A new approach to help tackle and prevent the bullying of young people across the country has been put forward.
The Scottish Anti-Bullying Steering (SABS) Group, the body that promotes developments in anti-bullying work, have developed plans for a new vision and aims to ensure all who support young people can effectively respond to and prevent bullying.
The Scottish Government is now seeking views on what the strengths and best practices for anti-bullying in Scotland currently are; what the priorities should be going forward; and what more needs to be done both locally and nationally to tackle bullying. A consultation will run until February 26, 2010.
Speaking at the National Anti-Bullying Week Conference in Glasgow, Schools Minister Keith Brown said:
"Bullying can have a severe impact on a young person, stealing their enjoyment in life and reducing opportunities to learn and develop.
"Bullying is never acceptable, which is why we must ensure that incidences are dealt with quickly and effectively. We must also work together to prevent bullying, as much as possible, from occurring in the first place.
"Those working in Scotland's schools, as well as other agencies and organisations, are striving to ensure young people are free from barriers to learning and life that bullying can cause. That's why the Scottish Government funds respectme - our national anti-bullying service - to provide invaluable advice and support in tackling bullying.
"However, now is the time to look at how well and consistently we provide support across the country. This consultation will ensure we have a cohesive and united approach, which encompasses government, schools, local authorities, charities and other organisations, to tackling the bullying of young people in Scotland."
Alison Davies, chair of SABS and former Director of Save the Children, said:
"Preventing bullying is a very high priority for all who work with children and young people, their parents and carers.
"The Scottish Anti-Bullying Steering Group hopes that through this consultation paper we can encourage all involved in anti-bullying work to contribute their views on common aims, principles and working practices. This will help to shape services and support as we work together towards a shared goal.
"There is a great deal of good work going on across Scotland to tackle bullying, however we also need to know where there are gaps and to capture views, experiences and new thinking from across a range of sectors."
The Scottish Anti-Bullying Steering Group includes representatives from the Scottish Government, COSLA, Association of Directors of Education Scotland, HMIE, Care Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland, Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, Learning and Teaching Scotland, Community Learning and Development Managers Scotland, respectme, CHILDREN 1st, Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care, LGBT Youth Scotland, Scottish Association for Mental Health, Children's Parliament, and Youth Scotland.
The Scottish Government provides £350,000 per year to fund respectme, Scotland's national anti-bullying service, who work with schools, local authorities and other agencies to support anti-bullying work. The Scottish Government also provide £160,000 a year to fund the Childline anti-bullying advice service.