This week is Anti-Bullying Week: an annual event that aims to raise awareness of bullying of children and young people, in schools and elsewhere, and to highlight ways of preventing and responding to it.
The event is organised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA), which is made up of about sixty member organisations and supported by the DCSF.
ABA describes the aim of the week as "sending a clear and positive message that it is neither acceptable or inevitable in our schools and communities."
This year's Anti-Bullying Week campaign is 'Stay safe in Cyberspace'. The focus is on cyberbullying - the use of information communications technology (ICT), particularly mobile phones and the internet, to deliberately upset someone else.
Bullying is of course a particularly relevant issue for those working in adult, further and higher education - both in the roles they play in the lives of young people and sometimes as victims of bullying themselves.
From speaking with thousands of people working in post 16 education every year, here at College & University Support Network we are only too familiar with the damage that bullying can cause the lives of those who contact us.
The high demands placed on educational professionals - mean that tensions are often high for those working in adult, further and higher education, increasing the likelihood of bullying and making it more difficult for an individual to go through. Bullying can result in emotional difficulties, affect someone's ability to do his or her job and, drive some to long-term sickness through stress and even force some out of the professionaltogether.
There are resources on the ABA website here to help you deal bullying of pupils in your school.
If you, a colleague or friend is experiencing bullying, why not get in touch with us?
We can offer practical and emotional support to help overcome problems with colleagues, no matter how small or severe.
Call us on 08000 32 99 52. Talk to an advisor on our free and confidential Support Line, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
These factsheets from our online InfoCentre may also be helpful:
