What are the best ways of tackling bullying in school?

Circle time is used in many schools across Britain. During a circle time session, pupils and teacher sit in a circle and in an open, positive atmosphere each person is given a turn (taken only if desired) to contribute to the discussion. It not only encourages children to discuss issues (for example bullying) and but also to come up with solutions. In the case of bullying it can be used to help schools prevent it or to deal with a particular problem as it occurs. As part of a school's anti-bullying programme, circle time is used to raise pupil awareness and understanding of the problem, and to come up with ways of tackling it. A very important part of circle time is that it helps children learn how to listen and how to consider the feelings of others. These skills not only help the individual children but help to make the whole school a more caring, positive place.

.........................................

Article details

A Mellor (2000) 'Information for Teachers About the Use of Circle Time', Information Sheet Number 11, Edinburgh: The Anti-Bullying Network. This sheet can be downloaded here.
.........................................

Author details

At the time of the study, Andrew Mellor was a practising teacher who had received funding from the Scottish Education Department to carry out this project. He has been actively involved in anti-bullying work in Scotland for almost 15 years, speaking at conferences, writing for academic and non-academic audiences and running in-service courses for teachers. He is now manager of the Anti-Bullying Network, which is funded by the Scottish Executive and based at The University of Edinburgh.
.........................................