Anti-Bullying Week - which is taking place this week - represents theculmination of a year's worth of planning by the Anti-Bullying Alliance,a group of 65 organisations founded by the NSPCC and the NationalChildren's Bureau in 2002.
However, as well as arranging this week's activities, the alliance hasspent the last 12 months doing regional development work with localauthorities, as well as promoting the Department for Education andSkills' anti-bullying charter for schools. "(The charter) is a set ofcriteria that schools sign up to, such as reviewing their anti-bullyingpolicy on an annual basis," says Julia Collar, the alliance's nationalco-ordinator. "It involves parents, carers, children and other agencies- head teachers sign up to it as well as representatives from thegoverning body and the student body."
The alliance is also working on an accreditation scheme for schools,which would involve awarding a "charter mark" to schools that meet setstandards for anti-bullying work.
A measure of success
But how successful has the alliance been in meeting its objectives?Statistics from ChildLine on the number of bullying-related calls it hasrecently received suggest, on the surface at least, that the alliancehas failed to make a difference. In the 12 months to 31 March 2006, atotal of 37,074 children (25,406 girls, 11,688 boys) called ChildLineabout bullying - compared to 32,688 (23,359 girls, 9,329 boys) theprevious year.
However, Collar denies suggestions that the ChildLine figuresdemonstrate an increase in bullying. "We see this as a success as itmeans the idea of getting people to tell (about bullying) is having aneffect," she says. Collar also points to children developing their ownideas to combat bullying through "art, music and peer mentoring" asevidence of the effectiveness of the alliance.
But she acknowledges that there is more work to do. "Some localauthorities are collecting statistics (on bullying), but it's notconsistent," admits Collar.
She adds that encouraging bystanders who witness bullying to take actionis the focus of this year's Anti-Bullying Week. Collar highlightsresearch showing that around 60 per cent of bullying stops within 10seconds when peers intervene. "It's about encouraging young people to dowhat they can, whether that means intervening or encouraging childrenand young people to tell and not consider it grassing," she says.
Another area of concern, according to Collar, is the under-reporting ofracist and homophobic bullying. "These incidents are illegal and schoolsare worried that if they're seen to have these incidents it will reflectbadly on them. We want to encourage schools to be more open."
The alliance is also looking to provide more support for parents ofchildren who are being bullied. Collar says: "There is work to be donewith parents, such as how to cope with bullying, what the best sourcesof support are, and how parents can make complaints. It can befrustrating for them and they can go through a lot of anger andhurt."
Cyberbullying - bullying via the internet or mobile phone - is anothermajor challenge according to Collar. "It's such a hidden form ofbullying, it's very anonymous and can be devastating and psychologicallypainful. Parents are often unaware that it can be reported to theirinternet provider or phone company," she says.
Conflicting approaches
While all members of the alliance are united in their aim to reducebullying, different views on how to tackle the problem do arise. JanMyles, assistant secretary in education management at the NationalAssociation of Head Teachers, says: "The alliance has a wide membershipand is working very hard to raise the profile of bullying. We aredisseminating information from the alliance, though (the members) arenot always singing from the same hymn sheet."
She adds: "The school's view may contradict the parents' view. Someparents think schools aren't doing enough, but bullying is complex - forexample, the parent may be a bully and the child uses that as a rolemodel."
Despite these differences of opinion, the children's commissioner forEngland, Al Aynsley-Green, commends the alliance. "I support the work ofthe alliance - the regional presence of the alliance co-ordinators meansthat they are able to tailor activities to the needs of young people,"he says.
Elsewhere in the UK, the activities of the alliance have been mirroredby the Welsh Anti-Bullying Network and the Northern IrelandAnti-Bullying Forum, though progress in Scotland has hit a number ofhurdles (see box).
Wales's network has been successful in getting schools to properlyaddress the problem, according to Sylvia Jones, Denbighshire CountyCouncil's senior education officer. "In the past, schools were afraid toadmit bullying was going on," she says.
Meanwhile, Geraldine Loughran, chair of the Northern IrelandAnti-Bullying Forum, says it has run workshops in schools and hassuccessfully raised the profile of bullying. "We're getting more contactfrom schools on a daily basis," she adds.
HOW THE UK SHAPES UP ON BEATING BULLYING
England - The Anti-Bullying Alliance is promoting the Department forEducation and Skills' anti-bullying charter, as well as developing anaccreditation scheme for schools. It is also doing regional developmentwork
Wales - The Welsh Anti-Bullying Network disseminated information aboutthe Welsh Assembly Government's review of schools' anti-bullyingpolicies. It also co-ordinates Respecting Others Week (20-24November)
Northern Ireland - The Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum hasrecruited a regional anti-bullying co-ordinator, produced informationpacks and held workshops in schools. The forum has also organised parentconsultations
Scotland - The Scottish Executive wound up the Anti-Bullying Network inJuly because it wanted a service with a wider remit. Last month, it wasreplaced with a service called Better Futures (Children Now, 18-24October).
