Some advice from ChildLine

Your school should be clearly saying NO to bullying.

Get everyone in your school involved in tackling bullying, not just the teachers, but other pupils, dinner time staff and playground assistants.

Find out how much bullying goes on in your school. Get together with other pupils and a teacher to organise a questionnaire about bullying (you can make sure that no-one reads the individual answers by putting them in a locked box). Once you have received all the answers, you can write up a short report for everyone to read.

Make sure your school has a good selection of anti-bullying books and other information in its library.

Suggest that the school runs an anti-bullying week.

Talk to your teachers about having assemblies and discussions in class about bullying - classes could produce posters, pictures, poems, stories, plays which could be shared with the rest of the school.

Children need to feel safe at break time and lunchtime in the playgrounds - are there lots of things to do and supervisors around?

Make sure your school puts up Bully Free and ChildLine posters.

In some schools, older children help younger children if they are being bullied. Some have set up "peer counselling" schemes run by the pupils to help children who are being bullied, but also to help children who bully. If you would like more information about peer counselling, ask your teachers. ChildLine can also give you some information about it.

Some advice for teachers from Bullying (by D. Thompson, T. Arora, S. Sharp)

• Involve pupils in the development and implementation of their schools anti-bullying policy (Because pupils are most likely to be the first to see bullying behaviour they should be in a position to respond to that behaviour positively. This does not mean that they are solely responsible for the welfare of their fellow pupils but without involving all members of staff and pupils preventing bullying will be would be impossible. This also helps the students become valid members of the decision making process.)
• Use Quality Circles
• Help students become more aware of bullying issues through the curriculum and assemblies
• Teach about how to deal with aggressive feelings and managing relationships constructively e.g. learn assertiveness skills and conflict resolution.
• Teach pupils how to challenge bullying behaviour
• Improve staff supervision at break times and after school
• All members of staff need to have training on the issues of bullying and what their responses need to be
• Set up a buddy system and a circle of friends.
• Use whatever counselling service is available, and consider a peer counselling service.

press the back button on your browser to return