Anti-Bullying Week’s Theme – Past and Present

Anti-bullying Alliance is in the process of deciding the theme for 2013’s Anti-Bullying Week taking place 18-22 November. Each year we put out a survey to children & young people, parents and teachers to ask them what they feel are the current issues within bullying and what they feel the theme should be for this years Anti-Bullying Week. The survey is now closed and we are collating all of the replies we got, thank you to all of those who filled one in!

With that in mind, we would like to just remind you our theme from last year and the reasons behind it.

We’re better without bullying 2012

This year’s theme is ‘We’re better without bullying’ and the aim is to shine a light on the effect of bullying on achievement. We know that bullying can lead to children missing school, failing exams, dropping out of sport, avoiding extra-curricular activities and limiting their life choices – with research suggesting that around 16,000 young people aged 11–15 are absent from school at any one time because of bullying. This can have a catastrophic affect on their education and subsequent life choices.  We also know that bullying can have affect cognitive development and the way students learn. Evidence suggests that children who are rejected by peers in the classroom exhibit difficulties in participation and concentration. Bullying also has a negative effect on how children perceive their own academic ability –one reason for this is that bullying leads to low self-esteem which, in turn, hinders confidence in the classroom.

What should schools be doing?

Schools have a legal duty to tackle all forms of bullying and keep their pupils safe. This extends beyond the classroom and head teachers now have the power to respond to bullying outside of school and to search for and confiscate items that may have been used to bully or intimidate. Schools, as public bodies, also have duties under The Equality Act 2010 to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Earlier this year, the government published advice for schools on preventing and tackling bullying that makes the legal duties of schools and colleges clear. ABA recommends that all school staff familiarise themselves with this advice. Furthermore, the revised Ofsted framework includes a strong focus on bullying, with inspectors looking at schools’ actions to tackle all forms of bullying and harassment including cyberbullying and prejudice based bullying relating to special educational need, sexual orientation, sex, race, religion and belief, gender reassignment or disability.

What does effective action against bullying look like?

A recent report by Ofsted describes how, in dealing with bullying, the ‘best schools’ are those which have a positive culture and ethos – with expectations and rules of engagement spelt out for pupils These schools respect individual differences, give time to developing empathy, and take responsibility for preventing bullying. They use the curriculum to embed messages about bullying and behaviour in to their teachings, and they record bullying incidents – not just as a ‘tick box’ exercise, but to analyse trends and take appropriate action. The report shows that pupils in these schools are confident that if action is taken, bullying will stop.  Here at ABA we believe that children and young people who experience bullying need to know they can speak out, that they will be heard, and that they will be taken seriously. Schools need to make this clear. It is also vital that anti-bullying work is led by the recommendations of children and young people. Research by the Council for Disabled Children into the perspectives of disabled young people and those with special educational needs report that they want to be ‘partners in change’ when it comes to bullying, rather than being recipients of policies imposed by others. This requires schools to listen to children and young people and to act on their recommendations for change. ABA describes these methods as a whole-school approach to tackling bullying. For more details on the whole-school approach, and for supporting tools for implementing anti-bullying work in your school, visit www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk

Anti-Bullying week

Unfortunately bullying is a problem in our schools but the more it’s acknowledged, the more we can begin to tackle it. Anti-bullying Week provides a great opportunity to start thinking about how this can be achieved. Here are some suggestions, to get you started:

• Run activities during Anti-Bullying Week which raise awareness of bullying and the ways we can stop it. Activities designed specifically for use this Anti-Bullying Week are available on ABA website.

• Find out whether children and young people in your school are affected by bullying. A good way to do this is to use anonymous surveys or to talk to students one-to-one or in small groups.

• Work with children and young people in your school to create clear charters for the prevention of, and effective response to, bullying in all areas of school life, including sports and extra-curricular activities.

• Identify students who may be vulnerable to bullying, or who may have been bullied in the past. Involve them in activities that raise their confidence and esteem. Research organisations that can offer particular support to children who have been bullied, for example Kidscape and CyberMentors.

• Encourage children and young people to use their unique skills and talents to raise awareness of bullying.

For more ideas and resources visit www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk, like ABA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/antibullyingalliance, or follow them on Twitter @ABAonline.

Join the ABA School and College Network

A good way to show your commitment to tackling bullying throughout the year is to join the hundreds of other schools and colleges who are members of the ABA School and College Network. Network members enjoy a range of benefits that include a logo to use on websites and school publications, regular bulletins to keep you up to date, a guide to preparing for inspection, Anti-Bullying Week materials sent to your school each year and discounts on a range of services. For more details visit http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk

Bullying statistics

• According to the Tellus 4 survey, 25% of all children worry about bullying

• A study into users of a child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) in London, found that 61.5% of participants reported being bullied, with 62.5% of bullied participants reporting that being bullied was an important reason for their attendance at the CAMHS

• Research by BeatBullying has found that 22% of children who are persistently bullied said bullying made them give up on their interests

• Recent research into bullying in sport, by Chance to Shine, has found that 42% of parents say their children lost confidence after being bullied on the school playing field, with one in 10 parents reporting their child had given up sport as a result of bullying

• Government research from 2010 showed that young people who had been bullied had significantly lower Key Stage 4 results than those who hadn’t been bullied – the equivalent of two GCSE grades

• Research commissioned by the Red Balloon Learner Centre Group suggests that around 16,000 young people aged 11–15 are absent from school at any one time due to bullying

What do we mean by bullying?

Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) defines bullying as the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological. It can happen face to face or through cyberspace.

Vic Goddard, Principal of Passmores Academy featured in Channel 4’s ‘Educating Essex’ talks about his experiences of bullying

Having worked with young people in schools for over twenty years now I have sadly dealt with bullying in all its many forms. Each year at Passmores we survey our students’ experiences of bullying so we can look at tackling it. This will come as no surprise to parents of teenagers or those who work with them, but the vast majority of issues we face are spats between teenage girls. Especially when they have friendship groups which are an odd number – 3 is most definitely not the magic number in this case! The Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) has an excellent audit questionnaire on its website, www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk, to help you determine how much of a problem bullying is at your school.

The fine line between bullying and what is actually just a broken relationship, combined with our young peoples’ inexperience in dealing with these highly emotional moments, is a huge challenge at times. As teachers we will all have suffered the frustration of spending all day dealing with so called bullying between friends, only to find them walking around school arm in arm and laughing the next day! If you need help identifying when these day-to-day squabbles become serious incidences of bullying, have a look at ABA’s briefing for teachers and school leaders which includes a comprehensive definition of bullying.

As a dad I know how easily you can fall into having unpleasant thoughts about the bully who’s upset your child, but as a teacher I don’t want the bully to be punished, I want them to change their behaviour. This is not always what the parent of the bullied wants to hear and can be a real challenge. If you’re a worried parent, have a look at ABA’s briefing for parents and carers for some helpful tips.

One particular incident rushes to mind, it happened some years ago I have to add!  I was faced with an ongoing love – hate relationship between two of my year 9 girls. Eventually I realised that my diplomacy and arbitration skills were perhaps less refined than Kofi Annan’s so I called for the back-up of a member of staff who was our resident expert in restorative justice meetings and had previously worked for a youth offending team. Rather than just passing it over, I asked to stay involved in the process to learn more about a restorative justice approach. I learned that restorative justice meetings take a long time. Having the parents/carers from both ‘sides’ in the same room, at the same time, takes a great deal of skill and even more patience. Least of all because it’s sometimes necessary to remind the adults how THEY need to behave!

At the end of what felt like a very long hour with the warring parties, the girls had reached a mutual understanding of the impact they were having on each other and signed up to an on-going resolution process. We all parted the room as ‘friends’ with myself and my colleague congratulating ourselves on a job well done, only to find the two dads squaring up to each other in the car park – about to sort things out ‘their’ way.

Risking life and limb to get in between them I caught a glimpse of the most ironic sight I’ve ever seen in all my time dealing with bullying – the two girls with their arms around each other crying and shouting at their dads to stop. I can’t really say that we did a good job and I wouldn’t advise it as an approach but I suppose the outcome is what really mattered!

Dealing with the emotional rollercoaster that is relationships and fall-outs between young people is not always easy. But seeing the fruits of these efforts is priceless, often reminding me that I really do have the best job in the world!

Unfortunately bullying is an ongoing issue in our schools and we must take every opportunity we can to address it. Vic Goddard is Principal of Passmores Academy which featured in Channel 4’s ‘Educating Essex’. He is currently writing his first book ‘The Best Job in the World’ which is due to be released next June.

Lauren Seager-Smith, National Coordinator of ABA talks about bullying and it’s effects

Bullying is not a new issue but in days gone by it was often viewed as ‘just a part of growing up’ and mainly took place in playgrounds, classrooms and corridors during the school day.  However, with the recent rise of technology, I have seen the devastating  impact of bullying following children into all areas of their lives. Bullying can escalate much quicker now through instant messaging and social networks, and is hard to avoid and manage emotionally – whether you are a child or an adult.  Through my own work in schools, and time spent at the Anti-Bullying Alliance, it’s clear that children and young people who are seen as ‘different’ in some way are vulnerable to bullying – such as children from an ethnic minority, children with a disability, children with glasses or red hair, children who are big or small, or children who can’t afford to keep up with the latest trends.  But, according to our latest research, which we conducted to mark Anti-Bullying Week 2012, children are also vulnerable if they stand out for being too good at something. A third of 11-16 year olds are telling us that they’ve been bullied for being more intelligent or talented than other people.  One girl told me a heart breaking story of how she wanted to be a singer but when she practiced her song for a school performance a group of girls tormented her. They told her that she was a loser and an embarrassment, and if she didn’t quit they’d make her life hell. She quit.

What this frustratingly sad story says to me is that children are scared to be brilliant, to shine, because of bullying.  11% have stopped singing, 8% drama, 9% dancing and 8% sport, for fear of being bullied. And it’s not just involvement in the arts and sport that are being affected.  1 in 10 children say they’ve played down their ability in science. And 1 in 5 girls (18.8%) and more than 1 in 10 boys (11.4%) are deliberately underachieving in maths, to evade bullying.  We’ve heard a lot this year about the importance of encouraging young people to take part and excel for the future of our economy – yet  I’m concerned that we’re not tackling this fundamental barrier to achievement.

During my career I have seen some really good practice in schools when it comes to bullying – but I’ve also seen a good deal of negligence and denial.  The role of teachers in modelling positive behaviour, setting appropriate boundaries, protecting those children that are most vulnerable and being a listening ear to children is critical in anti-bullying work. But we all have a role to play, as parents and carers you may be genuinely concerned about the threat of bullying and how best to protect your child – particularly when it comes to cyberbullying. Some children run rings around their parents when it comes to technology but rather than worrying about how to navigate you way around the latest social media craze, the most important thing is to teach your child about healthy and positive relationships – both online and offline – and to make sure you are always there to listen to their worries and reassure them that they are not alone. If you find out your child is being bullied, here are the Anti-Bullying Alliance’s top tips for staying calm and in control.

• Don’t panic– try to keep an open mind: Your key role is listening, calming and providing reassurance that the situation can get better when action is taken. Provide a quiet, calm place where they can talk about what is happening.
• Listen and reassure them that coming to you was the right thing to do: It may not be easy for a child to talk about being bullied, so it is important to try to find out how they are feeling, what has happened, when and where. At this stage it is not so much about establishing a set of facts as encouraging, talking and listening.

• Assure them that the bullying is not their fault and that you are there to support them:.  Remind them that they can also have the support of family and friends.

• Find out what the child or young person wants to happen: help them to identify the choices available to them and the potential next steps to take; and the skills they may have to help solve the problems.

• Discuss the situation with your child’s school: the law requires all schools to have a behaviour policy which sets out the measures that will be taken to encourage good behaviour and respect for others, and to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils.  

If you feel like you need extra support and want to talk through your concerns with someone outside of the situation – there are lots of great organisations out there to help both you and your children. We’ve got a list all the best ones on our website at www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk. I want all of our children to grow up without the fear of bullying – to be happy, healthy and confident, and to have faith that teachers and parents will always listen and take bullying seriously.

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