Bullying


Anti-Bullying Week


Anti-bullying Week 2012 takes place from November 19 to 23. As primary schools prepare to mark the event, the Anti-Bullying Alliance’s Lauren Seager-Smith offers some food for thought


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n the 10 years since the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) was established, a lot has happened. Bullying is no longer seen as part of growing up – we have laws to ensure schools take action against


bullying, we have charities and helplines devoted to the cause, and government has provided schools with advice on tackling bullying. Indeed, all schools currently have a legal duty to tackle all forms of bullying and to keep their pupils safe. Sadly though, there is still much more to be done. An alarming


number of children are still reporting high levels of bullying in primary schools. Results from a recent Girlguiding UK survey of seven to 11-year-olds show that 45 per cent have been subject to name-calling in school, 40 per cent have been ignored or excluded from friendship groups and 36 per cent have witnessed fi ghts. The theme for this year’s Anti-Bullying Week is “We’re better without


bullying”, and the aim is to highlight the long-term effects of bullying on achievement. So, what should be our priority as primary school leaders?


Relationships are a great place to start. Look at the relationships your pupils have with one another, look at the relationships between staff, look at the relationships between staff and parents and look at the school’s relationship with the wider community. The atmosphere and ethos of your school, the way you model


relationships to your pupils, the way you respond to language and actions by taking a “zero indifference” approach to any behaviour that is not kind and courteous, are all key to the long-term prevention of bullying in your school. 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 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 confi dent if action is


taken, bullying will stop. The ABA describes these methods as a whole- school approach to tackling bullying. Some primary school staff are cautious about using the word “bullying” with younger pupils for fear of scaring them. We agree that it is important not to scare children with language they do not understand or use the label “bully”. What’s important is to teach younger age


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groups why behaviours like name-calling are unacceptable, why we should share, why we should include people who may look sad or left out, and why we should not hurt other people. The ABA does not agree that schools should have to tackle bullying


alone. We would want the government to reinstate a national survey to measure levels of bullying across the country and would like all schools to record incidents of bullying and to take appropriate action when it happens. We also want to see a clear system for parents and carers to raise concerns about bullying, free training for all teachers in recognising and responding to bullying, and government-funded initiatives to protect the most vulnerable children, including those with SEN, inside and outside school. Anti-Bullying Week is a great opportunity to re-engage with anti-


bullying work and approach the subject with revived energy and commitment. There are lots of ways to take part: • Run activities to raise awareness of bullying and ways we can stop it. For teacher briefi ngs and activities visit our website.


• Take a stock-take on how your school is doing – what do pupils, staff and parents have to say about bullying? A good way to do this is to use anonymous surveys (again, see our resources) or talk to students one-to-one or in small groups.


• Work with children 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 can offer particular support to children who have been bullied, such as Kidscape and CyberMentors.


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


• Lauren Seager-Smith is from the Anti-Bullying Alliance, a coalition of charities hosted by the National Children’s Bureau.


Further information • For more ideas and resources visit www.antibullyingweek.co.uk and www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk.


• Tackling homophobic bullying – see page 16 for one school’s account of how it transformed its approach to tackling homophobic bullying and the use of homophobic language.


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