Bullying can have devastating effects on children and should be taken seriously by schools and parents.
Although there is no legal definition of bullying, it is widely defined as verbal, physical, or mental acts committed by a student to harass, intimidate, or cause harm to another student, and is no longer dismissed as "kids being kids."
Bullying can include name calling and teasing, taunting, mocking, making offensive comments, malicious gossip, stealing, physical violence, making threats, coercion and isolation from group activities and can leave children emotionally or physically scarred.
We've taken a look at what parents can do if their child is being bullied.
Should I take my child out of school?
When parents discover that their child is being bullied, for many, the immediate response is to remove their child from school.
However, the school will treat this as an unauthorised absence. Periods of unauthorised absence can result in parents being prosecuted for failing to ensure their child's attendance at school.
If children are too frightened to go to school, parents should seek a medical certificate from the GP to authorise their child's absence.
Alternatives to taking your child out of school include contacting the local authority and requesting they provide education as part of their "section 19" duty for children out of school for other reasons such as bullying.
What should I do first if my child is bullied?
If you child is being bullied there are things parents can do to put a stop to it without taking your child out of school.
Firstly, speak to your child's class teacher. If it's not resolved after the teacher has been made aware, parents should ask for copies of the school anti-bullying policy.
Each school will have a policy because under the Education Inspectors Act 2006, headteachers are required by law to draft a written policy on measures to prevent all forms of bullying.
Once you have this information, the next step is for parents to speak to the headteacher to raise their concerns and if it is still not resolved, a complaint in writing, as per the anti-bullying policy should be made to the school.
If complaining to the headteacher does not make a difference, parents can then make a complaint in writing to the school's governors. If the issue is still not resolved, parents can write to the local authority.
If after all these steps have been followed, there is still no improvements for the child, parents can make a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman, followed by complaining to the Secretary of State for Education.
What legal action can you take if a bullying problem is not addressed?
Before launching any form of legal action, it is wise to consult a criminal law solicitor, or at the least, seek advice from the Citizen's Advice Bureau.
If parents have followed the complaints procedures above which are recommended by the Government, and the bullies persist, parents may wish to think about their legal options, and, according to the Child Law Advice website, there are a range of options including:
Firstly it is important to realise children under the age of ten cannot be prosecuted for a criminal offence because they are below the age of criminality.
Some forms of bullying are illegal and may amount to criminal behaviour, and if the bully is over the age of ten, the police can be involved.
Bullying which is illegal includes:
- violence or assault
- repeated harassment or intimidation, for example name calling, threats and abusive phone calls, emails or text messages
- hate crimes
In cases where an assault has taken place, the school and parents should contact the police. According to the Child Law Advice website, schools themselves rarely involve the police in bullying incidents, even where there has been serious violence.
If you’re reporting cyberbullying, keep a record of the date and time of the calls, e-mails or texts - don’t delete any messages you receive.
If your child has been injured, you should also take your child to a doctor to get medical evidence.
The Protection from Harassment Act 1997
Under this Act, it may be possible for a civil injunction to be put in place to restrict the bully's behaviour and for damages to be claimed for the harm suffered by the bullied child. Applications should be made via a criminal law solicitor.
It may be possible to obtain an injunction to prevent a bully continuing with his or her behaviour. For this action, you would also need to seek advice from a solicitor.
Legally, under Section 175 of the Education Act 2002, a school must do all it reasonably can to help stop and prevent bullying. Otherwise, the school can become legally responsible if it has not done anything to prevent or stop the offending behavior.
It may be possible to seek a Judicial Review of the school or education authorities' failure to take action to deal with the bullying situation.
Judicial Review is a public law action. It can only be taken against public bodies or private bodies that perform a public duty. Judicial Review cannot be used where the complaint is against an independent school.
An application for Judicial Review can be made only once all other possible remedies against the school and education authority have been exhausted.
A successful Judicial Review action may have the effect of forcing the school or local authority to act to stop the bullying. If the Judicial Review proves the school or teacher has also been negligent, it may also result in payment of damages.
Contact Civil Legal Advice on 0345 3454345 to see whether you are eligible for legal aid to bring this claim. If you are not eligible you should visit a solicitor.
If you believe your child's school has been negligent in its duty to provide a safe learning environment, leading to serious instances of bullying, you may want to sue the school, teacher or local education authority.
Negligence arises where a duty of care is owed to the child, and that duty of care is breached resulting in injury or damage to the child.
Parents can sued for damages as compensation for psychiatric damage or physical injuries suffered as a result of a school or teacher negligently failing to act to protect your child from bullying.
The law of negligence is very complex. For a case to be successful, it would be necessary to prove:
That your child has been bullied
That the teacher or school owes your child a duty of care
That your child has suffered harm as a result of the bullying and that harm was foreseeable
That the harm suffered was a direct result of the teacher and school negligently failng to act to protect your child
Where else can I get help?
There are lots of organisations that provide support and advice if you’re worried about bullying, these include: