Bullying tin take devastating furnishings on children and should be taken seriously past schools and parents.

Although at that place is no legal definition of bullying, information technology is widely defined as exact, physical, or mental acts committed past a student to harass, intimidate, or cause harm to another pupil, and is no longer dismissed equally "kids being kids."

Bullying can include proper name calling and teasing, taunting, mocking, making offensive comments, malicious gossip, stealing, concrete violence, making threats, coercion and isolation from group activities and tin can get out children emotionally or physically scarred.

But there are a few things y'all tin practice if your child is existence bullied, and steps you can take co-ordinate to the law.

We've taken a look at what parents tin do if their kid is being bullied.

Should I take my kid out of schoolhouse?

When parents detect that their child is being bullied, for many, the immediate response is to remove their kid from school.

However, the school will treat this as an unauthorised absence. Periods of unauthorised absence can result in parents being prosecuted for declining to ensure their kid's attendance at school.

If children are too frightened to become to school, parents should seek a medical certificate from the GP to authorise their child's absenteeism.

Alternatives to taking your child out of school include contacting the local authorisation and requesting they provide education equally office of their "section 19" duty for children out of school for other reasons such equally bullying.

What should I exercise get-go if my child is bullied?

If you lot kid is being bullied there are things parents can do to put a stop to information technology without taking your child out of school.

Firstly, speak to your kid's class instructor. If it's non resolved later the instructor has been made aware, parents should inquire for copies of the schoolhouse anti-bullying policy.

Each school will have a policy because under the Education Inspectors Act 2006, headteachers are required by constabulary to draft a written policy on measures to forestall all forms of bullying.

One time you accept this information, the next step is for parents to speak to the headteacher to raise their concerns and if information technology is still not resolved, a complaint in writing, every bit per the anti-bullying policy should exist fabricated to the schoolhouse.

If complaining to the headteacher does not brand a deviation, parents can and then brand a complaint in writing to the school'south governors. If the issue is still not resolved, parents can write to the local authority.

If after all these steps have been followed, in that location is withal no improvements for the child, parents can make a complaint to the Local Authorities Ombudsman, followed by complaining to the Secretarial assistant of State for Education.

What legal activity can you accept if a bullying problem is not addressed?

Before launching any form of legal action, it is wise to consult a criminal constabulary solicitor, or at the least, seek advice from the Citizen's Advice Bureau.

If parents have followed the complaints procedures above which are recommended past the Government, and the bullies persist, parents may wish to think about their legal options, and, according to the Kid Police force Advice website, there are a range of options including:

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Criminal action

Firstly it is of import to realise children under the age of x cannot be prosecuted for a criminal offense because they are below the age of criminality.

Some forms of bullying are illegal and may amount to criminal behaviour, and if the swell is over the age of ten, the police can be involved.

Bullying which is illegal includes:

  • violence or assault
  • theft
  • repeated harassment or intimidation, for example name calling, threats and calumniating phone calls, emails or text letters
  • detest crimes

In cases where an attack has taken place, the school and parents should contact the police. Co-ordinate to the Child Police Advice website, schools themselves rarely involve the police in bullying incidents, fifty-fifty where there has been serious violence.

If y'all're reporting cyberbullying, keep a tape of the engagement and fourth dimension of the calls, e-mails or texts - don't delete any messages you receive.

If your child has been injured, you should also accept your child to a doctor to get medical prove.

The Protection from Harassment Act 1997

Under this Deed, information technology may be possible for a civil injunction to exist put in place to restrict the bully's behaviour and for amercement to be claimed for the damage suffered past the bullied child. Applications should be made via a criminal law solicitor.

Injunctions

It may be possible to obtain an injunction to prevent a bully standing with his or her behaviour. For this action, you would also need to seek advice from a solicitor.

Civil action

Legally, under Section 175 of the Education Human activity 2002, a schoolhouse must exercise all it reasonably tin to help stop and forbid bullying. Otherwise, the school can become legally responsible if it has not done annihilation to prevent or stop the offending behavior.

Information technology may be possible to seek a Judicial Review of the school or education authorities' failure to take activeness to bargain with the bullying situation.

Judicial Review is a public law action. It can just exist taken confronting public bodies or individual bodies that perform a public duty. Judicial Review cannot be used where the complaint is against an contained school.

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An application for Judicial Review can exist fabricated only once all other possible remedies against the school and instruction authority have been wearied.

A successful Judicial Review action may have the consequence of forcing the school or local authority to act to stop the bullying. If the Judicial Review proves the school or teacher has also been negligent, information technology may besides result in payment of damages.

Contact Civil Legal Communication on 0345 3454345 to see whether you are eligible for legal help to bring this merits. If you lot are not eligible you should visit a solicitor.

Negligence

If you believe your kid's school has been negligent in its duty to provide a rubber learning environment, leading to serious instances of bullying, you lot may want to sue the school, teacher or local education authority.

Negligence arises where a duty of intendance is owed to the child, and that duty of care is breached resulting in injury or damage to the child.

Parents tin can sued for damages as compensation for psychiatric damage or concrete injuries suffered as a effect of a school or teacher negligently failing to act to protect your child from bullying.

The law of negligence is very complex. For a case to exist successful, it would be necessary to prove:

  • That your child has been bullied

  • That the teacher or school owes your child a duty of care

  • That your child has suffered damage every bit a consequence of the bullying and that harm was foreseeable

  • That the impairment suffered was a direct consequence of the instructor and school negligently failng to act to protect your kid

Where else tin can I get help?

There are lots of organisations that provide back up and advice if you're worried about bullying, these include:

  • Anti-Bullying Alliance
  • Bullying UK
  • Childline
  • The Diana Laurels
  • Internet Matters
  • Kidscape
  • The Britain Safer Internet Eye
  • United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland Quango for Child Cyberspace Safety (UKCCIS)