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Tell Someone
Are you worried about bullying happening to you or someone else?
Across the UK whenever children and young people are asked
about the things that worry them, bullying is named as one of their top concerns. In Bedfordshire we are doing lots to try and make
sure that no one suffers because of bullying. Below are some answers to commonly asked questions.
What is bullying?
There is not one single answer to this question. One way bullying can be described is that it is something that is done to deliberately hurt somebody either emotionally or physically.
It is also usually something that happens to you more than once. This does not mean that if someone does something to you on just one occasion that you should not tell someone. If you are upset or worried about anything then tell an adult or a person you trust. To understand bullying you could also ask your school to tell you how they describe it.
What types of bullying are there?
Listed below are some of the different methods of bullying. It is important to remember that if something does not appear on this list and it is upsetting you then you should still talk to someone you trust. There are a number of different reasons that somebody might be bullying but it is more likely the reason is something to do with them rather than you.
Verbal, name calling, threatening,
Theft , taking or damaging your things,
Rumours, spreading lies about someone or people close to them,
Physical, kicking, punching etc,
Cyberbullying, making abusive phone calls, sending threatening messages,
Isolation, making people feel left out.
We also know that sometimes people get bullied because of other people’s prejudices, for example,
Racism
Homophobia
Because someone has a disability
Appearance
What can I do?
The most important thing you need to do is tell someone you trust. If you feel nervous it might help to practice what you are going to say. If you don’t feel able to tell someone face to face you could always try writing a letter. Once you have told somebody they can offer you help and support. Bullying is unlikely to just go away by itself and having an adult to help you will make a big difference.
If you want to tell someone in school but don’t want other people to see then you could leave a note or tell other people it’s about school work. Your school may have peer mentors and these may be good people to speak
to about what is happening.
Think about what you want to happen once you have told someone because, it’s important that people know what you want. Hopefully this will be enough to improve the situation. If you do tell someone and you do not think
they have listened or the situation has not improved then tell someone else.
It is important to keep telling until someone listens to your concerns.
Who would be a good person
to tell? You know better than anyone else the people you feel safe with and who you believe will listen.
Listed below are some of the people you may want to talk to but remember that there will be other people that are not on this list
Parent
Carer
Relative
Teacher
Teaching assistant
Social worker
Youth worker
A friend
Another adult in school
I can't think of anyone to tell
If you don't feel able to tell someone you know but want advice then you could call Childline. Childline is a free telephone helpline for children and young people. You can ring them any time of day, any day of the year. It's free and it's confidential - that means that no one else will know about the conversation unless you decide to tell them. They are very busy so you may need to try to call a frew times. Keep trying and you will get through. Their telephone number is
0800 1111
What will happen next?
It is very difficult to answer this as it depends on where the bullying is happening and your situation. You can expect that people listen to you, keep in contact with you and tell you exactly what is going to happen. It might be a good idea to ask the adults involved to sit with you and write a plan of what is going to happen.
Where else I can get help? Here are some websites that we have heard are good.
Kidscape
An anti-bullying charity supporting both children and parents www.kidscape.org.uk / telephone 0845 1 205 204 Bullying.co.uk www.bullying.co.uk Offer lots of advice for young people ChildLine
Free confidential helpline 08001111 or
visit www.childline.org.uk
Remember:
Bullying is not your fault and that it can happen to anyone.
Remember that you will not feel like this for ever and that by telling someone you will be able to get the support you need.
