Understand how to safeguard the well being of children and young people 1

Different types of bullying and the potential effects on children and young people

Bullying happens when an individual or a group of individuals show hostility towards an individual person. Bullying can appear in different forms. Emotional bullying is name calling, ignoring the person, taking or hiding personal items, humiliating by spreading rumours or teasing. Physical bullying means using or threatening to use physical force against the victim. Racial bullying involves racist taunts and gestures. Sexual bullying can mean forcing inappropriate physical contact, making sexual comments, innuendo or homophobic taunts. Cyber bullying is a relatively new phenomenon but it is spreading faster than one would thing. One out of five children was cyber bullied in 2008 in the UK. Cyber bullying can happen via email, text messages, telephone calls or social networking sites.

Bullying can result in a feeling of being afraid in the victim, also depression, sadness, sleeping problems or nightmares. A loss of appetite, stomach aches or headaches may also be the signs of bullying too. Further consequences are a decrease in performance in school or reluctance to attend the school at all. Victims of bullying might fake illnesses to avoid having to go to school or might even develop real illnesses as a result of their disturbed mental state. They lose their confidence and may try to gain it back by starting bullying out of revenge. If they lose all hope and do not get help in time, the situation can lead to bullycide which is suicide caused by bullying.

Policies and procedures that should be followed in response to concerns or evidence of bullying and explain the reasons why they are in place

According to the Schools and Standards Framework 1998 head teachers must ensure that there is a procedure in place to prevent bullying in the school.

If a teaching assistant notices bullying among the pupils, they have to act immediately. It means that the TA might deal with a single issue there and then attempting to put an end to it. However, it is essential that the line manager is informed immediately so that they can make any further steps if necessary. If the bullying issue is not resolved but still goes on, the class teacher has to call the parents and involve them in finding a solution. If the teacher-parent co-operation still does not solve the issue, the school has to contact specialised outside agencies and ask for their help.

Staff also has to make sure that children are aware of this policy and any consequences if they humiliate or treat their peers unfairly. This may help to prevent bullying if the measures are threatening enough for the pupils. Furthermore, if bullying still happens and the bullies are disciplined according to the school policy, any possible complaints from the part of the reprimanded children and their parents can be prevented. On the other hand, children need to know that their teachers are obliged by the school policy to help them if they fall victim of bullying.

The aim of an anti-bullying policy is to provide a school environment where all children feel safe and can ask the adults for help if they feel threatened. Furthermore, they learn that their possible unfair actions against their peers will be disciplined similarly to the adult society where illegal deeds have their consequences.

Supporting a child or young person and or their family when bullying is suspected or alleged

Each case of bullying is different but school staff has to ensure that they give all possible support to the victims and their families and reassure them in a distressing situation.

It is crucial that the members of staff work as a team and follow school policy in order to resolve the problem of bullying. External support networks can provide extra help, e.g. the Anti-Bullying Alliance website. Bullying often leads to a loss of self-confidence therefore by boosting children’s confidence we can encourage them to be more independent and value themselves and each other. This way they will not allow their peers to bully them or will have the confidence to ask an adult’s protection if they are being bullied in any way. If we support the pupils’ resilience they will be able to manage their emotions more effectively and maintain their confidence even in more difficult situations. Teachers and teaching assistants have to be approachable, facilitate opportunities for discussion so that they can encourage and reassure children as needed and facilitate their social-emotional aspects of learning. The UN Convention of Human Rights 1990 stated that every child has the right to grow up in a healthy, safe and nurturing environment. Teaching staff has to make sure that children are aware of these basic rights and they know how to protect themselves or ask for help if they feel unsafe. They have to know that they can always ask help form adults in school or turn to organisations specialised in supporting children, e.g. Child Line.

The most effective way to prevent bullying in schools is to make children aware of the fact that they do not have to put up with it and help is always at hand.