Bullying is an issue which has festered within human nature since the dawn of time. It might be between two countries and their leaders, where a more powerful country intimidates a smaller country or bullying in a family when one parent is afraid of the other's wrath. However, the most common and often the most heart-breaking type of bullying is found in schools, between siblings or in friendship groups.
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During the third week of November, Anti-Bullying Week shines a spotlight on bullying and encourages all children, teachers and parents to take action against bullying throughout the year.
For 2016 the charity 'Anti-Bullying Alliance' have set a theme called 'Power for Good' and hope that a few key aims will encourage more people to take action. Some of these are as follows:
-To support children and young people to use their Power for Good – by understanding the ways in which they are powerful and encouraging individual and collective action to stop bullying and create the best world possible.
-To help parents and carers to use their Power for Good – through supporting children with issues relating to bullying and working together with schools to stop bullying.
-To encourage all teachers, school support staff and youth workers to use their Power for Good by valuing the difference they can make in a child’s life, and taking individual and collective action to prevent bullying and create safe environments where children can thrive.
During a special Anti-Bullying Week assembly, Dane Ghyll School welcomed faith-based group The PAIS Movement, who visited them from Springmount Church, Barrow.
The primary school's headteacher Caron Reynolds said: "The group came in and acted out the story of David and Goliath and we wanted to portray the message that just because somebody is bigger and tougher than you are, it doesn't give them the right to be a bully.
"We want our students to learn that there is no excuse for bullying and they can always talk to their teachers if they feel there is any problem in that area.
"The young people from the PAIS movement brought a really fun element to the assembly and the fact that the group was made up of Fiona Fahudrich, from Germany, Juliano Munhoz, from Brazil and then Corey Love from Barrow added a fantastic multi-cultural element that really fascinated the children."
The Anti-Bullying Alliance set up a social media campaign using the hashtag #PowerForGood which has been trending on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. They are still encouraging any parents, teachers and children to get involved and tag them in their posts. Mrs Reynolds said: "Thankfully we don't have too much trouble with bullying in Dane Ghyll, but we are very aware that bullying is a serious issue when children start secondary school.
"That is why we try to teach them from an early age to look out for each other. The older children act as mentors for the youngsters and always go over to help if they see a pupil being left out or looking a bit down."
If you are a parent of teacher worried about bullying you can find all of the contact numbers for help and advice on the Anti-Bullying Alliance website by visiting: www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/advice.
FACTFILE: How can I help my child if they are being bullied?
1. If your child is being bullied, don't panic. Your key role is listening, calming and providing reassurance that the situation can get better when action is taken.
2. Listen and reassure them that coming to you was the right thing to do. Try and establish the facts. It can be helpful to keep a diary of events to share with the school or college.
3. Assure them that the bullying is not their fault and that they have family that will support them. Reassure them that you will not take any action without discussing it with them first.
4. Don't encourage retaliation to bullying - such as violent actions. It's important for children to avoid hitting or punching an abusive peer. Reacting that way has negative and unpredictable results- they may be hurt even further, and find that they are labelled as the problem. Rather suggest that they walk away and seek help.
5. Find out what your child wants to happen next. Help to identify the choices open to them; the potential next steps to take; and the skills they may have to help solve the problems.
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