If you are being bullied

Remember it's not your fault and there are people who can help you. Don't blame yourself for what has happened.
Be firm and clear - look them in the eye and tell them to stop.
Get away from the situation as quickly as possible.
Tell a member of staff straight away. If you are scared to tell a member of staff on your own, ask a friend to go with you.
Tell a member of your family.
Keep on speaking out until someone listens.

When you are talking about bullying with a member of staff, be clear about:

What has happened to you
How often it has happened
Who was involved and who saw what was happening
Where it happened
What you have done about it already

The support which you can expect
If you talk to a member of staff, you can expect:

To be listened to.
To be taken seriously and not to have your concerns dismissed.
Confidentiality to be respected wherever possible. (Discuss this first if this is important to you).
Practical advice if you request it.
Action to be taken (after discussion with you) in line with your school's Anti-Bullying policy.
A range of responses to be available in your school which can take your situation into account.
The situation to be monitored, in agreement with you.

The NSPCC's 10 Top Tips for Young People

Nearly everyone is bullied at some time of their lives: by brothers and sisters, by neighbours, by adults or by fellow pupils. if you are being bullied, you may feel scared and vulnerable and often wuite alone, but you owe it to yourself to try and sort out the situation so that the bullying stops. Remember: no one deserves to be a victim of bullying.

Here are some tips if you are being bullied:

tell a friend what is happening and ask them to help you - it will be harder for a bully to pick on you if you have support.
Try to ignore the bullying or day "no" really firmly and walk away - it will be very hard for the bully to go on bullying someone who won't stand still.
Try not to show that you are upset or angry - bullies love to get a reaction from their victim.
If you are being bullied by a gang, or if you've been sent to Coventry, get the weakest member of the gang on their own, and talk to them - ask why you're being bullied. often members of a bully gang join in just to keep on the gang leader's good side.
tell your parents or other adults - you need their help. Don't suffer in silence! And don't be embarrassed about asking - we all need help at some time.
Does your school have a way of dealing with bullying? Some schools have a Peer Support scheme, an Anti-Bullying School Council, Message Boxes, or some procedures for dealing with incidents.
Remember that adults can't do anything about the bullying unless they know about it.
If you are a bully, it's hard to face up to it, but you need to think how others are feeling. No one rally likes bullies. If you want to be liked for yourself, then you could try to change the way your treat other people. Think why you are a bully, and whether there is someone you can trust to talk to about this problem. You need help.

YOUR RIGHTS
PROTECTION FROM VIOLENCE AND HARMFUL TREATMENT

Children and young people up to the age of 18 have the right to be protected from all forms of violence. They must be kept safe from harm. They must be given proper care by those responsible for them. (Article 19 of the U.N Convention on the Rights of the Child).
At school you have the right to a SAFE ENVIRONMENT. In the context of bullying, a safe environment would be an environment in which people are working to ensure that you are safe from physical or psychological harm caused by continued aggression, verbal abuse or discrimination.

Nobody has the right to make you unhappy at school

cyber bullying advice

E-Mail advice

do not open a message from any name that you do not recognise
tell an adult if you keep getting messages from names that you do not recognise
if the sender is known to you and has sent messages that have upset you in the past - ignore any new messages but tell an adult about it
do not share your e-mail with anybody other than those you know very well and can trust
choose a username for chat rooms that does not show what sex you are
if you are not comfortable or happy with messages that you read in a chat room - do not enter / leave the chat room
do not give personal information - address, telephone, your school or your real name
do not send your picture to anyone that you do not know very well
it can be dangerous to meet anyone that you do not know

If you really want to then make sure:

you take a parent with you or other adult that you trust
you arrange to meet in a public place
you tell your parents/ carers:
- where you are going
- who with
- who you are meeting (making sure that they know thet you have first met this person on the Internet)

Nobody wants to stop you making new friends, however, all of those that know you and that care about you want to protect you so always REMEMBER:

You can never be really sure exactly who are are chatting with on the Internet!!!
BE RESPONSIBLE - STAY SAFE!

MOBILE PHONE ADVICE

Yes - texting is a great way to communicate. It's great to receive a text message from a friend - however, the technology of today also means that bullying is able to continue beyond the school day.

To keep safe - follow these guidelines:

do not give your mobile number to anybody other than those you know very well and can trust
if you receive unwanted messages then tell someone else about it - a teacher, parent, Peer Supporter, Connexions Advisor
mobiles can now be bought fairly cheaply - if you get abusive messages, it may be an option to get another phone rather than continue to use one that can cause distress
don't reply to any nasty messages
try to keep all of the messages in your phone - THEY CAN BE USED AS EVIDENCE - if you can't then note the dates and times and content of text messages
inform the Police - first you may want to talk to others you know you can rely on for support. Think about whether you want to talk to a member of your family, a teacher or a Connexions Advisor first? These and many more adults will be there to offer support for you to approach the Police
when you do notify the Police - make sure you have a written record of dates, times and content of messages, especially if you have not been able to store the messages on your phone

THINK!
The popularity of e-mail and texting means that your safety is partly down to you!
BE SMART! BE SENSIBLE! KEEP SAFE!

Modern Menace - Connexions Leaflet (PDF, 361K)

Homophobic Bullying

The Leicestershire County Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

What is homophobic bullying?

Homophobia is a dislike or fear of someone who is or is perceived by others to be lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB). At its most benign it involves passive resentment of LGB men and women. In its most destructive form it involves active victimisation.

Homophobic bullying is often present in an environment that fails to challenge and respond to homophobia. It can take the form of rumour-mongering, social isolation, text messaging and frightening looks, as well as more obvious forms of bullying. It does not just affect young people who identify as LGB. In schools, homophobic bullying can directly affect any young person whose life choices, interests or needs do not conform to accepted gender norms, as well as adult members of the school community who are LGB, and anyone who may have friends or relatives who are LGB. This can, in turn, affect the whole school community by giving out the message that bullying is tolerated, and that the school environment is unsafe.

Homophobic bullying is any hostile or offensive action relating to homosexual orientation. These actions might be: verbal, physical, or emotional (social exclusion) harassment, insulting or degrading comments, name calling, gestures, taunts, insults or 'jokes', offensive graffiti, humiliating, excluding, tormenting, ridiculing or threatening, refusing to work or co-operate with others because of their sexual orientation or identity.