Bullying

1. This is an issue which is causing increasing concern to parents.
2. Your child’s school must have a discipline policy which sets out the steps it should take to prevent bullying.
3. If your child is bullied, you should inform the school immediately. It would be advisable to inform the school verbally straightaway and also to confirm this in writing and keep a copy of your written notification. Legally, the school is obliged to do all it reasonably can to protect children from bullying. A school might be held to be legally responsible for failing to stop bullying in serious cases where a child has been caused serious harm and where they could have realised this might happen.
4. The Law Centre will, in principle, be able to assist parents in disputes with schools regarding bullying. This will, of course, depend on the individual facts of the case. It is, however, very important that you obtain legal advice if you are seeking to pursue any claim for damages against the school or the Local Education Authority or if you are seeking to have your child transferred to another school in order to get him or her away from the problem. It may be possible that the involvement of a lawyer might be sufficient to persuade the school to put in place satisfactory arrangements which will prevent the bullying.

Although every effort is made to ensure the information in this leaflet is accurate and up to date, it should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law and does not constitute legal advice - we cannot be held liable for any inaccuracies and their consequences. The information in this leaflet is written for people resident in, or affected by, the laws of England and Wales only.

June 2003