Marianne
Taylor, Senior Educational Psychologist with the Durham Anti-Bullying
Service, looks at a new accreditation scheme for schools.
Durham
LEA had had a long-term commitment to preventing bullying in schools
and was one of the first LEAs to introduce a policy aimed at reducing
bullying in schools. A project to reduce bullying has been funded
since 1995 and had a huge boost in 2002 when half a million pounds
of funding was secured from the European Social Fund. This has
enabled the Service to provide an anti-bullying officer to work
in every secondary school on a weekly basis. Peer support schemes
have been extended and all pupils have had access to individual
support.
From this,
a recent development has been the adoption of an accreditation
scheme for schools which was launched by Esther Rantzen in July
2003. Schools are invited to apply for accreditation when they
have evidence that they can meet certain criteria.
The agreed
criteria are as follows:
The
establishment of an anti-bullying interest group within school
involving staff, pupils and community link personnel.
An
annually-reviewed anti-bullying policy that provides specific
information as to what the school is currently doing to support
vulnerable youngsters.
A
school commitment to access and support relevant agencies
such as the anti-bullying service.
The
establishment of a peer support scheme within the school.
An
annual anti-bullying awareness-raising day coordinated with
other schools.
.
We have learnt that policy is not enough and that there
is no single strategy that is effective in all situations.
Bullying remains an issue which must be confronted regularly.
Awareness raising by a variety of different methods can
help to maintain an anti-bullying profile within schools
and this can promote good citizenship and an atmosphere
of telling and listening.
Accreditation
is therefore a framework to create a system of both supporting
schools to develop anti-bullying systems and cultures within
our schools and also to measure how successful they are
in achieving this.
For
more information about Durham's Anti-Bullying Service, please
visit this
website, or contact Marianne Taylor by
email.
Accreditated
schools receive a certificate.
.
Bullying:
effective action in secondary schools
‘Schools
with most successful approaches to bullying canvassed
and took full account of pupils’ views and they
dedicated curriculum and tutorial time to discussing
relationships and matters like bullying’.
Since
September 1999, schools in England have specific duties
to combat bullying:
Schools
must have anti-bullying policies and procedures
Local
education authorities must ensure that their schools
comply with these duties
This
32 page survey, published in March 2003 by Ofsted,
is based on visits by Her Majesty’s Inspectors
(HMI) to LEAs and schools in 2001/02, which focused
on strategies to reduce incidents of bullying, to
support victims and to challenge bullying behaviour.
It includes sections on: main findings, bullying and
its effects, combating bullying, LEA support and a
conclusion. See the OFSTED
website. For copies contact Ofsted Publications
Centre, tel 07002 637 833 fax 07002 693 274, or email.
Document reference number HMI 465
The
Long Term Effects of Bullying
Karen
Robson
The Institute for Social and Economic Research
The University of Essex
There
is
increasing awareness that being bullied can be an extremely
traumatising experience for a child. This can largely be
attributed to the hard work of anti-bullying organisations
like the ABN, the efforts made by the Scottish Executive
Education Department and the Department for Education and
Skills, and media attention to the recent victims
of ‘bullycide’. It is unacceptable to dismiss
being bullied as a character building experience or a rite
of passage that a few unlucky children experience. Considerable
research has demonstrated that bullying victims suffer emotional,
psychological, and physical harm as a result of their victimisation.
My recent research findings suggest that these experiences
do not fade away after the bullying stops. In a study of
over sixteen thousand British children born in 1970, I found
that children who were poorly integrated at age ten still
suffered effects of these experiences almost twenty years
later. Alienated children were more likely to become adults
who had difficulty forming relationships and were less likely
to have gone on to obtain a university degree. I also found
evidence that poor integration in childhood contributed
to adult depression. It is therefore important to stop the
bullying not only to promote and protect the child’s
welfare, but also to give that child the chance to achieve
his/her full potential as an adult.
For
more information about this research please see the full
report in pdf or contact Karen Robson, Senior Research
Officer by email.
ABN NOTE:
This research study has found that being rejected/victimised
by peers in childhood can have long term effects. The ABN
bullybox (www.antibullying.net/bullyboxintro.htm) receives
messages from adults who feel they are still suffering as
a result of bullying experiences in childhood. However we
also receive emails from adults and young people who feel
positively about their future and who want to send messages
of support and encouragement to children presently going
through the nightmare of bullying. For information about
other studies which look at the short and long term effects
of bullying please see our new research section ‘Bullying
– Questions and Answers’.
Durham
LEA had had a long-term commitment to preventing bullying in schools
and was one of the first LEAs to introduce a policy aimed at reducing
bullying in schools. A project to reduce bullying has been funded
since 1995 and had a huge boost in 2002 when half a million pounds
of funding was secured from the European Social Fund. This has
enabled the Service to provide an anti-bullying officer to work
in every secondary school on a weekly basis. Peer support schemes
have been extended and all pupils have had access to individual
support.
This
32 page survey, published in March 2003 by Ofsted,
is based on visits by Her Majesty’s Inspectors
(HMI) to LEAs and schools in 2001/02, which focused
on strategies to reduce incidents of bullying, to
support victims and to challenge bullying behaviour.
It includes sections on: main findings, bullying and
its effects, combating bullying, LEA support and a
conclusion. See the 
Karen
Robson
There
is
increasing awareness that being bullied can be an extremely
traumatising experience for a child. This can largely be
attributed to the hard work of anti-bullying organisations
like the ABN, the efforts made by the Scottish Executive
Education Department and the Department for Education and
Skills, and media attention to the recent victims
of ‘bullycide’. It is unacceptable to dismiss
being bullied as a character building experience or a rite
of passage that a few unlucky children experience. Considerable
research has demonstrated that bullying victims suffer emotional,
psychological, and physical harm as a result of their victimisation.
My recent research findings suggest that these experiences
do not fade away after the bullying stops. In a study of
over sixteen thousand British children born in 1970, I found
that children who were poorly integrated at age ten still
suffered effects of these experiences almost twenty years
later. Alienated children were more likely to become adults
who had difficulty forming relationships and were less likely
to have gone on to obtain a university degree. I also found
evidence that poor integration in childhood contributed
to adult depression. It is therefore important to stop the
bullying not only to promote and protect the child’s
welfare, but also to give that child the chance to achieve
his/her full potential as an adult.