By Gemma Simpson, 21 September 2007 12:41
NEWS
The government has launched a campaign to help schools tackle cyber bullying.
The campaign will cost £200,000 and features guidance and a short film to help schools deal with people who use the internet or mobiles to bully other children or abuse their teachers.
The guidance includes tips on preventing cyber bullying, including: not responding to malicious text or emails, saving evidence of cyber bullying, reporting incidents, keeping passwords safe and not giving out personal details over the web.
silicon.com Public Sector
Get the latest public sector news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the PS newsletter today!
Ed Balls, secretary of state for the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), said cyber bullying is a "particularly insidious type of bullying" because it can follow young people wherever they go while the perpetrator can remain anonymous, making it even more stressful for the victim.
Balls said in a statement: "Bullying evolves as society and technology changes, so schools need to get to grips with newer forms of bullying and the different impact these have on the victim."
An online campaign will also feature on websites - including social networking sites - used by schoolchildren, such as Bebo, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo!.
A recent study by the DCSF found 34 per cent of 12 to 15 years olds have experienced some form of cyber bullying, which can include threats, intimidation, harassment or 'cyber-stalking', unauthorised publication of private information or images, impersonation and 'happy slapping'.
Comments
There is 1 comment. Join the discussion
1. Roger Huffadine
ha - on m' soapbox ag'in -
Schools do not have the resources to police cyber bullying.
When the government makes £20k p.a. available to each school to combat cyber bullying we can expect to see results.
No money = no results
It takes between 0.5 and 1 man day per incident to gather evidence, archive it, write the report, contact the service provider and reinforce the web filtering in a way that won't isolate the school from the outside World.
bin there got Tee shirt