Blog – Latest stories tagged 'bullying'

Next week sees both Stand Up To Bullying and Stop Cyberbullying Day address the issue of bullying

In figures released by charity Ditch the Label in their latest bullying survey, 1-in-2 young people have experienced bullying, with 1-in-10 having been bullied within the past week. In addition, their research revealed that young people feel that social networks are not currently doing enough about online bullying, with many feeling unsafe online.

Empowering pupils to take the lead on tackling bullying can help in schools, and participating in the forthcoming anti-bullying campaigns taking place next week can help enforce the message.

Stand up to Bullying Day - June 13th 2018
Stand Up To Bullying Day was started in 2016 by The Diana Award with HRH The Duke of Cambridge and aims to raise public awareness about bullying and its long term effect, create understanding about our collective role in tackling bullying and to empower the public with the tools to stand up to bullying; wherever they are.

Whether you're looking to support on social media, run a session in your school or review your anti-bullying policy there's plenty to get you going. Schools can download a resource pack with ideas for activities and fundraising events to support anti-bullying and the Stand Up To Bullying campaign. There is also a Thunderclap where schools can show their support.

Stop Cyberbullying Day - June 15th 2018
Stop Cyberbullying Day was founded by The Cybersmile Foundation on June 17th 2012, to promote online positivity and good digital citizenship.

Since then, every year on the third Friday in June, Stop Cyberbullying Day has become a growing force of positivity.

Stop Cyberbullying Day encourages people around the world to show their commitment toward a truly inclusive and diverse online environment for all – without fear of personal threats, harassment or abuse.

To get involved you can use the hashtag #STOPCYBERBULLYINGDAY on the day with your content (images, videos, articles) to let people know you are participating on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube - supporting a brighter, kinder internet. Schools can also sign up to pledge their support via the Thunderclap campaign leading up to the day.

Join our FREE Membership service for our bullying assembly resource. E-safety Support members can also download cyber bullying specific resources and distribute Internet safety training. Safeguarding Essentials members have access to the full suite of cyber bullying and bullying resources including policies, teaching resources and staff training. Find out more.

Is there a line between banter and bullying?

We all talk about bullying, we know it’s a serious issue which can have devastating consequences and we know that thanks to social media, bullying doesn’t stop when the school gates close. But what exactly is bullying?

As pointed out in the latest Ditch the Label Annual Bullying Survey "the very nature of bullying is subjective, meaning everybody has a different idea of the behaviours that are considered to be bullying". The report identified that 12% of young people had bullied somebody based on their own definition of bullying, while 54% of respondents said that they had been bullied at some point.

In research released by TES in the latter part of 2017, figures revealed that from over 1000 secondary school teachers interviewed, over half thought that bullying was a problem in their school, with more than a fifth saying that bullying in their school was on the increase. Rather more shockingly, 40 per cent declared they knew of pupils too scared to attend school because of it.

To help identify bullying, the Department of Education define it as “behaviour by an individual or group, repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally”, while the dictionary definition adds that a bully will often force the victim to do something they do not want to do.

Types of bullying
Bullying and cyber bullying can take on many forms including (but not limited to) physical assault, emotional taunting, verbal abuse, social exclusion, hostile actions based on sexuality – the list goes on. And (as stated in the Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance) all staff should be aware of the specific safeguarding issue that bullying presents. Ofsted will also hold schools to account for how well they deal with bullying behaviour. This can include behaviour which takes place outside the school premises.

What can schools do?
In order to raise awareness of bullying issues and help prevent it taking place, schools can develop a number of strategies. In the first instance, anti-bullying and cyber bullying should be included in the curriculum. It is also key to ensure that parents are clear on their responsibilities and know where to go to for support. To enable this, the school should have clear guidelines and policies in place and should work with external agencies who can provide support and advice.

Empowering pupils to take the lead on tackling bullying can help encourage speaking out if situations arise and taking part in awareness days such as anti-bullying week or stop cyber bullying day can help enforce the message.

In short, it is important that schools deal with bullying as they have a duty of care to help pupils learn in a safe environment.

If you would like to share your thoughts on bullying issues or have ideas you would like to share with fellow teacher, please use the comments section below.

Members of the Safeguarding Essentials service have access to specific teacher training on this topic, along with additional teaching and school management resources. Login to access now.

Safeguarding Essentials - the new school resource from Kodo launches 12th April

Child protection and welfare needs are evolving.

According to the NSPCC, "thousands of young people sought help last year after being sexually abused by another young person". Added to the temptation of drugs and alcohol, the challenges surrounding mental well-being, or the ever-present potential for bullying, safeguarding in schools is a constant concern.

Providing a holistic approach to protect children against both offline and online risks is vital. This is why we are launching Safeguarding Essentials, a comprehensive service for safeguarding future generations.

Safeguarding Essentials will provide a comprehensive range of safeguarding resources to help equip schools in preventing and detecting current risks faced by children. These include:

teacher training

classroom resources

policies

checklists

parent guides

The new suite of topics will initially include:

An introduction to safeguarding

Bullying

FGM

Abuse

Mental well-being

Drugs

Alcohol

Along with all the e-safety topics covered in E-safety Support

Our new service will be accessible anytime and anywhere, empowering teachers to have the latest knowledge at their fingertips to deliver outstanding safeguarding practices with ease.

Existing E-safety Support Members

E-safety Support will be incorporated into the new Safeguarding Essentials product suite.

The service for existing E-safety Support Premium Plus members will not be affected. While you will see some changes to the website, once you have logged into your account, you will still have access to all your existing e-safety resources in the usual way. We will however, be adding some further 'sexting' resources as part of the process.

From an administration point of view, your membership package will no longer be referred to as 'Premium Plus', but will instead now be named 'E-safety Support'. This will be evident when you log into your dashboard and on any future invoicing.

Safeguarding Essentials Membership Packages

As with our E-safety Support packages, this is an online service, with all the resources and training courses accessible from the website. Schools will be able to purchase membership based on their education level - primary, secondary or all ages.

Safeguarding Essentials membership packages will be available as follows*:

Safeguarding Essentials (including E-safety Support) for Primary Schools - £499
Safeguarding Essentials (including E-safety Support) for Secondary Schools - £799
Safeguarding Essentials (including E-safety Support) for All Ages (primary & secondary) - £949

School will also continue to be able to purchase just the E-safety Support package as follows*:

E-safety Support for Primary Schools - £349
E-safety Support for Secondary Schools - £499
E-safety Support for All Ages (primary & secondary) - £778

Discounts are available for school groups, small schools and special needs schools - please call 0113 266 0880

If you are not an E-safety Support member, you can register your interest in the new Safeguarding Essentials service.

* All prices are shown excluding VAT. This is a subscription product with an automatic annual renewal.