How to take action to tackle child bullying at school

What should be a happy time for youngsters in their school years can be spoilt by bullies who thrive on inflicting pain and fear on fellow pupils to the extent that some have even gone to the lengths of sadly taking their own lives.

However, various public bodies have attempted to address this problem and provide advice to those who unfortunately need it. Citizens Advice Scotland suggests that several steps should be taken if it is suspected that someone is a victim of bullying.

Step 1 “Talk to your child” Wherever possible, you should discuss the problem and ways of resolving it with your child before taking any other action.

Step 2 “Talk to your child’s teacher or guidance teacher” The teacher will usually be able to identify the problem, provide more information and they may be willing to support you.

Step 3 “Talk to the headteacher” The Headteacher, particularly in a large school, may delegate responsibility for dealing with individual pupil's problems to another member of staff. However, you can ask to meet the headteacher if you prefer to do so.

Step 4 “Talk to other parents” If you think that your child’s problem is one which may also be affecting other pupils.

Step 5 “Talk to the parent council” To raise the problem at a meeting of the council, you should contact the council to find out the best way of doing this.

Step 6 “Appeal to the education authority”

As a former councillor I used to deal with individual cases where, not only was a pupil being bullied, but in some cases the school’s response had been inadequate.

So find out when your local councillor (you have a number to choose from) has their surgery and go and meet up with them.