BULLYING CAN HAVE a detrimental impact on the lives of young people which can echo well into adulthood. As parents and other adults in the lives of young people it can be very difficult to know how to deal with this issue, how to support our young people and indeed what kind of bullying is taking place.

But here are some things that we do know:

• We know that 1 in 4 young people have experienced or know someone who has been bullied (ISPCC National Children’s Consultation, 2011)
• We know that in 2012, Childline received over 2,000 calls every day and far too many of these were in relation to bullying
• We know that some children calling Childline were afraid, embarrassed, confused and suffering from low self-esteem as a result of bullying
• We know that it takes awareness and dedication from the whole community – parents, teachers, coaches, family members and young people themselves – to stop bullying

Overwhelming

When the idea of our anti-bullying campaign began this year, we started to look at all the research and evidence around bullying and bullying behaviours. What we found was a mountain of information spread over decades and the realisation that any school, teacher or parent could get easily overwhelmed by all the evidence and possible responses to bullying behaviours that are advocated.

To simplify matters and to make this issue more approachable to all concerned, the ISPCC developed the notion of a ‘self evaluation toolkit’ that schools can use to determine their own strengths and needs regarding bullying in their school. We felt this needed to be a self evaluation concept in order for schools to feel they could be very open and honest with themselves in how they approach bullying concerns without the shadow of outside judgement influencing any responses to the questions asked.

In simple terms, the toolkit asks the teachers within a school to consider a set of evidence based statements and questions about their school’s approach to bullying. For example; “We acknowledge that bullying is an issue for all schools and the wider community of which schools are a part”; “Does bullying exist in our school?”; “How do we define bullying and are we alert to the possibility of bullying occurring in our school that goes unreported?”

These are all important questions for schools to consider. The overall aim of the self evaluation approach is to help schools identify how effective they are in dealing with and reducing incidences of bullying within the school and community environment.

Response on a community-wide level

Bullying is a very broad issue and appears to be ever more present in our community environment. What we have learned within the ISPCC is the need for any response to be made on the community-wide level. Schools are a part of our community and are well placed to help facilitate any response to the worrisome and negative behaviour of bullying.

As parents and wider community members we are often acutely aware of the damaging impact bullying can have on individuals, not only for children but also into adulthood as well. Bullying is a behaviour which requires a positive response from all of us at the community level and we are encouraging everyone to get involved in some way.

Parents play an influential role in this regard. As bullying is a community issue, it should not be just left to any given school to respond to the problem. Parents need to take an active role too. Link in with your school. Partake in any broader discussions the school might have on bullying. Voice your opinion and listen to what the school has in terms of an anti-bullying policy. If the school is looking to develop a new anti-bullying policy, give your opinions on what you consider is important in this regard. When this collaboration happens we can all feel like we are a part of the solution and be more proactive in how we respond.

The vital role of parents

Parents are vitally important in tackling this issue as bullying does not only happen inside school walls. Parents are best placed to observe any bullying behaviours in the community or at home and to influence positively their own children’s behaviours by being a responsible role model.

The ISPCC’s Shield campaign which seeks to protect children from bullying by raising awareness and providing support to young people, parents and schools has been rolling on throughout the month of March. The widespread images of One Direction, Gary Barlow, Mark Feehily and many others are becoming synonymous with standing up against bullying. But the work does not end there. We want to make sure that the message and awareness raised doesn’t leave the spotlight. The message is that bullying is a widespread, serious issue and we all must stand up against it.

We continue to offer support to schools through outreaches and the Shield my School toolkit (www.ispcc.ie), to parents via ISPCC Support line (01-6767960), with information leaflets also available on our website and of course to young people via a new bullying support text line; text “bully” to 50101 (open 2pm-10pm daily) or on www.childline.ie

ISPCC shield pins will be available at various retailers including Penneys, M&S, Elverys, Harvey Norman and Sam McCauley chemists over the next few weeks.

Andrew Jackson is the Anti-Bullying Coordinator with ISPCC.