“Bullying affects millions of lives and can leave us feeling hopeless. But it doesn’t have to be this way. If we challenge it, we can change it. And it starts by reaching out.” 
The Anti-Bullying Alliance (organisers of Anti-Bullying Week) 

The theme of this year’s Anti-Bullying Week 2022 is ‘Reach Out’ and the goal is to empower school teachers and children to do something positive to counter the harm and hurt that bullying causes.

In support of this, we’re encouraging all clubs to reach out to their members and: 

1. Remind everyone of the importance of signing up to and modelling your club’s codes of conduct.

2. Raise awareness of your club’s Anti-Bullying Policy.

3. Ask parents/carers to complete The FA’s free online parent/carer course.

As the Anti-Bullying Alliance (organisers of Anti-Bullying Week) say: “As a parent or carer, you are a vital piece of the puzzle in tackling bullying. You have a unique role to play in guiding and supporting your child through their school years and there are many positive steps you can take to help keep your child safe from bullying and harm. One of the steps is knowing when to ask for support.”

Sometimes bullying that happens in one context (e.g. school) can spill over in to other activities (e.g. football) so it’s important we work together to address this.

You can access the Anti-Bullying Week 2022 Parents Pack here.

If you are worried about bullying and need some advice you can:

Speak to your Club Welfare Officer or another club official, or contact the Kidscape Parent Advice Line or any of the support groups listed below:

• Family Lives - www.familylives.org.uk

• Parent Zone (digital family life) - www.parentzone.org.uk/home 

• Red Balloon Learner Centres - www.redballoonlearner.org 

• YoungMinds (for support with mental health) - www.youngminds.org.uk 

• Papyrus UK (suicide prevention support) - www.papyrus-uk.org

• Report Harmful Content (for cyberbullying and online harms) - www.reportharmfulcontent.com 

• Childnet International (for cyberbullying and online harms) - www.childnet.com 

• Internet Matters (for cyberbullying and online harms) - www.internetmatters.org/issues/cyberbullying/