Memorandum submitted by the Anti-Bullying
Alliance
1. INTRODUCTION:
THE ANTI-BULLYING
ALLIANCE (ABA)
1.1 The Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) was
established in 2002. It is a unique collaboration of over 65 organisations
that come together to articulate a common voice in support of
strong national and local anti-bullying policy and practice and
to promote the safe and positive environments for all children
and young people. Through its Regional Programme and network of
Co-ordinators the Alliance engages with the public, the voluntary
sector and a range of other organisations in Local Authorities
throughout England.
1.2 The Anti-Bullying Alliance has three
main functions:
to raise the profile of bullying
and the effect it has on children and young people's emotional
health and well-being, life chances and achievement;
to create a climate in which everyone
agrees that bullying is unacceptable and is committed to tackling
it in order to improve outcomes for children and young people;
and
to ensure that teachers and other
adults working with children and young people, and young people
themselves, are equipped with the skills and knowledge to address
bullying effectively.
1.3 This evidence has been compiled by drawing
on the expertise of the Alliance members (Appendix 1). It provides
an overview and should be read in conjunction with evidence submitted
by members with specialist expertise in different areas. It also
draws on the expertise of nine Regional Co-ordinators, who cover
each government region. The Anti-Bullying Alliance regional programme
is funded by the DfES and works within government policy on bullying.
1.4 The Anti-Bullying Alliance welcomes
this inquiry and urges the committee to both congratulate the
Government on the commitment to anti-bullying shown so far, and
to reinforce the need for anti-bullying policy to be developed
further and implemented in the context of Every Child Matters
and Youth Matters. We particularly urge the Government
to recognise that many children and young people who bully others
are being hurt and abused themselves.
2. SUMMARY
2.1 Bullying damages children's and young
people's physical and mental health, their ability to learn and
to build and sustain relationships. It can also destroy self-esteem,
with the effects sometimes lasting into adult life. In extreme
cases it can lead to self-harm and suicide.
2.2 The Anti-Bullying Alliance believes
that bullying is a serious issue, and that we should work to reduce
and prevent it as part of our efforts to create safe, positive
and stimulating environments for children. All local authorities
and schools should audit how they are addressing bullying on a
regular basis. Staff need to be confident and competent in addressing
bullying incidents.
2.3 The Anti-Bullying Alliance believes
that all children should grow up without the fear of being bullied.
The view that bullying is a normal part of growing up, necessary
to toughen up children and young people in preparation for the
realities adult life should be challenged at every level.
2.4 Research has demonstrated that bystanders
play a significant role in bullying. Proactive and preventative
interventions implemented at individual, class, school, and community
level have the potential to reduce bullying, alongside reactive
strategies to deal with bullying incidents when they occur. Teachers
and staff need to be competent, confident and consistent in dealing
with actual bullying incidents. The challenge is to develop innovative
strategies that create a safe and positive and healthy environment
for learning and provide children, young people and adults with
safe ways to take action that reduces the incidence of bullying
and its harmful effects.
2.5 Effective anti-bullying strategies must
be multi-faceted, with interventions designed to:
react effectively when it occurs;
and
provide longer term support to promote
the self-esteem of those who have been bullied to reduce the likelihood
of long-term damage and also to reduce the underlying vulnerability
of children and young people who bully others.
2.6 There is no quick fix, "one size
fits all" approach to bullying. There are a number of approaches
to dealing with incidents of bullying and those working with children
and young people need to select the most appropriate for circumstances
of individual cases. More research is needed however, to help
us assess what works best in preventing and changing bullying
behaviour, supporting those being bullied and working across the
wider community.
2.7 The Anti-Bullying Alliance believes
that adults need to listen to children and young people and ensure
they are given the opportunity to speak out and have their voices
heard on their experiences of bullying and are actively encouraged
to participate in identifying both the problems and solutions
to bullying.
2.8 The Anti-Bullying Alliance seeks a co-ordinated
response to bullying. It is believes that local authorities and
Children's Trusts have a key role to play in challenging bullying,
and has a leading role to play in the development of local strategic
partnerships and in the provision of anti-bullying support services.
Local partnerships need to involve a range of statutory services,
voluntary and community agencies and schools. Most importantly
they need to consult and involve those most affected by bullying:
children and young people.
2.9 The Anti-Bullying Alliance believes
that children and young people need education and modelling from
adults to help them learn pro-social behaviours, develop empathy
for others and the skills and confidence to live in a diverse,
wide changing society. The skills and abilities to live and work
collaboratively in schools cannot be left to chance they can and
must be taught. More emphasis should be placed on developing positive
relationships skills and teaching children about mutual respect
and co-operation in primary and secondary schools. We recommend
that this inquiry concludes by supporting the calls of a significant
number of organisations for Personal, Social and Health Education
to be a statutory foundation subject at Key Stages 1-4 (from ages
4-18 years).
3. THE NATURE
OF BULLYING
Definition
3.1 The Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) defines
bullying as the intentional hurting of one person by another,
where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It is usually
repetitive or persistent, although some one-off attacks can have
a continuing harmful effect on the victim. This definition is
consistent with accounts from children and young people, and with
research.
3.2 Bullying takes many forms, face-to-face,
or through third parties. The hurt can be either or both physical,
and emotional.
Some bullying is physical:
kicking, hitting, pushing; and
taking and damaging belongings.
Some bullying is verbal:
making offensive comments; and
Some bullying is relational:
excluding people from groups, deliberately
ignoring; and
gossiping, spreading rumours.
Some bullying uses modern technology such as
mobile phones, or the Internet. This "cyberbullying"
includes:
picture/video-clip bullying (via
mobile phone cameras);
bullying through instant messaging;
and
Risk and protective factors in bullying
3.3 A child or young person can be bullied
for no particular reason. Sometimes personal characteristics (such
as height, weight, or hair colour) are targeted. Children who
are timid and unassertive are more vulnerable to being bullied,
so assertiveness training can help some children. Having friends,
especially friends you can trust, is an important protective factor
against being bullied in the peer group. Some bullying is done
because a child or young person belongs to a certain group.
3.4 This has been labelled "prejudice
driven bullying", and includes homophobic bullying, racist
bullying, sexual or gender bullying, and bullying of pupils with
learning or other disabilities. It is possible for many children
to get involved in bullying, too, and it is important not to "pathologise"
most cases of bullying. All bullying is unacceptable, and many
children who are aggressive and lack empathy for others can be
helped to understand the consequences of their actions and change
their behaviour. The home background can be an important factor
to take into account in addressing bullying behaviours, together
with peer-group influence, which is especially significant in
secondary school.
Roles in bullying
3.5 There are many roles in bullying: there
may be a gang of bullies, with a ringleader and followers. Some
pupils watch and reinforce the bullying actively, or stand by
passively doing nothing to stop it. Other pupils may help the
victim. These roles are not exclusive: at different times or in
different contexts, children and young people can both bully and
be bullied (Wolke and others 2000).
3.6 There is increasing focus on the social
context in which bullying takes place and the group and peer pressures
that are at play. The role of the "bystander"
a "person who does not become actively involved in a situation
where someone else requires help" (Clarkson 1996) is being
highlighted in Anti-Bullying Week this year (see section 9). Bystanding
is not passive: witnesses to bullying play very different roles,
some more active than others, and these contribute significantly
to what takes place.
Research (Salmivalli 1999) has indicated that
as well as those who are bullied and those who bully, there are
usually other witnesses who, through adopting particular roles,
influence and affect what happens. The following "participant
roles" were identified:
assistants who join in and assist
the bully;
reinforcers who do not actively attack
the victim but give positive feedback to the bully, providing
an audience by laughing and making other encouraging gestures;
outsiders who stay away, not taking
sides with anyone or becoming involved, but allowing the bullying
to continue by their "silent approval"; and
defenders who show anti-bullying
behaviour, comforting the victim, taking sides with them and trying
to stop the bullying.
A full summary of this research is included
in supplementary materials sent as part of this submission.
4. THE EXTENT
OF BULLYING
4.1 Most of our information on the extent
of bullying comes from children and young people saying that they
have been bullied, or have taken part in bullying othersthis
is called "self-report" data. This is a good source,
as bullying is first and foremost a subjective experience. It
is also important to take account of other perspectives, for example
of witnesses or bystanders (pupils, teachers, parents).
4.2 Surveys provide information on the frequency
of bullying, but the figures will be influenced by: the age of
the children; their understanding of what bullying is; and how
the questions have been asked, for example, what time period is
being referred to and how serious or frequent the bullying has
to be. Pupils may report being bullied, even if this was mildly
only once or twice, if this information is not specified. Research
for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) published in
2003 (Oliver and Candappa) showed that half of all primary and
more than a quarter of all secondary pupils said that they had
been bullied in the last year. The same study showed that 51%
of primary and 54% of secondary pupils felt that bullying was
a "big problem" or "quite a big problem" in
their school.
4.3 Other surveys usually produce figures
that show bullying falls within the range of 10-20%. Over the
last few years, data gathered from some 16,000 pupils in Leicestershire
schools (Pupil Attitude Survey 2005-06) shows that the proportion
who say they have been bullied in school this year more than once
or twice was 16.3% in 2002-03, 14.9% in 2003-04, 14.4% in 2004-05,
and 13.9% in 2005-06. Levels of severe bullying appear to be declining
from around 13% in 1996 to 8% in 2006 (Katz, 2006). These slow
but steady declines do suggest that anti-bullying work is having
an effect, but also that much remains to be done.
4.4 Even if many forms of bullying are slowly
decreasing, cyber bullying, as one particular form of bullying,
is probably on the increase as new technologies spread more widely,
including downwards to younger children. A study of more than
11,000 pupils from 2002 to 2005 asked them how often they had
received any nasty or threatening text messages or emails. The
percentage answering "once in a while" or more often
was 5.8% in 2002, 5.9% in 2003, 7.4% in 2004 and 7% in 2005 (Noret
and Rivers 2006). An NCH survey in 2005 (NCH 2005) found that
20% of young people are bullied or threatened through text messages
or online: 14% received bullying or threatening text messages,
5% were harassed in internet chat rooms, and 4% were harassed
by email. A detailed report on 92 pupils (Smith and colleagues
2005) found that 7% had experienced some kind of cyberbullying
in the last couple of months, with phone-call, text-message and
email bullying the most common forms. Prevalence rates of cyberbullying
were greater outside of school than inside. Other studies show
that children report being bullied out of school, for example
"on the bus", "on the train", "on my
way to school", "on the way home", "out on
the street", "in the shop" and "down my local
park" (Frew 2002).
Children in public care
4.5 Children in residential care are particularly
vulnerable to bullying. The Social Exclusion Unit found 60% of
looked after children report being bullied in school compared
to 17% of all children (Social Exclusion Unit 2003). A report
by Barter and others (2004) found that half of the young people
interviewed in children's homes had experienced direct physical
assault as victims, perpetrators or witnesses, and nearly all
experienced verbal abuse.
4.6 Young people in secure settings also
report being bullied. A survey by the Youth Justice Board (Challen
and Walton 2004) found that 10% of boys and 13% of girls were
bullied during their first few days in custody. In Scotland, a
questionnaire given to all young offenders in Young Offenders
Institutions found that 26% said they had been bullied at their
present institution during their present sentence; and 33% said
they had been bullied by staff at some point during their stay
in the institution (Dyson 2005).
Homophobic bullying
4.7 A survey of homophobia in schools for
the DfES (Warwick, Chase and Aggleton 2004) reported that around
82% of secondary school teachers are aware of verbal homophobic
bullying and 26% of physical homophobic bullying. Pupil reports
suggest that between 30-50% of young people in secondary schools
attracted to people of the same sex will have directly experienced
homophobic bullying (compared to the 10-20% cent of young people
who experience general bullying). A survey in 1997 found that
only 6% of schools had anti-bullying policies that address homophobic
bullying; in 2004 this had increased, but only to 13% (YWCA 2004).
Gender or sex bullying
4.8 Girls and boys can experience name-calling,
inappropriate touching, and other forms of harassment based on
gender (Duncan 1999). Young Voice (Katz, Buchanan and Bream 2001)
reported that 19% of young people had been insulted because of
their gender. Girls and boys who are not perceived to live up
to gender stereotypes and expectations can often find themselves
bullied and, whether they are gay or not, this bullying if often
homophobic.
Bullying and racism
4.9 Research in mainly white schools in
2001-02 found that 25% of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds
had experienced racist name-calling within the last week. A third
reported hurtful name calling and verbal abuse either at school
or during the school journey and, for more than 16% this was persistent
(DfES 2002).
4.10 Research with Traveller pupils found
that more than half of Year 6 pupils interviewed had been called
racist names; 29 of the 38 pupils interviewed who transferred
to secondary school said that they had encountered some kind of
racial abuse, particularly in their first year of secondary school
(Derrington and Kendall 2004).
Bullying and learning difficulties
4.11 Children and young people with learning
or communication difficulties are especially vulnerable to bullying.
They may not have the ability to be assertive because they lack
confidence or are more sensitive. According to a report by Mencap
(2000), nearly 90% of people with a learning disability experience
bullying, with over 66% of them experiencing it on a regular basis.
Nearly three quarters (73%) are bullied in a public place, including
a quarter of them on buses.
5. EFFECTS OF
BULLYING
5.1 Bullying is one of children and young
people's main concerns. In 2004-05, ChildLine counselled 32,688
children about bullyingalmost one in four of children counselled.
Bullying accounted for 25% of the calls to ChildLine and was the
most common reason why children call the helpline. The Children's
Commissioner has said that bullying is the biggest concern that
children and young people contact him about.
5.2 Bullying can destroy children and young
people's enjoyment of school, family and social life, as well
as their capacity to learn. One study found that primary school
children who were bullied were more likely to report disturbed
sleep, bed-wetting, feeling sad, headaches and stomach aches.
The risk of these symptoms increased with the frequency of the
bullying (Williams and others 1996). Children and young people
who are bullied often truant from school. They can be more anxious
and insecure than those who are not bullied, and suffer from low
self-esteem and see themselves as failures. Bullying can lead
to depression or, in the most serious cases, self-harm or attempted
suicide (DfES 2006).
5.3 Bullying is intrinsically linked to
emotional and mental health. Those who have poor emotional and
mental health are more likely to be bullied and more likely to
bully others themselves. It is therefore important that bullying
behaviour is recognised in the context of emotional and mental
health, to ensure effective education, support and interventions.
Well-planned PSHE within the context of Healthy schools can promote
social and emotional development.
6. TACKLING THE
PROBLEM
Legislative and policy context
6.1 The agenda set by Every Child Matters
(2004) and the Children Act (2004) has firmly established that
schools and other organisations providing services for children
have a responsibility to provide the necessary resources needed
to ensure that the young people in their care can be safe, healthy,
enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic
well-being. National performance indicators for children's services
are being developed and Joint Area Reviews will evaluate how well
children's services are meeting these outcomes.
6.2 In England, the School Standards and
Framework Act 1998 states that "Head teachers in state schools
have a duty to encourage good behaviour and respect for others
on the part of pupils and, in particular, prevent all forms of
bullying among pupils" (Section 61(4)). Since September 1999,
head teachers of maintained schools in England and Wales have
been under a duty to draw up measures to prevent all forms of
bullying among pupils (Schools Standards Framework Act 1998).
The Education Act 2002 (Section 175) gives all schools, including
independent schools, the duty to "safeguard and promote the
welfare of pupils". The guidance issued by DfES to show how
this duty applies refers specifically to bullying as an issue
that needs to be considered as part of keeping children safe (DfES
2004).
6.3 A number of DfES initiatives, policy
guidance and strategies also relate to bullying (Bullying: Effective
action in Secondary Schools 2003; Don't Suffer in Silence
2000currently under revision; National Healthy Schools,
National Primary and Secondary strategies on Behaviour Improvement
and Behaviour Attendance) and encourage local authorities to deliver
an effective, coordinated response to bullying across schools
and other organisations in their area. Ofsted also offer good
practice guidance (Bullying: Effective Action in Secondary Schools
2003) and in their inspections look to assess the measures in
place to respond to bullying and other forms of discriminatory
behaviour.
6.4 There are many legislative and non-statutory
guidance drivers that relate to bullying, and these include:
Race Relations (Amendment) Act;
Disability Discrimination Act; and
UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
Local Authorities and Schools
6.5 Local authorities have a key role to
play in challenging bullying, and a leading role to play in the
development of local strategic partnerships and anti-bullying
strategy and support services. Local strategy development needs
to involve a range of services including:
LA Services (eg Education Welfare/Education
Psychology) and Education Initiatives eg Behaviour and Attendance/Healthy
Schools.
Statutory Agencies eg Police; CAMHS.
Voluntary Agencies eg NSPCC/ChildLine;
Victim Support; Barnardo's.
A shared strategy will offer greater coherence
and cohesion in challenging bullying
and prepare for Joint Area Reviews now being undertaken
by Ofsted. The incidence of bullying and how it is addressed at
policy and practice level across the community will be inspected
by Ofsted.
6.6 Schools in particular have become a
key site for tackling issues associated with bullying and implementing
effective preventative strategies. Schools are legally required
to have an anti-bullying policy and to safeguard children and
young people. The Anti-Bullying Alliance believes that effective
anti-bullying strategies help pupils realise their academic potential
and help schools reduce the frequency and impact of bullying incidents
and assist them in managing incidents more effectively.
6.7 An effective anti-bullying strategy
involves three elements:
reacting and responding; and
supporting and monitoring those who
have been bullied and those doing the bullying.
Prevention
6.8 Strategies for preventing bullying need
to be implemented using a whole-school approach. Schools need
to create a culture where bullying is understood by all staff
(teaching and non-teaching) and pupils to be unacceptable, and
anti-bullying work is supported in PSHE and across the whole curriculum.
Schools also need to ensure they have effective pastoral systems
including peer support and school councils.
Reacting and responding
6.9 Responding effectively to bullying using
reward and sanctions as outlined in the behaviour policy. The
key tasks in responding effectively are:
making sure the person being bullied
is safe and feels safe;
establishing what happened by listening
to different perspectives, including those of the person bullied,
the person doing the bullying and those that have witnessed the
bullying (also called "bystanders");
making sure the person who is doing
the bullying knows it is wrong to bully, takes responsibility
for their behaviour and makes amends. Doing this in an emotionally
intelligent way will require focusing on the unacceptable behaviours
being displayed, and not reinforcing a sense of the individual
being bad; and
publicly signalling, where necessary
and appropriate, to the whole school that the bullying is taken
seriously and has been responded to well. This will often including
talking to and with parents and carers.
Supporting and monitoring
6.10 This will include:
identifying immediate and longer-term
support needs of both the person being bullied and the person
who has done the bullying. This may include friendship based group
work, accessing support from external agencies including voluntary
agencies and Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS);
recording the bullying incident,
including what happened and who was involved, including the bystanders;
reflecting on the process to identify
any lessons for the future and disseminating any learning to colleagues;
and
monitoring and following up with
all parties concerned, including parents and carers to ensure
that the bullying has stopped, and if it hasn't, taking appropriate
steps.
6.11 The most effective strategies and interventions
are sustained over the long term, and developed with staff, pupils,
parents, carers and partners in the community. They are monitored
and evaluated as circumstances change, and supported by a school
ethos that inhibits bullying and promotes empathy and respect
for diversity (Oliver and Candappa 2003).
6.12 The Anti-Bullying Alliance is in the
process of producing an Anti-Bullying Audit Toolkit that will
help local authorities and schools to provide the evidence they
need to evaluate their polices, strategies and practices.
7. CHILDREN AND
YOUNG PEOPLE'S
PARTICIPATION
7.1 The new inspection arrangements require
that schools and all services for children consult children and
young people to provide evidence for Self-Evaluation Forms and
Joint Area Reviews. Young people can also participate actively
in important decisions that concern their peer group, for example
through engaging in school councils, youth parliaments or other
democratic systems. Children and young people need to negotiate
and own a strategy rather than have one simply imposed upon them.
There are a range of activities and areas that children and young
people can be involved in that relate to bullying:
identifying where the bullying happens,
who is doing it to whom, and what needs to be done;
decisions about how to tackle bullying;
identifying priority issues that
need to be addressed, which will often include bullying;
the development and delivery of the
taught curriculum that can focus on aspects of bullying and discrimination;
identifying new forms of bullying,
such as text and email bullying;
learning how to play an active participant
role in challenging bullying; and
peer support including mediation,
listening, advocacy and mentoring for those experiencing or at
risk of bullying or being bullied (Cowie and others 2002). Peer
support systems have changed as the children and young people
involved have become more creative and confident in developing
the systems in which they have been trained to play a part, for
example, by making changes in the logistics of peer support, and
developing use of the internet and email support (Cartwright 2005;
Cowie and Hutson 2005);
reviewing, auditing and developing
anti-bullying policy and practice and giving feedback to Ofsted;
and
volunteering and supporting others
in the wider community to promote inclusion and reduce bullying,
for example, those with learning disabilities.
7.2 You can involve children and young people
in a number of ways to discuss their issues, concerns or experiences
of bullying, such as through:
Focus groups and face-to-face discussions
with small groups of children and young people, particularly school
councils.
PSHE or citizenship curriculum where
the class could address bullying as a class project.
Written questionnaires and feedback
forms provide ideal opportunities to find out about children and
young people`s understanding and perceptions about bullying.
Art, posters, drama and interactive
exercises.
Symbol mats for disabled young people.
Puppets or dolls for very young children.
Videos and audio tapes.
Brainstorming sessions to explore
issues of bullying.
Children and young people representation
on advisory boards.
External reference/advisory groups
provide children and young people with opportunities to influence
policy and practice at local and regional levels.
Guidance produced by the South East Anti-Bullying
AllianceAre You Talking to Me? Young People's Participation
in anti-bullyingis included in the supplementary materials
sent with this submission. It provides a number of case studies
highlighting effective and creative participation models.
7.3 The Anti-Bullying Alliance carried out
a project on behalf of the Office of the Children's Commissioner
(OCC) to capture the stories of young people and give a sense
of the impact bullying can have on children and young people in
our schools and communities. The children and young people involved
offered the following ten top tips on how to deal with bullying:
1. Pick it up early and act before it spreads
and becomes entrenched.
2. Train teachers and inspectors to ensure
they do not collude with bullying.
3. Teach about diversity and equality.
4. Do not rely solely on the target to identify
who is bullying them before intervening. Consider support groups,
buddies or peer supporters or a bully box.
5. Use the experience of young people in
peer support programmes.
6. Teach techniques for calming down and
develop resilience.
7. There are risks for children in telling
someone. Adults should handle this information with care.
8. Work with children and young people to
change bullying behaviour.
9. Being part of a group outside school can
help build confidence and friendships.
10. Involve children, young people and their
parents in finding solutions and resolving bullying.
7.4 The Children's Commissioner also recommended
that effective Anti-Bullying Strategies are put in place which
will:
Demonstrate a visible commitment
to addressing bullying and adopting a whole school approach with
strong leadership and a range of preventative measures, including
building emotional resilience, empathy and self-esteem, as well
as having clear procedures for identifying and managing bullying;
this equally applies to settings other than schools such as youth
clubs, early years and residential settings.
Be based on clear, up-to-date knowledge
of the local issues within the school and community, for example
when, where and how bullying happens, and whether any peer groups
are particularly responsible. This should include an annual survey
of children and young people.
Recognise the distinction between
bullying and other types of conflict and aggressive behaviour.
Ensure the active involvement of
children and young people, their families and community partners
and promote a culture of respect and valuing diversity.
Identify vulnerable children and
young people, and those critical moments and transitions when
they may become vulnerable and provide additional support when
needed.
Support the ongoing development of
empathy, emotional resilience and a sense of responsibility for
behaviour from early years to adulthood and beyond.
Apply clear and consistent rewards
and sanctions policies that are understood by all members of the
school community and are suitable for the age, maturity and understanding
of the child or young person.
Ensure all members of staff are trained
and supported and model positive relationships with each other
an d pupils.
(JourneysChildren and Young People talking
about Bullying, OCC).
8. KEY CHALLENGES
AND OPPORTUNITIES
Challenges
8.1 Bullying takes place anywhere and everywhere:
in schools, in the home and within communities. It is a subjective
experience which does not always fit into a neat category or tight
definition. The variety and nature of bullying is also changing
and evolving as technology develops. It is critical that all those
working with children and young people have a shared understanding
of what bullying is and how it differs from other types of conflicts
and aggressive behaviour.
8.2 The view that bullying is a normal part
of growing up, necessary to toughen up children and young people
in preparation for the realities adult life is still held by many
(public and professionals alike). This has a detrimental effect
on those being bullied and those working to trying to implement
strategies to deal with it and prevent it.
8.3 There is still a culture of fear around
dealing with bullying both at individual and institutional level,
which can paralyse progress. Adult and children "bystanders"
are often concerned for their own safety and self-preservation
or don't always have the knowledge or skills to intervene effectively.
Schools and other organisations can be in denial about the true
extent of bullying taking place, and can be reluctant to actively
consult with children and their parents incase by implication
they are seen to be "admitting" to having a bullying
problem.
8.4 There is no quick fix, "one size
fits all" approach to bullying. There are a number of approaches
to dealing with incidents of bullying (summarized in Making Schools
Safer; Using Effective Anti-bullying Strategies, ABA) and those
working with children and young people need to select the most
appropriate for circumstances of individual cases. This requires
dedicated time, confidence and a shared commitment across schools
and communities that acts of bullying will not be tolerated and
appropriate action will be taken. More research, however is still
needed on what works best in preventing and changing bullying
behaviour and supporting those being bullied.
8.5 Bullying cannot be dealt with in isolation,
but needs to dealt with in the wider context of developing and
creating a culture based on care and respect for others. In schools,
this means developing a culture that provides a safe, supportive
and empowering learning environment. A well-coordinated PSHE curriculum
and pastoral care support is crucial in achieving this.
8.6 There is real danger that schools and
others see having an anti-bullying policy as the end of the process
rather than the beginning. An anti-bullying policy is meaningless
without regular monitoring, review and evaluation. Evidence of
impact needs to regularly sought.
8.7 Although considered good practice, there
is currently no legal duty on schools to collect and provide data
on bullying to local authorities. There is therefore a lack of
clarity about what LAs can reasonably expect schools to provide
so that they can both identify schools who need further support
to address bullying and provide the relevant information for the
Joint Area Reviews.
Opportunities
8.8 While it is acknowledged that bullying
is a complex issue, there is an ever-growing body of good practice
in local authorities and schools, where positive measures are
being taken to prevent and tackle bullying. The approaches adoptedincluding
peer-led schemes, pupils' participation in decision making, positive
management strategies, the provision of advice and support for
both those being bullied and bullyingcan have huge impact
on the levels of bullying and the ability of children and young
people to deal with it. More opportunities should to be taken
to identify, celebrate and publicise effective practice and send
out positive messages to schools, children and young people, parents
and the media that something can be done about it. A number of
case studies from around the Regions have been included in the
supplementary material sent with this submission. They illustrate
how some schools and local authorities have approached and developed
anti-bullying initiatives and strategies.
8.9 There are an increasing number of "tools"
available to those working with children and young people to help
and support those charged with the responsibility for anti-bullying
strategies (a list of publications and toolkits produced by the
Anti-Bullying Alliance is attached in Appendix 2).[41]
These should be widely publicised and disseminated.
8.10 The agenda set by Every Child Matters
gives an impetus for identifying strategic responsibility for
bullying. Local authorities and Children's Trusts have a key role
in developing local strategic partnerships and achieving a co-ordinated
response to bullying which will be inspected by Ofsted as part
of the Joint Area Reviews. Schools also have a number of key DfES
strategies which offer support on bullying, including the National
Healthy Schools Programme, the Behaviour and Attendance Strategy
and Behaviour Improvement Programmes. Although schools have this
excellent support, they may not choose to focus on bullying and
may identify other priorities regarding attendance and behaviour.
A supportive policy context, including looking at ways of encouraging
schools to prioritise bullying, should be exploited in creating
anti-bullying polices and practice.
8.11 There is a growing understanding. of
the need to engage children and young people in identifying and
implementing solutions to bullying. This means being mindful of
children and young people's enormous (if given the right support)
capacity to participate as well as providing supportive opportunities
and structures for participation. This is crucial to the development
of potentially acceptable and effective policies and interventions.
8.12 Schools and other organisations working
with children and young people have the opportunity to develop
external links (with counselling service, school nurse service
and voluntary organisations) to ensure children and young people
have a range of support structures and people they can turn to.
The needs of parents should also be considered, so they understand
the nature of bullying and feel more confident about how they
can best support their children.
8.13 There should be a concerted effort
to continually raise the profile of bullying and anti-bullying
work. This can be done through events like Anti-Bullying Week
(see below) but should be a continual process, educating and informing,
and using the media constructively to create a culture of zero-tolerance
around bullying.
9. ANTI-BULLYING
WEEK
Anti-Bullying Week
9.1 National Anti-Bullying Week is an annual
event held in the third week of November to raise awareness of
bullying and the harm it can cause and to promote effective anti-bullying
strategies. The theme for 2006 is the role of the bystander, with
the campaign slogan "Bullying: See It. Get Help. Stop it".
This focuses on the importance of children and adults taking positive
action to get help when they see bullying happening. Nationally
the Anti-Bullying Alliance role is to provide background materials
and stimulate regional and local activities within school and
the community for Anti-Bullying Week. The last Friday of Anti-Bullying
Week is nominated as Blue Fridaya non-uniform daywhere
children and young people are encouraged to wear blue to show
their solidarity against bullying.
9.2 A range of Anti-Bullying Week materials
have been produced including posters, designed by children and
young people, a series of postcards to help children and young
people communicate their concerns about bullying and an anti-bullying
lanyard to attach to bags, phones and pencil cases. A CD Rom containing
the facts on bullying, up to date research, ideas for Anti-Bullying
week events and all the materials was sent to schools in September
(pack enclosed for information).[42]
9.3 Trutex (the school uniform provider)
is the official sponsor of Anti-Bullying Week. It is also supported
by Department for Education and Skills and Hope Education.
9.4 Children's TV channel Nickelodeon has
become the official broadcaster for Anti-Bullying Week 2006, and
are running a parallel campaign See something, Say something,
launched on 8 September 2006. The campaign will climax on-air
in November with a special series of programming, including 30
short films featuring children and famous faces.
Further information about Anti-Bullying Week
is available at www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk
An Anti-Bullying Week Campaign Pack is included
in the supplementary materials sent with this submission.[43]
Other Projects and Publications
9.5 The Research and Evaluation Team of
Anti-Bullying Alliance, based at the Unit for School and Family
Studies, Goldsmith College, University of London, compile regular
lists of abstracts of research relevant to school bullying and
victimisation, and bullying in childhood in general. These can
be accessed at www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk
9.6 A list of current Anti-Bullying Alliance
publications is provided in Appendix 2.[44]
44
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