Nursery World - Time to face down the bullies 24/7

Using technology to bully is a 'scary new phenomenon' where children cannot escape their tormentors, delegates at a national conference heard last week. Abusive text messages, e-mails and blogs are increasingly being used to victimise children, according to Lindsay Gilbert, head of CHiPS at ChildLine. Speaking at the No Bullying! conference, organised by 4Children, she said, 'At one time children could go home and be safe, but now bullies can bully 24/7.

Abusive text messages, e-mails and blogs are increasingly being used to victimise children, according to Lindsay Gilbert, head of CHiPS at ChildLine. Speaking at the No Bullying! conference, organised by 4Children, she said, 'At one time children could go home and be safe, but now bullies can bully 24/7.

'Mobile phone and internet providers are taking this issue very seriously and are blocking and changing children's numbers as a result. Text and e-mails give tangible evidence, so we tell children to keep them and show them. They can be a wake-up call for schools struggling to deal with bullying, because it does not matter if it is happening at 7pm in the evening, the likelihood is that it is happening in school too. It is important to take it seriously, use the texts or e-mails as evidence and keep a record.

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