Council helps to tackle school bullies
A new policy on tackling bullying amongst children and young people is being launched by Herefordshire Council at an anti bullying conference on 22nd February.
The conference takes place at the Chase Hotel, Ross on Wye from 9am to 3pm and is aimed at schools, police, social care teams, health services and others who work with children and young people.
Keynote speaker is Michele Elliott, founder and executive director of Kidscape, a national charity established to prevent bullying and child abuse. Michele will address Herefordshire just two weeks after receiving an OBE for her services to children.
In addition, members of the South Wye DRama Group* will perform a short piece of drama they have developed and school representatives from the primary and secondary sector will talk about how they tackle bullying.
The new policy being launched is aimed at professionals working with children and young people in a number of settings including schools, nurseries and youth clubs. It raises awareness of different bullying issues, including cyber bullying, and provides advice on how to deal with them.
The local authority has been working with schools for some time to help them tackle bullying. A Herefordshire youth survey undertaken last year found that 24 percent of young people say they have been bullied in the last 12 months, most of them at school or college. Just over half of those bullied asked for help, mostly from a teacher, with 39 percent saying this resulted in the bulling stopping.
"Bullying creates misery and attacks lifestyles, health and personal development," said Councillor Jenny Hyde, cabinet member for children and young people. "It is the responsibility of all of us to make sure our children do not have to live in fear of others.
"Bullying is a problem nationally, but locally we need to understand what bullying is from a young person's perspective, and work together to tackle it.
"I was saddened to learn that 24 percent of young people surveyed in the county said they had been bullied in the last 12 months, yet nearly half of them didn't ask for help.
"We need to change this by making sure adults working with children and young people understand how to tackle bullying and are able to give our young people the trust and confidence they need to approach adults for help."
The new anti-bullying policy will be distributed to schools and organisations working with young people.
*The performance was funded by The Children's Fund.
