies (jefatura de estudios), the school counsellor (orientador) and the director if nothing changes. You do not have to follow that order. In a serious case, go straight to the director or to the school's welfare coordinator (coordinador de bienestar y protección).

If you start with the tutor, still follow up in writing. A conversation leaves no proof.

Who opens the protocol

In most regions the director opens the protocol. This usually happens after an initial assessment by the head of studies, the tutor and the counsellor. In some regions another person or the management team takes this role. Ask the school who handles it in your region.

How to hand in your report

Choose a method that gives you a dated receipt. The options are in the decision below. Whichever you use, keep the proof with your other records. The checklist below shows what to keep.

How long the school has

Deadlines are set by each region's protocol. Typically the school decides within a few school days of your report, and the investigation follows within a set number of days or weeks. Protective measures should start immediately. Ask the school for the exact number of days in your region's protocol, and write the date you filed in your own notes.

What you are entitled to once you report

• To be told that the protocol is open, and to be interviewed by the school management or counsellor.
• To be told which protective measures are put in place.
• To receive the conclusions of the investigation, normally in writing.

The parents of the other child are also informed and heard. Because of privacy rules for all the children involved, the school may not give you details of sanctions on other pupils.

What protection your child can get

For your child, protocols provide extra supervision at breaks, in corridors, the canteen and transport. They also provide a named reference adult, support from the counsellor and referral to health or psychological help. For the other pupil, the school can apply its conduct rules, from a warning to a change of class, and educational measures such as mediation. If the facts may be a crime, the school can notify the police or the juvenile prosecutor (Fiscalía de Menores).

Private and concertado schools

Concertado schools, which are publicly funded, must follow the regional protocol. All schools, public or private, must have a protocol and a coordinator. The education inspectorate (inspección educativa) oversees them. Details for private schools differ by region.

If the school does not act

If the school does not act, or you disagree with the outcome, go to the inspección educativa. In serious cases you can also go to the police or the Fiscalía de Menores.

Choosing between options

How do you file your written report so you can prove the school received it?

• Hand it in at the school's registry: Best when you can go in person: ask for a copy stamped with the date and registry number. You can also hand over two copies and have one signed and dated by the staff member.

• Send it through the regional education office's online service: Fits when your region has an online platform for families, such as Séneca in Andalucía, which issues a dated receipt.

• Send a burofax or registered letter: Fits when you cannot go in person or want proof of what the letter said: a burofax certifies the content, and a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (carta certificada con acuse de recibo) proves delivery.

• Email the school's official address: Fits as a quick first step if you ask for a delivery or read receipt, ideally followed by a registered copy.

• File at a Correos office or the state electronic registry: Fits when the school's own registry is not practical, as both stamp the date.

Whichever route you choose, address the report to the director and keep a copy showing the date.

Timeline and deadlines

• Tell the tutor about the concern, or go straight to the director in a serious case: as soon as you notice the problem

• Put your report in writing, address it to the director and get a copy stamped with the date at the school's registry: if the tutor's response does not solve it, or at once in a serious case

• The school puts protective measures in place for your child: immediately

• You are told the protocol is open and are interviewed by the school management or counsellor: once the protocol is opened

• The school investigates and sends you its conclusions, normally in writing: within the number of days or weeks set by your region's protocol

• Go to the education inspectorate (inspección educativa) if the school does not act or you disagree with the outcome: if the school does not act or the outcome is unsatisfactory

Check the exact number of days in the bullying protocol of your region, as deadlines differ between regions.

Checklist for documenting bullying incidents

Document each incident

• Start a dated incident log: write down what happened, where, who was involved and who saw it.

• Save messages, emails, social media posts and voice notes, and take screenshots that show the date, sender and account.

• Keep the original phone or device and the original files, make backups, and do not delete any messages.

• Photograph any injuries and keep medical and psychological reports.

• Keep every communication from the school, and write notes after each meeting.

• Keep copies of your written complaints with the registry stamp, so the school and the education inspectors (inspección educativa) can see what you reported and when.

• Ask a notary or the police to certify the content of key messages if you may need them as proof later.

• Keep the evidence private: do not publish it or share images of other children.

Template letter to report bullying to the school

Fill in the brackets, delete what does not apply, and print two copies. Address the letter to the director. Take both copies to the school's registry (the secretaría) and ask for one back stamped with the date and registry number. That stamped copy is your proof of the date.

If you cannot go in person, use the regional education department's electronic office, a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, or a burofax. An email to the school's official address also works if you ask for a delivery or read receipt. Follow it with a registered copy.

Keep to facts: what happened, when, where and who saw it. Leave out opinions about the other children or their families.

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A la atención de la Dirección de [nombre del centro educativo]

[Localidad], a [día] de [mes] de [año]

Asunto: Comunicación de posible situación de acoso escolar y solicitud de activación del protocolo

Estimado/a director/a:

Mi nombre es [nombre y apellidos], con DNI/NIE [número], y soy [padre / madre / tutor legal] de [nombre y apellidos del menor], alumno/a de [curso y grupo] en su centro.

Les escribo para comunicar formalmente que mi hijo/a podría estar sufriendo una situación de acoso escolar.

Hechos

[Describa de forma objetiva qué ha ocurrido, quién ha participado y dónde. Por ejemplo: "El [fecha], durante el recreo, el alumno [nombre, si lo conoce] le empujó e insultó delante de otros compañeros."]

Fechas y frecuencia

Los hechos comenzaron aproximadamente el [fecha] y se han repetido [diariamente / semanalmente / en las siguientes fechas:...].

Testigos

[Nombres de alumnos o personal del centro que lo hayan presenciado, o "No tengo constancia de testigos".]

Consecuencias para mi hijo/a

[Por ejemplo: miedo a ir al colegio, problemas de sueño, tristeza, bajada de notas, lesiones, atención médica o psicológica.]

Gestiones realizadas hasta ahora

[Por ejemplo: "Hablé con el tutor/a el [fecha]" o "No he realizado gestiones previas".]

Documentación que adjunto

• [Capturas de mensajes o redes sociales]
• [Fotografías]
• [Informe médico o psicológico]
• [Comunicaciones anteriores con el centro]

Solicito

1. Que se active el protocolo de actuación frente al acoso escolar.
2. Que se adopten de inmediato medidas para proteger a mi hijo/a.
3. Que se me informe por escrito de las actuaciones realizadas y se me entregue copia de las conclusiones.
4. Que se me conteste por escrito a este escrito.

Quedo a su disposición para reunirme con ustedes. Mis datos de contacto son: teléfono [número], correo electrónico [dirección], domicilio [dirección].

Atentamente,

[Firma]

[Nombre y apellidos]

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Ask the secretaría to stamp your copy before you leave. Keep it with your attachments. If you send the letter by email, save the sent message and the receipt.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to start with the tutor before going to the director?

No, you do not have to follow the chain in order, and in serious cases you can go straight to the director or the school's wellbeing coordinator. The usual advice is to start with the tutor, then the head of studies (jefatura de estudios), the school counsellor and the director if nothing happens.

Does a private or concertado school have to follow the same bullying protocol?

Yes, concertado schools must follow the regional anti-bullying protocol, and every school, public or private, must have a protocol and a wellbeing coordinator. Private schools without public funding are also covered by child protection law and in most regions by regional school conduct rules.

What will the school tell me once the protocol is open?

You have the right to be told the protocol has been opened and to be heard by the school management or counsellor. You must also be told which protective measures are adopted and receive the conclusions, normally in writing. Details of sanctions on other pupils may be limited to protect their privacy.

What protection can my child get while the school investigates?

Protection should start immediately, with extra supervision at breaks, in corridors, in the canteen and on transport. Your child can also get a named reference adult, support from the school counsellor and referral to health or psychological services. The pupil who bullied can face discipline, a change of class or reparation measures.

How many days does the school have to react to my report?

The number of days is set by your region's protocol, so check it there. Typically the school must make its first assessment and decide within a few school days of the report. Andalucía, for example, sets short deadlines of a few days for the first steps.