Bullying Online forces government U-turn on school bullying

From Liz Carnell, Director, Bullying Online

29 August 2005

Bullying Online is delighted that Education Minister Jacqui Smith has overturned the Anti-Bullying Alliance's controversial advice to schools and LEAs that school bullies should only be punished "as a last resort" and only in "very serious case".

This policy was not in the interests of children and this charity made representations to Secretary of State Ruth Kelly and England Children's Commissioner Prof Al Aynsley Green earlier this year to ask why the DfES was preaching zero tolerance of bullying while funding the Anti-Bullying Alliance which was giving out an entirely different message. We also raised this through MP supporters in Parliament and the media.

Bullying Online received more than 8,000 emails last year from parents and children desperate for help. Up to four pupils a day who contact us are suicidal. Many parents tell us that bullies have been getting away with their behaviour and making children's lives a total misery.

We don't believe that low key mediation, counselling and no-blame style policies are appropriate where there has been violence and extortion involving children over the age of criminal responsibility which is 10 in England and Wales. We think it would be more appropriate for schools to call in the police in these circumstances.

There have never been so many methods of dealing with school bullying but bullying has reached epidemic proportions. We don't think that's any co-incidence. We urge Ms Smith to make it a priority to implement long term independent studies into all these anti-bullying methods and taking parents' views fully into account - and to make sure that all schools are updating their policies to take account of modern methods of bullying like internet and phone text abuse. Bullying Online has been pro-active in closing down a number of abusive website forums in the north London/Hertfordshire area.

This is an independent charity which has been refused government funding for our work. We will continue to speak out in the interests of all children and their parents who turn to us as a last resort.

Liz Carnell FRSA
Director
Bullying Online
www.bullying.co.uk

Notes

Bullying Online was founded in 1999 and operates on the internet through our website www.bullying.co.uk which has 30 different sections of practical help and advice.

Bullying Online has won a number of major awards including the BT eWellbeing Award 2003; regional wins in the national E-Commerce Awards 2002 and 2003; the Big Issue Big Difference Awards 2004 and was runner up in the New Statesman/BT New Media Awards 2001.

Well over 100 local councils and 22 police forces recommend Bullying Online as a source of help, as do government departments, major charities and schools and youth organisations.

Liz Carnell is a journalist who has been researching and working in the field of school bullying since 1993. She is available for interviews on 07946 610535.

- Ends -

Links

Bullying OnLine at http://www.bullying.co.uk

Anti-bullying protests force policy U-turn, by Ned Temko, chief political correspondent for The Observer, Sunday August 28, 2005: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,,1557927,00.html

Anti-bully group 'a bully itself': http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4145233.stm

Row over new anti-bully 'tsars': http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3739290.stm

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