What could be done to support pupils who are being bullied?

A valuable source of support can be the family. A child who is being bullied may well be scared to tell anyone about it. If the family has already talked about bullying generally, it should be easier for the child to discuss it if it happens to him/her. The family can be there to listen and to offer support and understanding, to approach the school (with the child's knowledge) and to find ways of building up the child's self-esteem and confidence. Good communication between parents and schools is very important, not just when responding to particular reports of bullying, but also when drawing up an anti-bullying policy for the whole school.
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Article details

A Mellor (1997) 'Bullying at School: advice for families', Edinburgh: Scottish Council for Research in Education.
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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.
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