Bullying can be a serious problem in schools today Discuss the background to the problem and
Bullying is a serious problem in schools today. It can be found in most primary schools and can have a detrimental effect on children’s education. Head teachers are legally required to have an anti-bullying policy for their school. They also have a legal duty to take measures to prevent all forms of bullying. There are different forms of bullying and different types of bullies, which can be dependent on the bully’s sex. Bullying can occur inside and outside of the school environment. Schools can use strategies such as a whole school approach to combat it and teachers can use bully preventative teaching approaches. The issue of bullying can be addressed within the curriculum, such as PHSE, drama and circle time. Fundamentally, the responsibility of tackling the problem of bullying starts with the Head teacher. ‘Head teachers have a legal duty to take measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils. All teaching and non teaching staff, including lunchtime supervisors, should be alert to signs of bullying and act promptly and firmly. ... 30) Head teachers are required to take measures with a view to ‘encourage good behaviour and respect for others on the part of pupils, in particular, preventing all forms of bullying among pupils. ... 30) A definition of bullying is provided in the DfEE Bullying: Don’t Suffer in Silence Anti-bullying pack for schools (1994). ... It is also bullying when a pupil is hit, kicked, threatened, locked inside a room, sent nasty notes, when no-one ever talks to them and things like that. ... It is also bullying when a pupil is teased repeatedly in a nasty way. However if two pupils of equal power or strength have an occasional fight or quarrel, this is not bullying.’ Bullying is repeated deliberate hurtful behaviour that can be categorised into three forms, physical, verbal and indirect. Physical bullying can be hitting or kicking of a pupil where actual physical harm is caused. ... Verbal bullying can be the calling of names and the use of insulting or offensive remarks. Indirect bullying can be the spreading of nasty stories or malicious rumours about a pupil. ... The sending of malicious e-mails or text messages can also be indirect bullying. ... A bully will keep on bullying if they think it is exciting and makes them popular. ... They can have empathy for the feelings of others and experience feelings of guilt after bullying. ... (DfEE 2000) Victims of bullying often have poor social skills and lack the confidence to seek help. ... (Pearce 2002) Any child can be bullied, however there are certain factors can make bullying more likely.