Make a Noise About Bullying
Anti-bullying Week 2023
This year, Anti-bullying Week will take place from Monday 13th-Friday 17th November.
Did you know? 30% of children have been bullied this year alone, and 17% have been bullied online. Approximately one child in every classroom is being bullied every day and teachers may not even know it.
Bullying can have a significant impact on children and their mental health. The long-term effect of bullying can even last into adulthood. In fact, a national bullying survey found that 40% of young people who reported being bullied experienced thoughts of suicide and 39% had self-harmed.
Building an Anti-bullying Policy
The seriousness of bullying cannot be emphasized enough. Bullying is among the most major concerns that parents have about their children's safety and wellbeing, both when they are at school and on their way to and from school. This is why it’s important for every school to implement an anti-bullying policy.
Bullying is also a major concern of young people themselves. Bullying makes the lives of its victims a misery; it undermines their confidence and self-esteem, destroys their sense of security and can also be psychologically damaging. Bullying often severely impacts on its victims’ attendance and attainment at school, marginalises those groups who may be particular targets for bullies, and can have a negative lifelong impact on some young people's lives. At worst, bullying has been a factor in pupil suicide.
Bullying is therefore an anti-social behaviour, is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the school. Every member of the school community has a responsibility to report any incident of bullying that comes to their attention and these reports will always be taken seriously.
This policy should be written in conjunction with the school's policies for Equal Opportunities, Safeguarding, Behaviour, Exclusion as well as those for Sex and Relationships Education, Relationships Education, Citizenship Education, PSHE and our schemes of learning for the promotion of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils.
Your policy should include:
- Definitions of bullying, cyberbullying etc.
- The effects of bullying and why it must be dealt with
- What to look for and to recognise when bullying may be happening
- Your responsibilities as a school, head teacher and governing body
- Who oversees the implementation of the policy
- Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children
- What to do and actions to take if someone is being bullied
- What to do if someone is accused of bullying
- Details about counselling available to pupils
- Reporting and recording of bullying
- Investigation and monitoring procedures
- E-safety
- Staff training
You can use Handsam’s document Example Anti-bullying Policy as a template to build your own policy for your school or academy. This policy is now available for Handsam subscribers who opt in to policies. If you would like to download it, please contact the Handsam Client Support Team at info@handsam.co.uk.
If you would like to access our template policy but do not yet subscribe to our policy service, please contact our Client Support Team at info@handsam.co.uk to upgrade your subscription.
Odd Socks Day
Wear your odd socks this Anti-bullying Week. Why? To celebrate what makes us all unique. This will take place at the start of Anti-bullying Week, on Monday 13th November. You can find everything you need to know about Odd Socks Day here.
Odd Socks Day isn’t just for children. Anyone in your school or workplace can take part. Here’s what you can do:
- Ask your pupils and staff members to wear odd socks - any colour, any pattern. As long as they’re odd! The more outrageous, the better.
- Donate £1 to the Anti-bullying Alliance to help continue the great work they do.
- Share a photo online using #OddSocksDay and #AntiBullyingWeek and tag @abaonline.
For more ideas on how to spread awareness of Anti-bullying Week on Odd Socks Day, click here.
Cyberbullying
Bullying is any repeated behaviour, aimed at scaring, angering or shaming those who are targeted. Cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies and it is just as prevalent as any face-to-face bullying. It can take place on social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms and mobile phones.
In today's connected world, it can be difficult for children to escape online bullies. How do children protect themselves from harmful online abusers? Schools can:
- Teach children about cyberbullying and how to spot red flags of abuse
- Train staff on how to identify and respond to cyberbullying
- Educate parents about what to look for and how to monitor their child's online activities whilst at home
- Take all signs and reports of cyberbullying seriously
- Teach children how to stay safe on social media and apps
- Create a safe space and an open conversation about cyberbullying so that children feel comfortable to report any harassment they may be experiencing or have witnessed online
- Reassure children that any cyberbullying they experience is not their fault
Children and young people may learn how to use a smartphone and the internet from a young age, but schools have a big responsibility to teach them how to navigate the online world safely and positively. Educating pupils on how to identify and avoid cyberbullying forms a large part of this.
For more information about online safety, our e-training course is available now. Find out more here.