Survey reveals depth of bullying

Many children don’t feel safe at school, writes Alexandra Nelson.

Children are being encouraged to build resilience when it comes to bullying as a global survey shows almost a quarter of New Zealand children aged 10 to 12 feel unsafe at school.

More than 800 students across New Zealand took part in the 2016 ChildFund Small Voices, Big Dreams survey.

The findings reveal that 63 per cent of New Zealand children felt their school was always safe while 24 per cent said their school was only sometimes safe – leaving one in three children feeling scared or unsure about their safety.

Students at Kauri Park School on Auckland’s North Shore said bullying made them feel insecure because they felt ‘‘ashamed, embarrassed and self-conscious’’.

Ten-year-old Cooper Godbold said she would lock herself in her bedroom and cry because boys would tease her about having ‘‘hairy legs’’.

‘‘It made me feel self-conscious. It made me feel like nobody liked me. I hated school and I didn’t want to boys.’’

After she spoke out about her concerns, deputy principal JoAnne Sutton stepped in.

Cooper said she had not been bullied since and felt she had the support of school staff.

‘‘Now I just wear shorts whenever I want because I don’t care what people think. go anywhere near the

‘‘You’re unique how you are. It doesn’t matter if you look different or not.’’

She wanted to complete the survey because she wanted to help anyone else being picked on.

‘‘At the time I felt upset and people probably feel the same way.’’

Another 10-year-old student, Sebastian Sutton spoke out about two instances of being bullied.

‘‘One of them a kid thought that because I’m quite short that I couldn’t do many things. He thought it would be funny to call me a midget. I felt really embarrassed, I was really ashamed,’’ he said.

The year five student said he didn’t tell anyone apart from a friend, who told a teacher.

‘‘I was really mad at my friend at first but realised it’s better to get it out.’’

He felt like school was ‘‘pointless’’. Now he feels more confident and enjoys coming to class.

‘‘The survey was really helpful, I felt really sorry for people everywhere who feel unsafe.’’

Sutton said it was important students to come forward.

‘‘When children don’t tell us they are being bullied and finally when it does come out it’s got to a point where they are feeling unsafe. By the time they share it with the school it has got to a point that’s really difficult to deal with.’’

JoAnne Sutton wants parents and students to come and talk to teachers if they’re concerned. ‘‘If we don’t know we can’t deal with it. We will make sure it’s sorted out.

‘‘Parents and schools also need to build resilience in children and teach them that sometimes in life there are going to be people who are mean to you and we can’t stop everyone from being mean. What we can do it build up resilience within ourselves so that we have ways to cope with it.’’

ChildFund New Zealand chief executive Paul Brown said the results were worrying.

‘‘Too many children are worried about being physically hurt and bullying in schools. To our kids, being safe at school means feeling protected and encouraged – many think of it as a second home.’’ for