Is bullying making your life a misery?

>Say no to bullying

Bullying is when someone deliberately hurts another or makes them feel unhappy. Bullying behaviour will be repeated and be difficult to defend against. Bullying may be racist, sexist or homophobic. People can be bullied for any reason; because of the way they look, because of their religion, their age, because of a learning or physical disability, where they live, their family or how well they are doing at school for example.

Whatever the reason, bullying is wrong and you should not have to deal with it on your own. There are many people and places that can help you if you are affected by bullying or know someone who is.

Bullying causes distress and can include:

  • Calling you names
  • Calling you names because of your race – racist bullying
  • Calling you ‘gay’ or other names, whether or not its true – homophobic bullying
  • Making sexual comments about you or putting you down because of your sex – sexist bullying
  • Spreading rumours about you
  • Hitting, pushing, pinching, shoving
  • Stealing things from you
  • Taking your friends away from you
  • Ignoring you or leaving you out
  • Making silent or offensive phone-calls
  • Sending you rude texts or emails or mobile phone videos
  • Frightening you so you don't want to go to school

If one person or several are behaving in any or all of these ways towards you, talk to an adult you trust so they can help it to stop. You could tell a teacher or member of school staff, a parent or relative. You can also look at the ideas and links on this website in “what to do if you are being bullied”. Remember that no-one deserves to be bullied and there are people who can help you.

If you would like to talk to someone in confidence about bullying you can use our Text Bully service -

  • Text the word BULLY followed by your message to 86122
  • A member of staff from the Education Welfare Service will call you back within two school days to talk to you about your concerns about bullying. They will not tell your school or parents that you have called. Your call will be confidential unless they think that you or someone else is in danger or at risk of harm, if so they may have to tell someone else to get immediate help for you.

If you are being bullied, here are some of the things you can do:

  • Tell your parents and discuss how you might deal with it.
  • Tell a teacher or another adult that you can trust what is happening.
  • Try and look calm and & confident (even though you may not feel it) don’t let the bully see that you are upset.
  • Talk to a mentor or playground buddy in school if you have any
  • Practise saying loudly and firmly, “Please go away and leave me alone’’.
  • Try and do things to build your confidence. Joining a club, self-defence and assertion courses, art, dance, drama or martial arts can help you feel more confident you could ask your school to run a club after school.
  • Ask about your school’s anti-bullying policy - it will say what to do if you are worried about bullying. You or your parent or carer can ask your school for a copy.
  • Ask your teacher if your class can spend some time discussing ideas on how to deal with bullying.
  • Report all bullying that happens to you on the way to or from school to an adult, including the local police if necessary or talk to your School Based Officer . the police person who works in your school. You have the right to be safe on the streets and on transport.
  • If you or someone you know is being bullied on the way to or from school, think about varying your route. If you travel by bus, always sit near the driver or another adult.
  • If you are hurt or your belongings are damaged, keep evidence of this or take a photo to show an adult.
  • Don’t give out your mobile phone number or e-mail address to people you don’t know.
  • If you are bullied by text message, save the message and show an adult.
  • NEVER give out your home address, name of your school, phone number or other personal details on the internet – remember that the internet is a public place and your information could be seen by millions of strangers.
  • If you are bullied by text message, save the message and show an adult they will be able to help you block certain people from calling your phone or even change your number so you can stop the bullying that way. You do not have to put up with it. .
  • Keep talking about it and get support from your friends, family teachers and other adults you trust. Remember that most people experience bullying at some time in their life, and it can happen to adults in the workplace too. It is not your fault. Talking to people can give you new ideas on how to stop bullying.
  • Remember you can call helplines such as ChildLine to ask for support . ChildLine is 100% confidential, you can call from a home phone land line, from a mobile or a phone box in the street. If you call from a mobile or home phone it does not show up on bills, so nobody will know you called. ChildLine will not tell anyone that you called them and they will not pass on any information about you without asking you first. If they thought you or someone else was at risk of harm then they would ask your permission to get help for you. ChildLine is 0800 1111

If you know about or see bullying:

  • Report all bullying that you see, or call for help from an adult or the police if necessary.
  • Look out for children who are being bullied and make friends with them, or walk with them in corridors or lunch queues.
  • Suggest setting up a ‘peer support scheme’ in your school. This is where children are offered training to support other children in the school. You could volunteer to be a peer mentor.
  • Don’t give an audience to bullies, if you see someone bullying another and you don’t feel safe to stop it then walk away, don’t stand by while others are being bullied.
  • Remember you can phone helplines such as ChildLine to ask advice about how you can help others. ChildLine is 100% confidential, you can call from a home phone land line or from a mobile or a phone box in the street. If you call from a mobile or home phone it does not show up on bills, so nobody will know you called. ChildLine will not tell anyone that you called them and they will not pass on any information about you without asking you first. If they thought you or someone else was at risk of harm then they would ask your permission to get help for you. ChildLine is 0800 1111

Where to get help

Search