Anti-bullying

It has been shown that schools with a community focus can be successful in changing the culture of a community and have a positive effect on bullying both inside and outside the school gates.

Tackling bullying together

We are all aware that bullying takes places in all schools to some degree. Unfortunately there will always be a small number of young people who wish to victimise or bully another individual, for whatever reason.

There are many definitions of bullying, but most consider it to be:

• deliberately hurtful (including aggression)
• repeated often over a period of time (while recognising that even a one-off incident can leave a pupil traumatised and nervous of future recurrence)
• difficult for victims to defend themselves against.

Bullying can take many forms, but the three main types are:

• physical – hitting, kicking, taking belongings, sexual harassment or aggression
• verbal – name calling, insulting, making offensive remarks
• indirect – spreading nasty stories about someone, exclusion from social groups, being made the subject of malicious rumours, sending malicious e-mails or text messages on mobile phones.

Working with parents

Parental support is often the key to success or failure in anti-bullying initiatives. Useful approaches include:

• regular consultation and communication
• providing information about the nature and effects of bullying
• advising parents of possible consequences of their children bringing valuable items to school
• putting on a drama to which parents are invited.

Bystanders

Bystanders are those people that know that incidents of bullying take place but don’t do anything to help the victim. In some cases they may stand near or watch bullying but do not take part in it and take no action. There are many reasons for standing by and ignoring the problem. By encouraging bystanders to step forward and recognise that they have a responsibility to the victims we can work together to tackle bullying.

Bullying takes place in all schools to some degree. Unfortunately there will always be a small number of young people who wish to victimise or bully another individual, for whatever reason.

We know that bullying happens, but preventing it can present a huge challenge. That is why we need to work together to tackle bullying in schools.

Children and young people need to learn that bullying is wrong and that they should respect others. The Welsh Assembly Government issued circular 23/2003 ‘Respecting Others: Anti Bullying Guidance’ to all schools and LEAs in 2003. The guidance sets out the different strategies that schools can implement, both preventative and reactive in tackling bullying incidents. This area of the website is designed to help children and young people, families and teachers tackle bullying.

Contact us

If you would like any further advice on what to do if you or a friend is being bullied or if your child is being bullied, or you wish to request a copy of the Respecting Others Guidance, please e-mail PETShare@wales.gsi.gov.uk