Bully Free Cheshire East: a guide for parents and carers

1. Stay calm and reassure your child that you will do everything you can to stop the bullying
2. Make contact with the school or place where the bullying is happening immediately. Notify them of what is happening and ask them to put a support plan in place to support your child whilst the issue is being dealt with
3. Consider speaking with your GP if you feel your child’s physical or emotional health is being affected by what is going on

Don’t:

• DON’T confront other parents or the child / young person about the behaviour. When emotions are running high, things can quickly get out of hand!
• DON’T take to social media to vent your anger! Making comments which could cause harm or distress to another individual is a criminal offence Under the Malicious Communications Act and you could be visited by the Police! Remember the age of criminal responsibility in England is 10 years of age so this one applies to your children too! When information is out there, it’s out there!
• DON’T tell your child to fight back. This can result in an escalation of problems
• DON’T tell your child to “Toughen up, lots of people get bullied, you have to learn to deal with it!” There is always a power imbalance when a child is being victimised and adults need to intervene to redress the power imbalance

Do:

• DO contact the person who leads the club/team/provision and ask to speak with the person who is responsible for tackling bullying. Agree a plan with this person, you and your child so that the bullying can be addressed and your child can feel safe
• DO consider, if your child is experiencing bullying in the community because of a disability, if it could be a ‘Hate Crime’ and, if so if it needs to be reported to Cheshire Police.
• DO reassure your child and ask them what they think could be done to make them feel safe. Their ideas can then be shared and used to inform any support plans
• DO screenshot any offending remarks that have been made on social media to provide evidence of the victimisation and keep a diary of events
• DO contact the police on 101 if your child has suffered a serious assault
• DO model a positive and considered approach to the problem (harder said than done, we know)! This will give your child an extra sense of security and reassurance

Where the bullying is in school:

• DO contact the school and ask to speak with the person who is responsible for tackling bullying. If the bullying is taking place outside of school but involves pupils at your child’s school, still make contact, they may be able to support
• DO contact the Attendance and Children Out Of School team if this is impacting on your child’s attendance in school
• DO contact the school if the bullying is taking place outside of school but involves pupils at your child’s school, they may be able to support
• DO look at your child’s school bullying prevention (anti-bullying) policy which will help you understand what actions the school will take