What is Anti-Bullying Week (反欺凌週)?

Anti-bullying week is an annual event in the UK that aims to raise awareness of bullying of children and young people. Bullying can happen to anyone, in school, online or elsewhere. Organised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, it enables people to prevent and respond to bullying.

What to expect at school for Anti-Bullying Week

Schools can choose how they want to participate in anti-bullying week, but many choose to hold an ‘Odd Socks Day’ on which children and adults are encouraged to wear crazy or mismatched socks to celebrate our differences and what makes us all unique. Schools may ask for a small donation for your child to take part in ‘Odd Sock Day’, which is usually £1-£2 per child.

Alongside this, schools may run special assemblies focused on anti-bullying and teachers may set anti-bullying-focused activities, such as, write a letter of advice to someone who is being bullied; or, design a school poster to prevent bullying.

Is bullying a serious problem in the UK?

Bullying is, unfortunately, a common school experience around the world. In 2021/22, the Anti-Bullying Alliance surveyed over 29,000 pupils in the UK and found that 24% of them reported being frequently bullied. To compare this with international data from 2018, an average of 23% of pupils reported being frequently bullied. As these studies are limited, it’s important not to read too much into the results.

The most important thing is how bullying is dealt with if it happens, and what the government and schools are doing to prevent it altogether.

Anti-bullying all year round

Aside from anti-bullying week, schools are required to have a publically available behaviour policy on their website which should include the specific steps they take to prevent, and respond to bullying. Many schools have a ‘zero-tolerance policy’ on bullying, meaning it is always dealt with in a serious way.

This year, the theme of Anti-Bullying Week is to ‘make a noise’ and get decision makers, such as Members of Parliament, to enact further changes to make schools even happier places for children.

What to do about bullying

Bullying can appear in many different ways. It is not all name calling or being mean. The National Bullying Helpline website has helpful advice for parents to understand bullying and how you can support your child if needed.

If you are aware, or suspect, that your child is being bullied, speak to a member of staff at their school such as their class teacher or Head of Year. Once the school is aware, there are things they can do to improve the situation.

These websites have useful information for parents and children:

https://www.nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk/kids.html

https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/tools-information/what-bullying

https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/types-bullying/

甚麼是Anti-Bullying Week（反欺凌週）?

反欺凌週是英國一年一度的活動，旨在提高人們對兒童和青少年欺凌行為的認識。因為欺凌可能發生在任何人身上，無論是在學校、網絡或其他地方。這個活動由Anti-Bullying Alliance（反欺凌聯盟）組織，使人們能夠預防和應對欺凌行為。

在學校，反欺凌週會發生甚麼事？

學校可以選擇如何參與反欺凌週，但許多學校選擇舉辦「怪襪日」，鼓勵兒童和成人穿著與別不同或不匹配的襪子來慶祝人們之間的差異，以及慶祝使我們所有人與眾不同的原因。學校可能會要求你的孩子捐款參加“Odd Sock Day”（怪襪日）活動，通常每個孩子大概1-2英鎊左右。

除此之外，學校可以舉辦以反欺凌為重點的特別集會，教師可以設計關注反欺凌的活動，例如給受到欺凌的人寫一封建議信；或者設計一張學校海報以防止欺凌。

在英國，欺凌問題是否十分嚴重？

不幸的是，霸凌是世界各地學校都常見的問題。在2021/22年度，反欺凌聯盟對英國超過29,000名學生進行了調查，發現其中24%的學生表示經常受到霸凌。與2018年的國際數據相比，當年平均有 23%的學生表示經常受到霸凌。當然，這些研究數據有限，重要的是不要過度解讀結果。

最重要的是如果發生欺凌行為，我們該如何處理，以及政府和學校正在採取哪些措施來徹底防止欺凌行為發生。