Nearly 50% worried about returning to school bullies
ALMOST half of children have worried about returning to class after school holidays because of bullying, according to a poll.
It also suggests that youngsters feel that being the victim of bullying has an impact on their academic life – affecting their grades, attendance and whether they put their hand up in class.
The survey, published by The Diana Award, comes as children across the country head back to school for the start of the new academic year. The poll, which questioned 1,003 secondary-age children, found that three-fifths (60%) said they have been bullied at school at some point.
Of all of the youngsters questioned, 46% said they have worried about going back to school after a holiday or half-term because of bullying.
Of the children who had been bullied, 40% said it was because of their academic ability. It also found that of all the children who said they had been bullied, 39% said it affected their school grades and 38% said it affected their attendance at school
Just over half (51%) said it made them less likely to put their hand up in class.
The Diana Award has launched a celebrity-backed Back2School campaign to highlight the issue of bullying.
Alex Holmes, deputy CEO of The Diana Award, said: “Young people spend 11,000 hours of their lives in full education. School should be safe and free from bullying.
“We’re urging everyone to get behind our campaign by helping us to train Anti-Bullying Ambassadors in every schools.
“We know this peer-to-peer approach works and these young ambassadors are already changing behaviours and shaping attitudes by sending a clear message that bullying isn’t acceptable.”
The Survation poll questioned 1,003 UK children aged 11-16 between August 7-13.