To date, over 24,000 posters have been created, saving schools more than £84,000 against the cost of purchasing posters from school suppliers. We hope you will find this fun and interactive learning experience useful to your students.

Version 3 of Click, Create, Print & Share introduces the ability to share posters across a wide range of over 80 social sites and services from Facebook to Wordpress. Also included is a new "teachers’ mode" that - for a small donation - allows editable speech bubbles for more customisation of posters under a teacher’s supervision.

Key features:
* Anti-bullying poster creator
* Share to social sites
* Download to mobile phone
* Teachers’ mode

Creating your first poster:

When you first visit The Anti-bullying Poster creator you will be presented with two options. The first one is for the Poster Creator, the second one is for the Gallery.

Click on Create Poster and you will see a screen similar to this but with a blank space on the left. Clicking on any of the “Backgrounds” will add it to the “Scene”. Once you have selected a “Background” you can move on to the “Characters Tab”

The “Characters Tab” is where you build your character, selecting from “body types”, “eyes”, “mouth”, “hair”, “shoes” ,“bottoms”, “top” & “ extras” . Clicking on an item adds it onto the body, building your character just as you want it.

Once you have your character just the way you want it click “Add to Scene”

You will notice that the character has option selected when you click on it in the “Scene”. The X deletes the character and the “Arrows” allow you to make the character bigger or smaller. Now let’s add a speech bubble.

Clicking on “speech” on the green panel will bring up a list of predefined sentences that can be added to the “Scene”. If you are using the teachers’ mode you will be able to enter your own text here as well. Clicking a speech bubble adds it to the “Scene”.

As you can see, the speech bubbles have the same Delete / Resize controls as the character. If you have finished creating your poster you can save it by clicking “submit to gallery”.

Submitting the poster to our Gallery is the only way to save the poster for later retrieval and to enable the share feature of the Poster Creator. Enter your First Name, Surname and a valid email address. *Note that without a valid email address you will not receive a unique web address to recall the poster at a later date.

If your students or school use Twitter.com as many are starting to you can enter your Twitter @ID and we will "Tweet" your poster directly to your account.

Click “submit” once you are ready to save,

Your poster is now being saved. This can take up to 1 minute depending on your internet connection speed and other users creating posters.

Share your Anti-Bullying poster:

Congratulations , you have saved your poster. Now you can choose to either “share” your poster across many different social sites or click “done” to finish and go direct to the gallery where you can see your poster and print it. Don’t worry, you can still “share” from the Gallery if you want to later.

Clicking “share” will bring up the Share panel. From here you can “share” your poster as a widget to a large number of social sites like Facebook or Myspace or a blog like Wordpress. For this example I will show you how to share to “Facebook”.

Click on the “Facebook” option and you will see a mini popup. Clicking “open” will launch a new window to Facebook.com with a prompt to login.

(If you’re already logged into Facebook you won’t see a login)

Once logged in you will be presented with a “post to profile” box. Enter a comment if you would like to and click “post”

You should now see the following message, ”Congratulations , your poster has been posted to Facebook.” Now visit your profile and you will see the poster widget in your stream.

Click on the “play” button and your poster will be displayed. Under each poster are “comment”, “like” & “share” buttons. This makes it easy for friends to share the poster to their friends and so on.

That’s it. Your poster is now socially aware and spreading across the world via your friends and friends of friends. Facebook is one example, other services work in a similar way.

Anti-bullying posters on your Mobile Phone

Each poster created with our Anti-bullying Poster creator is mobile friendly, allowing a young person to download a copy of the poster directly to their mobile phone or access our mobile advice site just by snapping the codes on the printed poster or within the online “widget” QR codes are very popular across the world as a way to access information via mobile phone quickly and easily.

Many large brands now use QR on advertisements and products. Bullying UK is the first charity in the UK to use QR to deliver a practical non commercial service.

On a physical printed Bullying UK poster there are two codes. The first allows access to our mobile advice site designed for small screens. The second code downloads a copy of the poster directly to the phone that can then be shared as a MMS to others.

*NOTE: All mobile operators are different and there will probably be a charge for accessing downloads or information via mobile phones. Please check with the operator before use.

This is what a QR mobile download code looks like. This has been accessed through the Click, Create, Print and Share Gallery and clicking on “Mobile Phone” will reveal the code. Any mobile phone with a built in camera can be used to snap codes and access the content they contain. If your phone doesn’t have a reader built in you can download one from http://reader.kaywa.com and follow the instructions for your handset.

*NOTE: All mobile operators are different and there will probably be a charge for accessing downloads or information via mobile phones. Please check with the operator before use.

Mobile QR Code on your Widget:

In the same way the “Gallery” has a QR option for each poster, each widget shared has a small QR code button. Hovering over this mini code will open up a larger QR code that can be snapped in the same way.

Create your own Anti-bullying Sloags with Schools Mode

A feature we have been asked for many times by teachers is to be able to enter your own anti-bullying messages or to supervise young people creating their own messages.

If you would like to customise the text that appears on your pupils posters make a small donation of £5 per class. After completing your donation you will be sent directly to the Schools version of the Anti-bullying Poster Creator

Please enter your school’s name and click “Submit” .

At this point you will see the familiar screen asking you to choose either the Poster Creator or the Gallery. Go to the Poster Creator. Everything works in the same way as the normal version except when you go to speech bubbles you will now see editable bubbles like this:

Add the text you want and then click the small yellow “add” button underneath the bubble. It will then appear in the scene where you can resize it as normal.

At this point you can save your poster to the Gallery so it can then be shared or you can send the poster directly to your printer.

*Please note you are responsible for the words that appear on the poster. Please supervise your students if you are going to allow them to enter their own text. All posters are public once added to the Gallery and we reserve the right to delete any which are offensive or unsuitable for viewing by young people.

If you need help from Bullying UK email us here

Statistics

There are no official statistics for the number of pupils being bullied at any one time in the UK. The only type of bullying which has to be recorded in the UK is racist bullying.

Neither are there any statistics for the number of young people who kill themselves due to distress over bullying. These figures do not have to be officially recorded but it is believed that around 16-20 pupils in the UK commit suicide every year. Some deaths are recorded at inquests as an 'open verdict' meaning there isn't enough evidence for the coroner to decide exactly what happened.

Carry out a survey

Bullying UK carried out The National Bullying Survey 2006 and you can find a copy of the comprehensive results in a pdf on our home page.

If you want to find out the extent of bullying in your school, a survey is a good place to start. Pupils should be able to come up with some questions about the things you feel are important at your own school. For instance, you might want to ask if particular areas of school are unsafe.

Before you begin, decide whether the survey is for a particular year group, the whole school or whether parents should be included in it too.

You need to consider what you will do as a follow-up to the survey, anyone who reports bullying, even if it's anonymous, will expect that action will be announced along with the results.

This is a great opportunity to get pupils to be part of updating your existing anti-bullying policy.

Questions you can ask

• Have you been bullied in the last year?
• Are you being bullied now?
• Are you being bullied by one person or several people?
  
• Was the bullying name-calling?
• Was the bullying excluding you from friendships?
• Was the bullying violent (hitting, kicking, punching, pushing)?
• Was the bully threatening to harm you?
• Was this bullying because of your colour, race or religion?
• Was the bullying about being gay?
• Are you being bullied out of school?
• Are you being bullied on the internet or by mobile phone?
• Are you being bullied on the way to school
  
• Was the bullying by pupils the same age or by those older or younger?
• Did you tell your parents/carer?
• Did you tell a friend?
• Did you tell a teacher?
• Did you hit back?
  
• Did you stay at home?
  
• Did the bullying stop?
• How many days have you taken off school due to bullying?
• Have you kept a diary about the problem?
  
• If it got better why do you think this was?
• If it got worse, why do you think this was?
• Where did bullying happen?
• Are some areas of school unsafe?
• Where in school is bullying most likely to happen?
• Have you seen anyone else being bullied?
• Have you ever bullied anyone?
• Why did you bully someone?
• Do you know if the school has an anti-bullying policy?
• Do you know what you are supposed to do at school if someone is bullying you?

If you want to publicise your project you could make a prominent display with pupils' pictures, poems and quotes. Perhaps you could put on a play. A gift token or other small prize for the best ones is a good incentive.

If you do a survey and collate the results with the idea of updating your school bullying policy, then think about doing another survey after a year, to see how effective any changes to the policy have been.

Work in class

It isn't always practicable to carry out a full survey without a lot of planning so if you feel that bullying is a problem in class and you want to do some work with a group of children then that's a good idea.

We've used this with groups ranging from very young children to teenagers and it's always interesting and revealing, to them and to us.

Ask the youngsters to call out things which are bullying ie name calling, hitting, taking friends away, and make a list of them on the blackboard. Then ask them to call out words which would describe how this behaviour would make someone being bullied feel. Finally, ask them how they think bullying should be dealt with ie a telling-off, detention etc.

You can use this simple method to reinforce school rules and to explain that telling a teacher or other member of staff is not telling tales but something that everyone should do to make school a safer place.

Differences between girl and boy bullying

Bullying UK is often asked what are the most common forms of bullying in secondary schools.

Our experience has shown that boys and girls tend to bully in different ways. Teenage girls are more likely to use exclusion from friendships, rumour spreading, gossip and name calling while boys - although they do indulge in these things - are more likely to punch and kick their victims than girls and to use intimidation.

Girls are the main perpetrators of mobile phone abuse and also on the receiving end of most text message abuse and silent calls.

Girls who are good friends often tell each other their big secrets and when they fall out this sometimes means that the ex-friend posts really embarrassing things about the other girl on the internet. This can be very upsetting but anyone who does this can easily be traced by the police because nothing you do on the internet is secret, your digital fingerprints are all over it, even if you create a name using an account like hotmail or yahoo.

Posting nasty stuff on the internet about someone else, or altering photos of them to make them obscene, can be harassment which is against the law. It's also against the law to use the phone system, which includes the internet, to cause alarm or distress.

There's lots of info about cyberbullying and how to tackle it in the pupils' section of our website.

If you need help from Bullying UK email us here

Sorry we can't include information from commercial firms due to the huge number of requests we get each week and the difficulty of evaluating their claims.

Mediation scheme

PC Gary Lewis, North Yorkshire Police youth action officer for Richmond, and a Community Police Officer of the Year, has run an anti-bullying roadshow as part of the Crucial Crew event for pupils in their last year at primary school and is happy to share information with other police forces about his successful bullying mediation scheme in schools and an anti-vandalism campaign.
Contact PC Lewis on 01609 789342 or email Gary.Lewis@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

Essex UniversityResearcher Karen Robson has completed a study on the long term outcomes of having been peer alienated as a child. Many older people who are still suffering the effects of school bullying years later contact Bullying UK and this study, http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/pubs/workpaps/pdf/2003-21.pdf , published by the Institute for Social and Economic Research, will be of great interest to them and to health professionals.
Contact: Karen Robson on 01206 873897 (office) or email klrobson@essex.ac.uk

Pupilwatch

This is a West Midlands Police and Birmingham Education Welfare Services joint programme to increase school attendance and reduce truancy. The website is at http://www.birmingham-csp.org.uk/News/pupilwatch1.
Email education welfare officer Chris Brolan for more details on Christine_Brolan@birmingham.gov.uk

Durham UniversityThe Curriculum Evaluation and Management Centre at Durham University has released a monitoring system for schools to help tackle bullying. The 'Event Mapper' allows pupils to indicate on a map of their school where they feel at risk. This enables a school to better allocate resources and to determine if their bullying policy is effective. There's a demonstration at http://intu.cem.dur.ac.uk/datamap .
Contact Chris Wheadon on 0191 3344246 or email Chris.Wheadon@cem.dur.ac.uk

If you need help from Bullying UK email us here

We advise parents not to do that because if they were not aware of the problem the class teacher or head of year was probably not aware of it either. You can read the advice we give to parents here.

If after hearing a brief outline of the complaint, it's not convenient for you to discuss the matter, ask the parent to come back to see you at another time when you can talk about it in more detail.

Parents are sometimes unclear themselves about what's been going on, particularly in the case of a younger child.

You may want to ask questions like:

• How long has the bullying been going on?
• What has been happening
• Where is it happening
• Who was involved?
• Were other pupils around at the time?
• How is it affecting the child?
• Did the child tell a teacher or any other adult?

If this is the first you've heard of the problem then explain to the parent that it's probably going to take you a few days to get to the bottom of it and suggest another meeting later in the week.

Ask the parent to keep a diary, or to get an older child to keep their own diary of what goes on and who witnesses it. Give the parents a copy of the school bullying policy.

Although the parent has told you what's been going on you really need to hear from the pupil who was the target of bullying.

Explain to the parents that you are taking the problem seriously and that you will investigate, report back to them within an agreed timescale and that you will either use sanctions like a warning or detention for minor misdemeanours or that in serious cases you will refer the complaint to the senior management team who have the power to temporarily or permanently exclude.

You need to interview

• The pupil
• Bystanders who were named as being present
• Other staff, learning support assistants and playground supervisors
• The pupil accused of bullying
• Other pupils who are not particular friends of either child

Much bullying is by friends or ex-friends and if it persists could be dealt with by separating the pupils onto different tables if they're at infants or primary school.

In a secondary school pupils could be transferred to different sets. However, it's not appropriate to remove a bullied pupil to another form, it would be better to move the bully. Neither is it appropriate to keep a bullied pupil in at break for their own safety. The bully should be the one to have their free time curtailed.

It's vital to keep parents informed of the action you are taking. There's nothing more frustrating or upsetting for a parent than to wait by the phone for a promised call which never comes or to have letters ignored. This is a huge source of complaint to Bullying UK and leads to the problem escalating to the point where children are removed from school.

When setting a timescale for investigating a bullying complaint be realistic and take into account your other commitments.

It's always best to keep written notes of the conversation between you and the parent and to put those on the pupil's file so there is an accurate record of what you were told and the action you have taken. This not only stops misunderstandings at a later date but also protects you from accusations that you were told about bullying but didn't take any action.

Abusive parents

Unfortunately some parents are unpleasant and aggressive. You don't have to put up with this.

Politely excuse yourself and find a member of the SMT to sit with you. If you can't do that then bring the meeting to a close and ask the parent to put their complaint in writing or make an appointment to see the head teacher.

Make immediate notes about what took place and pass them on to the head teacher.

It's unacceptable for parents to behave in a threatening way and they can be barred from the premises. The police should be informed of threats or abuse.

Sometimes parents have unrealistic expectations.

Head teacher

Many of the parents who contact Bullying UK have already dealt with the classroom teacher or the head of year and they're unhappy that the problem hasn't been sorted out.

We suggest that they write to the head teacher explaining what's been going on and to ask what strategy you can introduce to resolve the problem.

This is not meant to be confrontational but when parents have failed to get a problem resolved at a lower level they need to be assured that it will be taken seriously by the head teacher.

Parents often report back that they are delighted with the head teacher's response but unfortunately many heads deny the pupil is being bullied, deny there is bullying in the school at all and parents get fed up with writing repeated letters of complaint about the same bullying issue.

In those circumstances the complaint is likely to escalate to the governors, the LEA and Secretary of State.

If pupils are off school for a time they may lose their confidence and find it difficult to contemplate returning to class.

Ways to help them could include

• To find them a buddy
• To give them a teacher to report to if they feel under pressure
  
• To arrange a phased return to school
• To find them things to do at break and lunchtime so they are not alone

If you need help from Bullying UK email us here

None of the methods being used in schools have been evaluated in long term, independent studies by the government and Bullying UK has been pressing the DCSF to carry out evaluations for some years.

We think it's time to find out what works and to ditch the rest

Some schools have fairly straightforward documents concentrating largely on behaviour, but schools are increasingly turning to particular methods, including the no-blame approach, peer counselling, restorative justice and circle time.

The best explanation we've seen for these methods is in The Anti-Bullying Handbook by Keith Sullivan, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19 558388-4 £9.99 and we recommend this book as an excellent source of information for teachers and parents.

The no-blame or support group method

The victim is interviewed and asked to draw a picture or write a poem about the effect bullying has had.

A meeting is then held between a teacher and a group of students including the bullies, those who may have seen the incidents and others who are not directly involved. The teacher explains to the group how the victim is feeling and the group then offers suggestions to find a solution.

The idea is that as the bullies are not being blamed for what they've done, they stop feeling threatened and can be part of finding a solution. Those who were bystanders are supposed to be able to see that by doing nothing, they were condoning the bullying.

The group is asked for its ideas, pupils can come up with practical problem solving solutions and the responsibility for carrying out these ideas rests with the group.

Each pupil in the group then carries out their own solution, so that a child who has been excluded from activities with other children may now have someone to play with and another may accompany him on other occasions to make sure there is no bullying.

A week or so later the group reconvenes to discuss progress and what has been achieved. This is supposed to give them a sense of success.

Records are not always kept of the way this method is carried out.

OUR EXPERIENCE OF THIS METHOD: This strategy has been described to us by parents as "the school doing nothing". Where particular bullying policies are mentioned in complaints to this charity this is the one that causes most concern. Parents tell us that the bullying has continued and that they don't understand why the bullies continue to "get away with it."

Together with our friends at Kidscape, who have also had numerous complaints about this method, we have made representations to the DCSF and in 2005 Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was shocked bullies were not being blamed for their behaviour and that they should be punished.

Counselling/mediation between the bully and victim

OUR EXPERIENCE OF THIS METHOD: This seems to be more effective when pupils who are friends fall out, but is less effective when it comes to resolving full scale bullying.

Unfortunately it means that when the victim is encouraged to tell the bully how he/she feels, the bully is gaining more ammunition to use at a later date.

We regularly hear how the bully agrees to end the behaviour only for it to restart as soon as the sessions end.

Circle time

Many primary schools use Circle Time. Pupils sit in a circle and play games or do something enjoyable for a short time and then they can discuss matters as a group, including bullying. This is a way for everyone in class to take part in a structured way.

This includes listening to the person making the points without making remarks or laughing. Some schools have a toy or emblem and the only person speaking is the one holding it.

OUR EXPERIENCE OF THIS METHOD: Children have told us they feel humiliated and distressed at having to discuss how they feel about being bullied in front of their class, including the bullies. This is not an appropriate method of resolving bullying of individual children.

Peer support programmes

These strategies are more popular than others, particularly among schools which favour a "whole school approach" and particularly among those pupils chosen as peer counsellors who enjoy the responsibility.

The idea is that everyone in school knows that bullying is unacceptable, children moving up from primary school are reassured that the secondary school is a safe place to be from Day One.

In brief, older pupils undergo intensive training over a number of months into the effects of bullying, and how to care for younger pupils who are unhappy because of it.

These volunteers, who tend to be mostly girls, are then identified by badges or ribbons and pupils know they have someone of their own age who will take their concerns seriously. There needs to be strong teacher involvement.

Recognising that some children may not have friends, some schools set aside a quiet room where pupils can go to do their homework, play board games or just chat with others who have nothing particular to do. Boxes can be placed around school so that children who are upset and don't want to approach a volunteer directly, can still use the service by sending a note. Some schools also use email or text messaging instead of a box alert system.

OUR EXPERIENCE OF THIS METHOD: A great idea but only if training is adequate for the peer counsellors. We've had many instances of young people who are supposed to be trained asking us for advice on dealing with quite simple issues which should have been covered in their training.

Pupils are often unsure what sort of intervention they should be doing, if any, what they should report to a teacher, and even what they should be saying to the bullied pupil.  There is a risk that a pupil may reveal something important like neglect or abuse to a peer counsellor who may not realise it needs to be passed to a teacher.

'Telling' schools

Schools in the UK are increasingly describing themselves as 'telling' schools and they sometimes operate this system in conjunction with peer group schemes in secondary schools. It seems to be popular in primary schools too.

It means that even if the bullying target is too afraid to tell a teacher, all the bystanders know that it's their duty to do so and that they won't be accused of telling tales. It's a deterrent because the bully knows that he/she won't get away with it.

OUR EXPERIENCE OF THIS METHOD: Good idea. Bystanders are the key to resolving bullying. Needs to be publicised regularly so that pupils are not made to feel they are telling tales.

Restorative justice

Supposed to 'empower' young people as its practitioners believe punishments don't fit the bill. Peer mediation and circle time are often part of the process. Restorative Justice has been used for some time for offenders to try to make them understand the effect they've had on people they have burgled or mugged.

OUR EXPERIENCE OF THIS METHOD: No-blame bullying policy by another name. Sadly, bullies don't always have a better nature and don't want to make amends but they do find it useful to learn more about their victim through mediation so that they can use that in further bullying.

If you need help from Bullying UK email us here

Football isn't the only sport to suffer but the proactive FA has done some excellent work in this area helped by the Child Protection in Sport Unit (www.sportprotects.org.uk). Other sports can learn a lot from their lead.

In 2003 under our former name of Bullying Online, we led a workshop on bullying at the NSPCC/FA Child Protection Conference in Derby and a number of important issues were raised with us.

Most football, swimming. tennis and gymnastics clubs now have child protection policies to safeguard team members and also adult helpers but:

Policies

• Does your club or school sports team have an anti-bullying policy?
• Does it have a complaints policy?

Attitude We need to decide if some behaviour can be excused if it happens on the sports field. When does reinforcing the team spirit become bullying? Does it ever become bullying? How would we know?

Is junior sport being influenced by the sometimes thuggish way players behave at national level? Is bad behaviour in the Premier League or sounding off at Wimbledon showing youngsters that they can get away with it too?

Research In November 2002 Professor Celia Brackenridge researched young people's views of the way they saw their football coach or teacher. 47.4 per cent of those questioned said they were very happy and two thirds said their parents and carers were positively supportive but that still leaves more than half who were not pleased with the way things were going and one in six of those questioned said their parents or carers were negatively over involved.

Professor Brackenridge found that there was resentment and concern when adults were pressuring youngsters and that there was often confrontation which young people found upsetting. Neither did they like being shouted at or spending hours doing warm-ups and drills.

Some of the people who responded to the survey said that racist taunts were a regular experience and that they thought they just had to put up with it.

Are we making unreasonable demands of young sportsmen and women and would those demands be tolerated in another setting like an orchestra or drama club?

The role of the coach and support staff

Fair criticism or ridicule? It's fair to say that someone hasn't had a good game, to criticise their technique, but this can have other consequences where someone's performance is held up to ridicule in front of the team.>

You might have a young person, who's perhaps already being bullied at school, going home in a distressed state, and perhaps being ridiculed again by the same people bullying him or her at school. What follow-up is there after a match or training to end on a positive note?

Coaches need to recognise the achievement of the players who are never going to be stars but for whom a place in the team is a real achievement and something they can look back on with pride. Can some of the less able youngsters who might not otherwise get a place in the team help out in other ways so that they're not excluded?

Pressure or bullying: Relegation looms, or the chance of the cup could be snatched from you. How much pressure are you putting on the team? Are there individuals coming in for a harsh lash of the tongue, the goalie who let in one too many, the striker who seems to actually be on strike rather than getting the ball in the net?

Winning is important but having a good time is just as important. People who lose games might be unlucky but they are not 'losers' and there's always another match, another season.

Constructive or destructive: People want to do well, encouragement is good, brow beating is not. How do you tell the difference? Do you ever stop to think about the way you've spoken to the team?

Bootcamp attitude: We've always done things like this and we're not going to change now. I'm in charge and what I say goes. Do you run your team with ruthless efficiency? Is it a happy team?

Do you mouth off against opposing teams in a way that makes you appear a bad sport? Is it respect or are people afraid of you?
Fair to girls: Professor Brackenridge found that girls complained they weren't taken seriously and that parents reinforced that attitude by shouting at their sons not to let girls tackle them on the field. Do you check any of this behaviour?

Fair to minority groups: So how many young Asian or black players do you have in your top teams? How many turn out for you to play on a Sunday morning in the park?

How do you deal with language difficulties with them and their parents? Do you have anyone in your club who can help with that? Are youngsters whose first language isn't English being put off joining local clubs because they appear to be exclusively white?

Fair to yourself. Do you sometimes feel bullied yourself? Don't forget your own needs in this too. You don't have to put up with abusive and aggressive parents. Inform the police if necessary if you feel intimidated by their behaviour. Consider writing something into your behaviour or anti-bullying policy to deal with them.

The role of parents Pushy mums and dads: Professor Brackenridge's research showed that many youngsters give up football because of the stress of parental pressure, the shouting and taunts from the touchline.

Football development officers have been very fed up with parents' behaviour with mini soccer being turned into a mega stress with a 'win at all costs' attitude.

Team managers need to look for the parent taking the game more seriously than they should, shouting vociferous encouragement from the side, displaying excessive disappointment at the missed goal and of course outright abuse or invasion of the pitch should never be tolerated and neither should abuse between rival team parents in the heat of the game.

If you're a parent think about the example you're setting to your child and other families.

A friend of Bullying UK who managed a youth soccer team in Leeds told of one match where there was so much trouble that the police had to be called and they refused to let parents leave until they'd taken their car registration numbers. On another occasion when he substituted a player, the substituted boy's father, who was a linesman, threw down his flag in a display of petulance and shouted to his son: "Come on Thomas, we're going home".

The sports mad father may be pushing his son or daughter very hard and making unreasonable demands. Parents need to know that they can be guilty of bullying too and that constructive criticism about the effort they put in is acceptable but personal negative comments are not and neither is punishment for an off day.

How to spot a bullied young person in your sports club The worst fear that youngsters have is that they will not be believed. Bullying UK had an email from a girl who wanted to give up sport because she didn't think her PE teacher would believe that her team mates were bullying her.

The second is that telling someone will make the problem worse. They may worry that they'll lose their place in the team, that the coach will call the team together and raise the matter publicly, leading to humiliation and distress and worse bullying.

Often children don't tell their parents that they're being bullied. Sometimes they don't want to upset their parents, they may be afraid that their parents will cause trouble or they might hope the problem will go away.

If they're being bullied by the coach they may think they have no choice but to put up with it.

Here are some pointers:

• Is Johnny very quiet, aggressive, moody. Is he already being bullied at school or is there something going on in the club you need to know about?
• Is Mike unable to take criticism? Has he stopped sharing in banter and does he seem to be the butt of jokes?
• Is Amarjit getting sly kicks or verbal abuse? Is the odd shouted comment acceptable or might it lead to off the field taunts as well?
• Is Emma subdued and making a quick exit after matches?
• Have you thought about having adult supervision in the changing room?
• Is Sarah a bit reluctant to attend training these days?
• What's happening on the field? Is Jo being left out of the game, is the ball being passed around to everyone but not to her?
• If you single Steve out for his dismal performance or ridicule him in front of his mates will that mean they see that as a signal for them to do the same?
• Does Trev seem unwilling to use the changing room. Is he turning up with his kit on under his clothes, does he have to rush off at the end of the game

How to spot the bully

• May be at the same school and continuing a campaign of bullying
• May have an issue in the community, the bully and victim may be neighbours
• May be spreading rumours, hiding kit, making sly remarks when they think they can't be overheard
• At a rival school
• May be rivals within the team, when does this become unhealthy?
• May be turning team mates against the victim and isolating him or her.

How to deal with the problem

So how big a problem do you think bullying is in your club? Or aren't you sure? Unless you're approachable and vigilant you may not know about any problems.

Perhaps people are complaining to each other behind your back. Perhaps you don't have an adequate complaints policy. If they're unhappy with you as coach perhaps people think you'll investigate yourself and they don't have any faith in that. Perhaps they're just voting with their feet.

You need to think about having a written complaints policy which is regularly revised and updated and covers not only youngsters but also adults.

It should explain exactly what will happen when someone makes a complaint of any sort, who will run the investigation and what that investigation will involve.

It should outline that complaints should be made in writing, will be dealt with within a set timescale and that the person complaining will be told the outcome in writing.

If you make things more formal it will make people think twice before making frivolous complaints and it may also give them more confidence that their concerns will be taken seriously. Having a written record is also vital if there's a serious complaint.

It would be a good idea for parents to be given a copy of a complaints policy and a bullying policy once a year.

Dealing with bullying

So why should you take bullying seriously? Between 16 and 20 pupils a year kill themselves due to school bullying. Bullying UK regularly gets up to four children a day telling us they are suicidal now or have tried to kill themselves in the past.

It isn't a matter of WHETHER another teenager will kill themselves but WHEN.

Apart from the terrible distress to a young person, the consequence of not dealing with a problem is bad publicity. Children leave the team, parents don't want to be involved and word gets out that this is not a team to join because it has an unhappy atmosphere. Ultimately, a parent might take a grievance to the Press.

But be careful not to promise what you cannot deliver. Too many schools tell parents they will put a stop to bullying but they don't and that leads to disappointment and anger. Better, if you're the sports team manager, to say that it may take time to deal with the problem because there's rarely an instant solution.

Parents need to be told if their son or daughter is being accused of bullying on the pitch. They won't like it. Bullying UK gets many complaints from parents saying that their child has been unfairly accused of being a bully for standing up for themselves.

What they fail to understand is that sometimes this behaviour can be seen as aggressive and bullying by others. You'll also find that parents round on the coach and become unpleasant. Many parents are unable to accept that their child is causing a problem. Sometimes you can see that the bully's attitude has come from home!

Make sure the policy explains that this is a 'telling' club like a 'telling' school. This means that the bystanders have an important part to play.

If the victim is too afraid to say anything then the bystanders all know that it's not telling tales it's their duty to tell the coach what is going on. Nearly all bullying is witnessed by other people. Make sure you give all members of the team a way of contacting you, perhaps by email and make sure they know that they can raise any bullying issues with you.

When you get a complaint of bullying the policy should make it clear that you're taking it very seriously, that the victim and the alleged bully will be questioned and that both sets of parents will be involved.

Explain the timescale for action.

Ask the victim what he/she would like done about the problem. Often all they want is for the bullying to stop. The parents may want the bully thrown out of the club and you may have to explain that this can be dealt with in other ways.

Sanctions /h3>

Think about the sort of sanctions that can be applied in clubs, they need to be realistic, given the age of the youngsters, they need to be fair, and they need to be easily understood and implemented.

Clearly not every bullying incident should result in expulsion from the club. Different sports may already have different guidelines. The governing bodies of gymnastics and swimming may look on things differently to those in soccer or netball.

In soccer, clubs will already have rules laid down by the county FA and probably the junior football league. They may already have advice about what behaviour merits an informal warning, a formal warning about future conduct, suspension from membership for a time or expulsion.

It may also be wise to incorporate something into the bullying policy explaining what will happen if the decision is disputed. There are two sides to every story.

If you haven't actually seen the behaviour being complained about then that leaves you open to a visit from irate parents and the problem can quickly escalate into a six-of-one and half-a-dozen of another situation in which you can't decide who is telling the truth. It does show the importance of having someone else, perhaps a panel of officials, who can hear an appeal against any decision made at club level.

Record what you have seen and heard and what other witnesses have told you. Take advice from someone more senior in your organisation. Consider getting incident report forms of the type used by some schools if you don't already have them.

Bullying is very isolating.

Once you have identified and dealt with the perpetrator you need to consider the victim, how to build up his or her self esteem again, offer support and reassurance, perhaps assign another team member as a buddy.

You also need to keep an eye on the bully and make sure the bullying isn't continuing in a secretive way.

Regular policy reviews are a good idea Regular reviews of policies are a good idea to make sure they are still relevant and still working.

You may be able to nip a bullying problem in the bud. Ask questions informally …. That wasn't such a good game today and I noticed that so and so wasn't passing you the ball, why do you think that was? How did you feel training went today, you seemed to have a lot to say to the goalie, what was that all about?

Always give opportunities for youngsters and their parents to talk to you, arrive at the club early, stay later, phone the parents regularly. Try to organise activities off the sports field so that the youngsters get the chance to get to know each other well in a relaxed atmosphere so that they become friends as well as team mates.

Bullying thrives on secrecy.

Talk to your team at least once a year about bullying, express zero tolerance, remind them of sanctions that can be taken against them, and make sure they know who they can turn to in the club, and outside, for help.

If you don't do things right there could be serious consequences for your club, word gets around in the community, it could cause you problems within the league and it could damage your personal reputation.

Things to include in a sports club bullying policy

• A reminder that players must play within the laws of the game
• Bullying can include: Verbal - Name calling, making racist remarks, threats; Physical - Assaults, hitting, kicking, unwelcome physical contact
• Make sure that parents and children know that any bullying incident will be dealt with immediately by the team manager
• Refer to higher authority if necessary
• Make sure there is right of appeal.
• Bullying is unacceptable anti-social behaviour and will not be tolerated at any time
• Bullying must be reported to the team manager or the club child protection officer
• Record the complaint and get both sides of the story from the victim and alleged bully. Interview witnesses. Inform parents.
• Decide on sanction, verbal warning, written warning, temporary ban from club, permanent ban from club.
• Learn from experience. Discuss bullying incidents regularly with team/committee to decide how to avoid future problems and whether bullying policy needs updating.

You will know from your own experience of the students who is friends with who and can use this as a way of assessing the accuracy of what you are being told.

How to find out the real story

Try to interview the pupils accused of bullying in such a way that they don't have the opportunity to get together to make up stories.

Explain to the pupil accused of bullying what they are supposed to have done and get him/her to write down exactly what they think happened, who was there and what led up to the incident. The bully may admit the event occurred but it's worth while getting them to write it down anyway so you can talk to them about it in more detail later.

Ask them what their friends were doing while the incident was taking place and whether any other pupils or adults were nearby.

Bullies rarely admit what they have done so just because the bullies may be 'nice' children and high achievers from good families doesn't mean that they are not bullying someone else.

Once you have all the facts and have established that bullying has taken place you will need to decide how to proceed and what punishments are suitable. Much depends on the nature of the bullying.

You should explain to the pupil that what they have done constitutes bullying and that the school has a zero tolerance of this behaviour.

If it includes violence then you need to report this to a member of SMT. Schools should always consider calling in the police over violence where the attacker is over the age of criminal responsibility which is 10 in England and Wales.

Explain to the bully why their actions were wrong and help them to understand that that these actions could land them in trouble with the police later in life.

Examples of bullying which are criminal offences

• Assault: Hitting, punching or kicking
• Theft: Stealing someone's money or property or taking property and damaging it
• Harassment: Continual name calling, making abusive phone calls, posting abuse on the internet or sending threatening text messages

It's appropriate in cases where bullying is persistent, for the bully's parents or carers  to be called in to school.

Not all parents are horrified to learn of their child's behaviour and some may think their child is simply standing up for themselves. They may even be carrying out the parents' advice to 'hit back'.

Bullying makes children's lives a misery and must be punished. For the last seven years Bullying UK has heard of a succession of trendy ideas for dealing with the problem but we made our views known to the government in 2005 following which former Prime Minister Tony Blair made it clear that he expected sanctions to be used.

Sanctions could include

• Warning
• Detention
• Internal exclusion within school
• Withdrawal from school trips
• Temporary exclusion from school
• Permanent exclusion from school

There is help for pupils who have serious behavioural problems through the LEA education support service and there's no reason why badly behaved and disruptive children should be allowed to terrorise other pupils.

If you need help from Bullying UK email us here

Playground supervisors: Are there some pupils at your infants and junior school who are spending a lot of time on their own? Are there minor conflicts during games which could escalate into more serious incidents?

When a pupil comes to you in distress saying they have been pushed over or hurt is that really horseplay or is it happening often enough to be considered bullying? If a child has nobody to go around with could you find them a playground buddy?

Are there regular issues of conflict in class?

Learning support assistants: Your input in class is not only helpful to the teacher but while the teacher has her back turned or is dealing with individual pupils you may be able to see where misbehaviour spills over into bullying. Is one pupil having their pencils taken so they can't do their work?

Are they being poked with objects like rulers? If you find hard working pupils' work deteriorating what's the reason for that? Are there serious and regular issues of conflict which are disrupting the class and other pupils?

If you're helping a pupil with special needs then you might find other pupils are jealous of the attention that pupil is getting and they take that out on the pupil you are helping.

School nurse: Your role in helping bullied pupils in a secondary school is vital. Pupils who have nowhere else to go to escape bullying may regularly turn up in your office with minor ailments looking for sanctuary.

You may be aware that girls in particular are under stress and self harming. They may not want to tell their form tutor or head of year that they are being bullied but if they confide in you, it's likely to be because they want you to pass the message on.

SENCO/Pupil support: Pupils are often teased for things they can't help, like having dyslexia and finding written work difficult, for having dyspraxia, ADHD, autism, Asperger's or a disability. These pupils may need extra support in class and at break.

Accident or assault?Pupils do have accidents at school but Bullying UK's experience is that pupils are regularly being attacked on the premises, suffering cuts bruises and broken bones.

By far the most serious injuries are those where children are suffering such emotional distress that they don't want to go to school.

We're alarmed at the number who are already receiving psychological and psychiatric help before they contact us. When up to four pupils a day tell us that they are suicidal it's surprising that more of these cases don't end in tragedy.

If you need help from Bullying UK email us here

But bullying isn't confined to schools and our emails also reflect the fact that the problem affects college and university students as well as youth clubs, sports clubs and other young peoples' organisations.

General advice

More work needs to be done in class and in youth organisations, from a very early age, and regularly repeated, so that everyone understands what bullying behaviour is, and that what one person may think is just a joke, may be very upsetting for someone else.

If there has been a complaint from a parent to the class teacher, or if organisation leaders are concerned that one member is being singled out, time could be given to group discussion on bullying, with the target in a different group to the bullies.

The teacher, youth worker, or whoever is leading the session, could ask for words which describe bullying and write them on a chart. Then the group could be asked for words which describe how someone being bullied or doing the bullying might feel, and then finally for ways they think bullying could be stopped in their own school or club.

The discussion could also involve asking people in the groups to suggest what people witnessing bullying should do about it. If it is done like this, there should not be suspicion the target has sneaked about what is going on.

Bystanders

Involving bystanders is a very important aspect of tackling bullying because there are always people who know what is going on. Young people regularly tell us that they are not bullied but are afraid of being bullied because they've seen it happening to others.

Schools should make it clear they are "telling schools" where pupils are encouraged to report incidents so that even if the victim is too frightened to say anything the bully will know he/she cannot get away with abusive behaviour.

If you need help from Bullying UK email us here

Bullying causes intense misery and many pupils who email Bullying UK say they are self harming or have made suicide attempts.

The classroom teacher in a primary school and the form tutor in a secondary school have a vital role to play in identifying bullying and nipping it in the bud before it escalates.

Boys and girls bully in different ways but both are skilled manipulators, often lying their way out of situations and turning the tables on their victim. It's common for problems in the community between neighbours and relatives to spill over into school disputes.

Girl bullying

The victim is often an ex-best friend who is suddenly excluded from sleep-overs and social events. In happier times she will have shared confidences with the bully who uses that information against her.

Rumours and hurtful gossip are spread to mutual friends and the victim is deliberately isolated, spending break on her own and having nobody to partner her in class.

If she's a teenager she may get abusive text messages including death threats or she might be called names alleging she is gay. Former schoolfriends may gang up on her on IM. She may self harm and conceal the fact by being reluctant to change for PE.

Girl bullies can be vicious and quick to turn a perceived slight into an opportunity for a fight. They are often motivated by jealousy. Friendships can be volatile and a temporary falling out can quickly escalate.

Boy bullying The victim is often quiet and inoffensive and lacking confidence which may lead to him being called gay, particularly if he is also popular with girls. Younger boys tend to be targeted with violence in the playground which is laughed off as horseplay while older ones can be targeted during games lessons when there is little supervision in the changing room.

Boys often find they are the butt of jokes and it's particularly hurtful when their friends join in.

They find that their friends go along with bullying which sends a mixed message and they're not sure when to laugh it off and when they need to ask for help from a parent or teacher. Boys are often reluctant to report bullying, feeling that they should be able to handle it themselves.

Issues which affect boys and girls Both boys and girls are likely to be targeted on abusive internet websites which may contain pictures of them with offensive comments. Bullying UK has had a large number of complaints about hi-tech bullying which includes text abuse, happy slapping, identity theft and hate websites and forums.

Pupils can be bullied

• If they are overweight or thin
• About their family
• If they are popular
• If they work hard
• If they are a different religion, colour or culture
• If they have dyslexia or dyspraxia
• Over their looks
• Over the colour of their hair
• Over schoolwork
• If they have a disability
• If they wear spectacles or a hearing aid
• If they've been off school due to illness

When dealing with someone who is being bullied it's important to remember that they will be very upset although they may not show it on the outside. If they have plucked up the courage to talk to you then they need to know you will take the problem seriously.

How you react and respond to that pupil may make the difference between resolving the issue or allowing misery to continue that could affect the rest of their school life.

Bullying UK suggests that if a pupil comes to you to say they are being bullied you should talk to them out of earshot of other pupils.

This allows the victim to feel safe and will stop anyone seeing or hearing what is being discussed.

If that isn't possible then explain to the pupil that you will ask them to see you at the end of school about some work so that they get the chance to discuss the problem privately without other pupils thinking that they are telling tales.

Give reassurance

Reassure the pupil that you will take the complaint seriously and that you will look into it. It's a good idea to ask the pupil to write down exactly what happened and who was there so that you can speak to other people. The more information you have the better you will be able to deal with the problem and the faster you can sort out exactly what happened.

Assure the victim that you will be back in touch with them as soon as you have completed your investigation and that if there are any more problems in the mean time they must let you know immediately. You could give the child your internal email address to make this easier for them.

Tell the pupil when you expect to be able to speak to them again. Try not to set an unrealistic time frame if you know you might not be able to meet it.

How will you investigate the complaint?

Explain how you will investigate the complaint, who you will be talking to, that you will need to hear both sides of the story as well as the account of the person they are saying has bullied them.

Sometimes pupils are teased because of something like dyslexia or Aspergers. If you're aware that they have a problem then perhaps asking for input from the pupil support dept at the LEA, through the school SENCO would be helpful.

You could arrange for a bullied pupil to have a playground buddy and in the longer term you could think about setting up a peer support scheme to benefit the whole school.

If pupils complain that particular areas of school are unsafe - for instance the toilets or isolated parts of the school playground or buildings - staff could set up extra patrols.

Inspirations: The Scary Guy Does Primary

The Scary Guy, tattooed and pierced from top-to-toe, certainly lives up to his name. However, if you put aside preconceptions based on his appearance, his mission is soon clear. His aim is to eliminate hate, violence and prejudice by engaging with children. On his trip to St Margaret's CE Primary School in Heywood, he talks about the importance of helping others, not judging people and being true to yourself.

http://www.teachers.tv/video/23459

What If? Gangs

Using an imaginary case study, Mike Baker asks an expert panel how they would tackle escalating gang related incidents within schools.

Among other questions he asks: How involved should teachers become with troublesome pupils? What is the best way to deal with the threat of violence? How can violence be curbed? How can vulnerable pupils be dissuaded from signing up to the dominant gang culture?

http://www.teachers.tv/video/23420

Anti-Bullying: How Do They Do It In Norway?

This programme explores the background to Norway's anti-bullying policies, which has helped to cut bullying in some schools by 50%. It examines Norway's tradition of communal responsibility for children and looks at the most successful anti-bullying programmes in two schools that take a zero-tolerance stance against bullying.

http://www.teachers.tv/video/23430

School Matters: Bullying at Work

Allegations of bullying between pupils in school are nothing new, but bullying among staff is now an increasing concern as well. This programme takes an in-depth look at the deeply sensitive issue.

Using real case studies, this programme investigates the problems faced by alleged victims when they attempt to deal with their situations. In particular it focuses on the difficulties that arise once a formal complaint has been made.

http://www.teachers.tv/video/5438

The Children's Champion: Combating Bullying

Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the children's commissioner for England, visits two schools to identify new and successful strategies to deal with bullying.

During his trips to Portway Junior School in Hampshire and Thornhill Secondary School in Sunderland, Sir Al suggests ways of safeguarding different groups of vulnerable children by looking at best practice.

http://www.teachers.tv/video/22517

If you need help from Bullying UK email us here