Overview
Being bullied is never okay. Remember, you’re not alone. There are people who can help. This page explains what you, or your parent carer, can do if you’re being bullied.
When you go to a school, club, or other provider, they must keep you safe and well. They have a duty to protect you. They must make take steps to stop harm. This includes preventing actions or environments that could cause stress in children. This includes bullying.
It is important that bullying, harassment and discrimination are dealt with quickly.
Understanding bullying
Not every unkind action is bullying. Things like teasing, not playing fairly or leaving someone out are not kind, but they are not always bullying. Children are still learning how to get along. They will make mistakes. It becomes bullying when the behaviour:
- happens again and again
- is meant to hurt someone
- involves a power difference, such as age, size or social group
Mencap explain bullying and what to do in easy read. The Unstoppables have also made a short animation about getting help.
If you think your child is being bullied, keep a clear record. Talk to your child and write down what happened, including when and where.
This can help you:
- see patterns
- explain concerns clearly
- keep a record for later
Bullying and responses
Each school, club or service deals with bullying in its own way. Their policies may be different, but they all aim to keep children safe.
They will tell you about:
- how to report bullying
- how they look into concerns
- the support they offer
- what happens when bullying occurs
You can find this on their website. It may be called an anti-bullying policy or part of their behaviour policy.
Seek support
Bullying can affect how you feel. It can make you feel upset, worried or low. There are people you can talk to if you are finding it hard to cope. If you do not want to talk to your family, teacher or support worker, you can get help from:
- Kooth
- ChatHealth (School Nurses) for young people or parents
- Childline (provided by NPSCC)
- Mind in Somerset
Overcome bullying tendencies
It can be upsetting to hear that your child is bullying others. It can be hard to think about.
Act early to help your child learn better ways to manage their feelings. They may feel pressure from others or be having problems with friends. Talk to your child. Try to understand why they are behaving this way. They may find it hard to manage strong feelings like anger or frustration.
Work with the school to support your child to learn positive behaviours. You can also use Somerset’s Graduated Response Tool and Neurodiversity Interventions – Graduated Response. These include support for communication and managing emotions. Keep in regular contact with the school to see what is helping.
Harassment and discrimination
Sometimes bullying becomes more serious. If someone is picked on because of who they are, this may be against the law.
The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination and harassment. Harassment is unwanted behaviour linked to a protected characteristic. It must:
- make someone feel upset, scared or uncomfortable
- affect their dignity
- create a hostile or offensive environment
Protected characteristics include:
- disability
- race
- sex
- religion or belief
- sexual orientation
- gender reassignment
- age
The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 covers repeated behaviour that causes harm. It applies when behaviour:
- happens more than once
- causes alarm or distress
It can apply even if it is not linked to a protected characteristic. Harassment under this law can be:
- a crime
- a civil matter, where a court can order the behaviour to stop or award compensation
Our responsibilities
As a council, we must follow the Equality Act 2010. This means we take steps over time to:
- work to stop discrimination and harassment
- support equal opportunities for everyone
- promote respect and good relationships
If you feel treated unfairly in any way whilst using our services, tell us. You can do this through our complaints process. We will look into your concern and take action if something is not right.
If you think you have been discriminated against, visit the Equality and Human Rights Commission website. It has advice on what you can do next.
We have also worked with Open Story Tellers to raise awareness of disability hate crime. This includes videos and discussion cards that explain:
- what disability hate crime is
- how to report it
- where to get support
You can find these on our disability hate crimes page.