Bullying
Your child's health and wellbeing are important to us. That's why we are committed to preventing bullying in our schools and communities.
Being safe and happy - your guide to tackling bullying
Bullying is not acceptable. We work closely with schools to tackle bullying and to ensure your child is happy and enjoys school. We know that children who feel happy and secure learn better.
We are doing our best to prevent bullying and, where it does occur, to deal with it effectively. You can help too.
This guide shows you what steps you can take to help ensure the well-being and safety of your child.
What is bullying?
Bullying is deliberate behaviour intended to hurt, humiliate or intimidate. It can be:
- Physical − hitting, kicking, taking things
- Verbal − name calling, insulting, making offensive remarks
- Indirect − spreading nasty rumours or stories, excluding from social groups, sending malicious emails or text messages.
Bullying is not two people having a disagreement or falling out over something. It is not a one-off incident − it has to happen several times.
What to look for if you think your child is being bullied
Bullying is a difficult and sensitive issue which children are often reluctant to talk about. But there are signs which may suggest your child is being bullied.
Symptoms to look for include:
- Reluctance to go to school − including frequent complaints of headaches or stomach aches
- Anxiety or irritability
- Becoming withdrawn.
How you can help
If you believe your child is being bullied, you should:
- Talk to your child calmly about what is happening
- Reassure your child he or she has done the right thing by telling you about it
- Make a note of what your child tells you
- Encourage your child to report anything to the teacher
- Make an appointment to see your child's class teacher or headteacher.
What your child can do
If your child is being bullied telling a teacher, another trusted adult in school or family member is the right thing to do. Once a school knows what is happening, staff can act.
You should encourage your child to keep telling the school about anything that happens.
Bystanders who see bullying going on can make the biggest difference by doing something about it.
If your child sees someone else being bullied telling a teacher, another trusted adult in school or family member is the right thing to do.
When you talk to teachers about bullying, you should:
- Stay calm − the teacher may not be aware your child is being bullied or may have heard conflicting accounts of an incident
- Be as specific as possible about what your child says has happened, using the notes you made
- Make a note of what the schools says and ask if there is anything you can do to help
- Stay in touch with the school and let staff know if things improve or problems continue.
If your child would like to talk to somebody about bullying they can call ChildLine free on 0800 1111.
Related documents
The following document is in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download the PDF software for free from the Adobe website (opens in a new window)
Information on other websites
Bullies r bad - information for young people on our OK? website (opens in a new window)
Information about bullying on the ChildLine website (opens in a new window)