POLICY & PRACTICE: Judgment call

Would you exclude a 12-year-old from an out-of-placement activity when they were caught bullying?

A manager from a Manchester children's rights project tells what happened when she did.

I was taking part in a drama project with looked-after children where they were given the opportunity to discuss an important issue of their choosing within a confidential setting.

Despite the fact that the group had collectively and individually expressed their unhappiness at physical and emotional abuse, I discovered that a 12-year-old in the group had been bullying and physically abusing another member of the group who was 11.

The real sadness was that this young person who was bullying had come from a household rife with physical and sexual abuse. Her whole family had been split up and were in various homes throughout the city. The last thing she needed was to be abandoned by yet another professional. But ignoring the situation risked the reputation of the work and stood to damage another young person physically and emotionally.