Young people and parents say bullying is among their top concerns. Bullying can make the lives of victims a misery; it can undermine their confidence and self esteem and can destroy their sense of security.
Bullying can have a life-long negative impact. It makes it difficult for children to learn and can have a lasting detrimental effect on their life chances. Young people who have been bullied can become anxious and withdrawn, depressed or aggressive. Some turn to substance misuse as a way of dealing with the emotional impact of bullying. Bullying does not happen only in normal school hours. It can happen anywhere.
Children who are badly bullied in school are more likely than others to be bullied both in and out of school. To tackle bullying successfully, the whole community and all services for children and young people need to work together to change the culture so that bullying is unacceptable.This guidance supports providers in writing their own Anti -bullying Policy in order to promote positive behaviour in extended services, and the steps that can be taken to prevent bullying happening in the first place and to respond effectively when bullying does occur.
