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Bylling at Secondary School
Bylling at Secondary School
uk/teen/supporting-your-teen-at-
school/bullying-at-secondary-school/
Take what they say seriously. This will help validate their feelings and increase their confidence. Check in with
them regularly and let them know they can talk to you.
Explain what bullying is and that it’s unacceptable. Visit NSPCC for more tips on helping your teen deal with
bullying.
Work with the school to find an acceptable way forward including helping your child identify a trusted adult they
can speak to at school.
Look for activities that will increase their confidence and friendship group within or away from school.
Online bullying
Cyberbullying takes place online and includes sharing photos and comments, as well as name-calling or excluding
people from group chats or activities. It’s harder to escape online bullying via social networks, gaming and apps.
It's easy to suggest deleting and blocking people and at times this would seem to be the best option. But for some
young people this is a scary prospect, as they may want to be friends with their peers in the future. Sometimes
blocking a person feels like it's making things worse.
Talk to your child to understand their feelings about the situation. Come up with a plan together that everyone feels
comfortable with.
Give your teen the confidence to delete or block people and explain that this will give them space away from the
situation.
Check in with them to see how they are doing and be aware of any escalation.
Discuss healthy boundaries for phone and digital use. Suggest bringing in restrictions so they have time away, to
decompress from any negativity.
Speak to the school so they are aware of what's happening.
What if you suspect your child is a bully?
Talk to your child and their teachers about what's going on. Your child's teachers should show interest and concern
just like you do, to help your child understand their own emotions. If your child is a natural leader or assertive, look
for a club that they might enjoy, and invite them to take some responsibility within.
Childline and NSPCC have some advice on coping with bullying and making it stop bullying.
Kent County Council has some useful links if you think your child is being bullied at school.