You’d be forgiven for thinking that bullying (or peer-on-peer abuse as some Safeguarding courses call it) only has an impact on the lives of very young children. That however, just isn’t true. People of any age, in any social or virtual setting can become victims of bullies or even begin to demonstrate bullying behaviour, but it must always be spoken about, support must be on hand to deal with the situation in a safe manner.
But what is ‘Bullying Behaviour’?
The Anti-Bullying Alliance has defined bullying behaviour as:
‘The repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power.’
This can take place physically, socially, virtually (online) and can be physical, verbal or psychological.
Anti-bullying week is run by the Anti-Bullying Alliance and seeks to help people recognise, prevent and end bullying. Their slogan is simple: Make A Noise About Bullying. The notion is not a complex one: if we can talk about bullying, about whether you’re experiencing it, or if you’re a perpetrator of bullying, then it can be prevented. And of course, it is not a taboo topic to be ignored, belittled or swept under the rug.
Research compiled by the Anti-Bullying Alliance shows that children as young as 3 can show signs of bully behaviour- Early Years providers can witness through children playing whether there are concerns about a child and their behaviour. It is beneficial to notice early, as through tailored sessions and future socialisation of the child the bullying behaviour can hopefully be overridden and more friendly behaviour can be encouraged.
A crucial component of targeting bullies’ behaviour is to take a whole-school approach to anti-bullying. There is a legal obligation for behaviours and incidents such as this to be logged, in an online record and for the information to either be stored or passed along to further agencies if required.
Targeting the prevention and ending of bullying isn’t strictly a school-based focus; it must also be a community based approach too, in order to prevent a culture of bullying from permeating into the local society as a whole. The Anti-bullying Alliance make the recommendation that a joint approach with parents and carers is also essential.
Below is a video from the Anti-Bullying Alliance which have their best tried and tested ways of how to respond to bullying:
Anti-Bullying Alliance- Responding to Bullying
Bullying can seem like a scary topic, there’s still so much of a taboo surrounding it- particularly if you find out that your child may be showing bully behaviour, but don’t fret. There’s tools at your disposal to help!
The Anti-Bullying Alliance has free resources for Parents and Carers about how to raise the conversation of bullying, with handy hints and tips on the best way to approach certain conversations, how to encourage more positive thoughts and behaviour, and so forth. You can find further information on that here.
Let’s all work together to make sure that children and adults can feel safe and respected matter where they are- there’s no reason to bully someone, and we must all make a conscious effort to call out inequalities and unkindness and bullying if you see it.
For more information about Anti-Bullying Week and the Anti-Bullying Alliance, please click here.