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Anti-bullying information and advice for Travelling children and young people, and their parents and educators

for children and young people

for parents and educators

download PDF version of the leaflet

information about the Equality Act 2010 (new page)

Bullying – you – what to do : A guide for Travelling children and young people

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Bullying is bad for everyone. Bullying is when someone hurts you by what they say or do to you – this guide aims to give you confidence to try different ways to stop bullying.

Bullying is being treated differently to others in ways that make you feel threatened, left out or frightened. Everyone is unique. Treating someone differently is sometimes needed to help them be included and respected equally, e.g. when someone has difficulties in learning at the same pace as others. Bullying is unacceptable behaviour. Bullying behaviour can become racism when you are treated differently because of who you are or who someone judges you to be. For example, being called a ‘gypo’.

Dealing with bullying is not helped by stereotyping people either as a ‘victim’ or as a ‘bully’ so it is helpful if everyone stays calm and listens carefully to you.

Children and young people

Bullying behaviour can include:

name-calling and rude remarks
being teased
rude gestures towards you
people telling lies about you
someone taking or hiding your things
being left out or ignored
being threatened or hurt
being threatened or hurt by text or email or on a social networking site

Tell someone you trust about your experiences of being treated differently from others around you. Talking is not ‘grassing’. Being listened to can give you confidence without making a big fuss.

You have rights – bullying can deny your rights to:

be safe and well
go to school
enjoy your learning until you are 16 years old
enjoy having friends – old and new
have your point of view heard in decisions that might affect you
learn about the world and your part in making it a good place to live in
be shown respect at school and for you and your family’s lifestyle, beliefs and cultures

Report bullying to staff who will help and give advice

You have responsibilities to:

treat others with respect
show respect for others and their family’s beliefs and cultures
not join in talking and acting that makes others unhappy e.g. telling lies or saying bad things about anyone
support others you think may be feeling bullied

Bullying can cause a lot of unhappiness:

Bullying can make you feel bad about just being yourself – for being individual or different in some way and make you

feel sad, angry and ill
not want to do things you enjoy
not want to go outside
not want to keep in touch by text or email

Some things are normal

Having disagreements, quarrelling and falling out are part of growing up and mixing with others but,

it is bullying if you feel powerless to stop it
people can hurt you without meaning to but
you can feel bullied when no-one meant to hurt you

Remember bullying can happen to anyone

it’s not your fault
it can happen anywhere, even at home
it can feel shameful, but you have nothing to be ashamed of
try not to respond
it is not a good idea to keep it a secret
bullying others is not a way to help you
bullying is not the same as violence

Bullying can lead to fighting and violence. Fighting and violence must be treated differently from bullying, which sometimes involves the police

Things you can do

‘bottling up’ your feelings is not helpful – talk to someone you trust
keeping a diary might help – either a paper or an audio diary to help you remember what was said and done
speak to your friends
speak to your family
speak to someone in school about who is the person to help you
try and join in your school’s discussions about bullying
post a note in your school’s post box if it is too difficult to talk about what is happening to you in public

Some useful contacts and sources of advice and support

Traveller Education Network: http://www.scottishtravellered.net/tenet.html

Respectme: tel 0844 800 8600; http://www.respectme.org.uk/

respectmet

ChildLine: tel 08001111; http://www.childline.org.uk/

Enquire: tel 0845 123 2303; http://enquire.org.uk/

SCCYP: tel 0800 019 1179; http://www.sccyp.org.uk/

For advice on using the Internet safely go to:
http://www.travellerstimes.org.uk/downloads/easy_guide_22032010151048.pdf

Bullying – you – what to do: A guide for Parents and Professionals of Travelling children and young people

Bullying is bad for everyone. The main aim of this leaflet is to reassure Traveller parents that their children’s experiences of bullying and racism will be treated seriously.

This guide aims to give parents and professionals the confidence to try different ways to stop bullying and racism, and make positive changes for Travellers in schools.

Young Gypsy/Travellers’ Lives – Article 12 -‘what needs to be done?’

Members of the Young Gypsy Travellers Lives Project asked their peers from their communities and the settled community the question ‘what needs to be done?’- in two ways; online through Survey Monkey and face-to face. The answers received showed the links between a secure place to stay, access to education and healthcare and “working towards stopping racism, and helping others to lead their lives as they choose’. Through positive promotion of Gypsy/Traveller lifestyles these young people want local authorities to ‘help us to reach decision makers through direct participation’. To read more about these and other issues go to http://www.article12.org/gypsytraveller.html.

This guide aims to give parents and professionals the confidence to try different ways to stop bullying and racism, and make positive changes for Travellers in schools.

Bullying is when someone hurts your child or pupil by what they say or do

hildren and young people have a right to expect that adults will treat their concerns seriously. Bullying is when someone is being treated differently to others in ways that make your child feel threatened, left out or frightened. Everyone is unique. Treating someone differently is sometimes needed to help them be included and respected equally, e.g. when someone has difficulties in learning at the same pace as others. Bullying is unacceptable behaviour. Bullying behaviour can become racism when your child is treated differently because of who your child is or who someone judges your child to be, e.g. being called a ‘gypo’.

Dealing with bullying is not helped by stereotyping people either as a ‘victim’ or as a ‘bully’ so it is more helpful if everyone stays calm and listens carefully to what a child has to say. Sometimes that is all a child wants you to do.

Prejudice – leads to different kinds of bullying

because of what a person believes (faith), because a person is a wheel chair user (disability), because of a person’s skin colour (racism) or hair colour (gingerism), because of a person’s culture (living in a trailer)
Prejudice hurts the whole family and the school community
It is important to tell the school about bullying so they can record events and act to stop it happening
It can be illegal and must be reported appropriately by the school
Every school must have an anti-racist policy and everyone is entitled to know its contents

Parent’s rights and responsibilities – your child has a right

to go to school with others until they are 16 years old
to be safe, well and cared for by school staff
to be successful learners with the confidence to take part in the wider world to contribute towards an effective anti-bullying policy
to know that school staff are actively working to prevent and tackle bullying behaviour; and taking responsibility for challenging others’ hurtful treatment

Parents and professionals – show that you care and will help

Carefully listen to what your child/pupil is telling you
Ask your child/pupil ‘What would you like me to do?’
Encourage child/pupil to think about what you can do together to help them rebuild their self-confidence
Ask for details of what was said or done, who was involved and when and where did the activity take place
Tell your child/pupil that he/she is right to let you know
Tell your child/pupil that you will act carefully to stop what is happening
Make contact with school staff – ask who best to contact
Encourage your child/pupil to keep going to school

Parents - it would be helpful to

Work with your child in deciding a course of action
Contact the school and ask for a copy of its anti-bullying policy
Phone the school to make an appointment to speak to the appropriate person
Ask for their help to solve the problem
Take someone with you if you need support
Stay calm and just give the details told to you by your child
Let the school know that you want your child to be happy at school so that they are able to learn

Parents – it would be helpful to

Encourage your child to not respond to bullying behaviour in ways that might put them or others at greater risk
Encourage your child to keep going to school and to take part in the activities they enjoy
Keep yourself from getting angry with school staff
Try to avoid ‘blaming’ as a calm and co-operative approach offers the best chance of resolving challenging situations
Try to gather information
Work with the school in sorting things out
Remember that the school has a responsibility to support your child and to work with you in ensuring that your child is safe and well

Parents and professionals

can get advice and emotional support to tackle bullying behaviour
ought to aim to ensure that each child or young person involved is not negatively labelled as ‘a victim’ or as ‘a bully’
ought to address bullying behaviour and raise awareness of its impact on all involved
should use the school’s anti-bullying policy to organise how best to tackle what needs to be done to achieve lasting behaviour change
ought to aim for each young person coming through his or her school experience in as positive way as possible.