Bullying Guide

We all know that our children can be bullied in school but when this happens it is usually a fellow pupil who is the culprit but now it seems that your child is vulnerable to another kind of bullying, by teachers. Bullying done in this form is all verbal and done to make your child look stupid amongst his/her classmates; this is usually by name calling such as telling the child they are stupid in front of the whole class.

There has not being much written on the topic of teachers bullying pupils for obvious reasons, but a recent survey came to light revealing that 25% of the teachers who were questioned about bullying admitted they had to some degree during their career with 2% stating they did it on a regular basis.

Signs to watch for in your child

When teachers are the ones who are bullying children, the children are even more reluctant to tell someone than if it is other children who are doing the bullying.

This could be because they were brought up to respect older people and teachers are authority figures after all, so when the teacher becomes the bully this can be as confusing as it is upsetting for the child. Some signs that your child may be having serious problems with a teacher are

* Changes in your Child’s behaviour - Children who are bullied by teachers will often have headaches, stomach aches or any other little illness on certain days of the week, this is usually when they are in lessons with a particular teacher who is bullying them.

* Complaints of being picked on – Pay attention if your child complains of being picked on in school especially if one teachers name keeps cropping up all the time.

* Signs of contempt – if your child talks to you about an incident with a teacher get them to tell you in as much detail as possible about what happened, particularly the teachers tone of voice and the way your child was spoken to in front of the class.

Finding solutions to stop bullying by teachers

Bullying must be stopped in whatever form it takes and whoever does it, your child must understand that bullying is not acceptable and that they are not alone, it is important for parents to remain calm and not stoop to the level of the bully, parents of course will be outraged that the teacher is a bully, after all these are the people you entrust the care of your child to for hours a day.

* Arrange a meeting - arrange a meeting with the head teacher and the teacher in question and voice your concerns about your child being victimised in the classroom.

* Write a letter - Put down in writing the incidences that occur in the classroom and the way your child has changed because of the behaviour of the teacher, this way the teacher can see how his/her behaviour is affecting the child and of course they also know that you know what is happening in the classroom and that notes are being kept.

* Be prepared to go to higher authorities - If you are not satisfied with the way the school or teachers deal with any complaints, this could be writing to Ofsted or the board of education.

Filed under: Bullying Guide: Learning About & Dealing With Bullying

Bullying Guide

If you are being bullied in school then you can go to your teachers for help and they must do everything they can to straighten it out and stop the bullying while you’re in school. Bullying however can continue outside of school during the weekends and holidays and school has nothing to do with the bullying when this happens, so what can be done to put a stop to bullying outside of school? There are several ways that you can help to make life easier for yourself if you are being bullied outside of school, these include:

* Ask you friends to call for you before you go out instead of walking to friends’ homes on your own.

* Try taking a slightly different route than you would normally take if you are alone.

* If you’re out alone in the dark then stick to well lit streets.

* Try avoiding areas that you know bullies hang out such as shops, playgrounds and parks.

* Get a personal safety alarm or a whistle and use it if you are threatened.

* If bullies call you names don’t reply just ignore them and carry on walking.

* If you have an a older brother or sister then let them walk with you to your friends’ house.

* Get a lift from your parents to a friends’ house.

Most bullies think it’s clever to call you names they know will upset you and any reaction you have to them name calling will only egg them on and they will do it all the more. If they see that you are upset then they will torment you more so try not to show that their behaviour upsets you or frightens you.

Tell someone you’re being bullied

It is very important that you tell someone if you are or have been bullied on any occasion, whether this is at school or home, it is not a sign of weakness and it doesn’t mean you are a coward for not dealing with it yourself.

If you are being hit or kicked then the person doing this could get into serious trouble as it is a criminal offence and even making obscene gestures and calling you names is termed as harassment. Often children are afraid that they won’t be taken seriously when they say they’re being bullied but more and more attention is being paid to bullying and it is taken very seriously by parents, teachers and the police.

It can be helpful particularly if the police have to become involved if you have kept a journal of the bullying in as much detail as you can. For example writing down dates and times and what was said or done at the time.

What will be done about the bullying?

If you are being bullied on a daily basis by the same person and they are physically harming you as well as mentally then your parents can call the police and someone will come and talk to you about the bullying.

Special police community support officers will usually get involved and they will come and talk to both you and the person responsible for the bullying. In most cases this sorts the problem out as the police will often give the child an unofficial warning, if it doesn’t or the bullying gets worse then the police will come back and take statements from you and they might recommend that you bring criminal charges against the bully.

If the bully admits what they have done then probably they will have to visit the police station and a caution will be given if it goes further then they may have to attend a court hearing and be prosecuted and it will go down on record.

Filed under: Bullying Guide: Learning About & Dealing With Bullying