It's a Community Thing

If I could go without bullying for one day I'd be happy. It's non-stop. It happens on the internet, at school and out of school.
A message to the ABN team from Ashley aged 12

The walls we build around schools and the security systems installed at their entrances can give the false impression that they are separate from the communities they serve. Sometimes we even talk about "school bullying", as though that was the only place it happens. In fact bullying crosses the physical barriers we build around schools with ease. It may start in school and spill over the community - or vice versa. When this happens, any response that a school makes is unlikely to succeed unless it also involves families and agencies working in that community.

Perhaps we need to rethink what we mean when we talk about a "school". A school is not just a building, nor is it the pupils and staff that work in those buildings. A school is a community with limits that are difficult to define but which embrace all those involved with the education and care of its pupils. It follows that an effective response to bullying requires the appropriate involvement of all members of this wider school community - not just the core team.

The Anti-Bullying Network's core team is small but it links many thousands of people across Scotland who have freely shared ideas about how bullying can be tackled or who, like Ashley, by sharing their pain, have highlighted its effects. Thank you all.

Andrew Mellor
Anti-Bullying Network Manager

The Anti-Bullying Network Team
Standing: Meg Cowie, Kate Betney, Lorne Greig, Elise Shaw
Seated: Andrew Mellor, Prof Pamela Munn, Gina Reddie