advice for teachers

Bullying should be discussed as part of the curriculum, but teachers also need general strategies to deal with the problem. Whilst they should try strategies such as those described below, schools may find that stronger measures are needed in the more serious and persistent cases. 

Where other strategies do not resolve the problem, permanent exclusion may be justified in the most serious and persistent cases, particularly where violence is involved. The Department’s updated guidance for local education authority exclusion appeal panels makes clear that pupils responsible for violence or threatened violence should not normally be re-instated. 

Five key points to remember: 

• never ignore suspected bullying 
• don’t make premature assumptions 
• listen carefully to all accounts - several pupils saying the same thing does not necessarily mean they are telling the truth 
• adopt a problem-solving approach which moves pupils on from justifying themselves
• follow-up repeatedly, checking bullying has not resumed