Bullying is a behaviour which can be defined as a repeated attack, physical, psychological, social or verbal in nature, by those in a position of power which is formally or situationally defined, with the intention of causing distress for their own gain or gratification. (Besag, 1989).

There are many definitions of bullying but most have three things in common.

Bullying is:

• deliberately hurtful behaviour;
• often repeated over a period of time;
• difficult for those being bullied to defend themselves.

Bullying can take many forms but three main types are:

• Physical – hitting, kicking, taking belongings, destroying belongings;
• Verbal – namecalling, insulting, racist remarks;
• Indirect – spreading nasty stories about someone, excluding someone from social groups.

Aims:

• to raise the profile of bullying and its effects on children and young people’s emotional health and wellbeing, life chances and achievement;
• to establish a culture in which bullying is not acceptable through the promotion of policies and practices which prevent or reduce opportunities for bullying to arise and deal swiftly, fairly and sensitively with any which do;
• to involve parents, carers and the children and young people themselves in developing and implementing antibullying strategies;
• to embody equality of opportunity; celebrate diversity and be responsive to individual needs and differences;
• to promote the highest standards of emotional intelligence and care for others;
• to respond openly and honestly, embodying solution focused, no blame approaches;
• to value multiprofessional contributions to solving complex problems.