Schools were this week being requested to stamp out "cyberbullying" as new research revealed that up to one in five children are being bullied via their mobile phone or through the internet. New Government guidelines say that teachers should ensure all e-mails sent from computers on site are monitored and internet use is restricted where necessary
Schools were this week being requested to stamp out "cyberbullying" as new research revealed that up to one in five children are being bullied via their mobile phone or through the internet. New Government guidelines say that teachers should ensure all e-mails sent from computers on site are monitored and internet use is restricted where necessary. Parents of bullies will have to attend parenting classes or face £1,000 fines under the Education Bill going through Parliament. The crackdown is welcome. All bullying must be treated seriously by schools. Bullies will always be looking for new ways to torment their victims. It doesn’t surprise us, does it, that bullies use these new ways to get at their victims – it may well be that new types of bullies – not just those that are physically big and strong – can find power through this cyberbullying. Mind you, its up to parents of children that are being bullied to try to toughen up their children at least a bit – cyberstuff though really hurtful, is not physical hurt, and its like name calling – you can ignore it (I myself learnt to ignore unkind ribbing, though it was difficult). However, I’d like to be more confident that schools know what to do about this – teachers aren’t the most computer literate of people. |