Everyone working in education is all too familiar with the problem of bullying within schools, from the 14th to the 18th of November it’s National Anti-Bullying Week, coordinated by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, so we wanted to share some tips on how to tackle bullying in your school.

When it comes to bullying it doesn’t just affect children when they’re younger, it can have long-term effects on both the bully and the bullied child all the way into adulthood, luckily there are things you can do as an educator to prevent this from happening.

One of the first steps to preventing bullying is to create a talking culture in your school, don’t ignore the undeniable fact that bullying does happen, instead, acknowledge and talk about the issue. 

To help create a culture of coming forward make sure your Anti-Bullying policy is up-to-date and known by all of your students so they can feel comfortable and confident reporting bullying. This will not only allow you to offer support to those who are being bullied but you’re also able to defer potential bullying.

When you are made aware of bullying you should let the student know that you are there for them and will help make it stop. You should also ensure the student has access to all the resources they may need to feel consoled during this time. The Anti-Bullying Alliance have a list with a ton of websites and helplines you can suggest to your students so be sure to check them out!

Finally, if a child has come to you for your support it is best to make sure that they feel included and a part of the decisions made to stop the bullying from continuing. It is integral for the child to feel in control of what happens next and be comfortable as there are usually concerns about the bullying escalating.

We hope these tips can help you prevent and tackle bullying in your schools and if you want more tips on how to help your students feel supported and celebrated check out our blog on Understanding and Celebrating Diversity in your classrooms.

Don’t forget we are constantly recruiting for a variety of school roles, so if you’re looking for a new school role check out our latest roles.