Anti-bullying strategy

Where we are now

This is the stage we're at now:

children and young people tell us they're concerned about bullying
children and young people that are most likely to be bullied and face discrimination are those:

- with disabilities
- with additional needs
- from minority groups
- who are looked after

children and young people tell us that disruptive behaviour in school reduces their enjoyment and achievement in the classroom
pupils' freedom from bullying, racism another forms of harassment was judged to be no better than satisfactory in 2 out of 5 secondary schools inspected (2003/2004)
Ofsted's inspection of the local authority (May 2004) found that its support for behaviour in schools was unsatisfactory and poorly regarded by them
children and young people are often portrayed negatively in their communities and by the media (7% of press stories about young people are negative)

This is a priority because:

there's a strong association between bullying and discrimination about the health, education achievement and emotional wellbeing of children and young people
it's important that children and young people grow up with a sense of respect for others; learning how to resolve conflict, developing good social skills and positive relationships that they can take into adult life
there's no need for policies on combatting bullying to be implemented and monitored by all partners or organisations working with children and young people
this issue requires a range of services to provide preventative support and have inter-agency policies and procedures agreed
information needs to be shared effectively across services and professionals working with children and young people
early identification and intervention will reduce the need for referrals to specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
community and media perceptions of young people should reflect reality to ensure all young people are treated fairly and with respect by adults

We will:

reduce children's and young people's experience of bullying behaviour
reduce children's and young people's experience of discriminatory behaviour
make sure that children, young people and their carers are informed about key risks to safety and how to deal with them
make sure that there are effective ways of knowing the whereabouts of vulnerable children and young people, particularly those who go missing and those out of school
work with partner agencies to increase the available resources and accessibility to treatment programmes for those who pose a risk of offending against children

Find more information on our bullying page.