Bullying

Bullying is quite a common experience in schools. If you weren’t bullied yourself, chances are you saw it happen to another kid.

Someone who is being bullied is unlikely to feel safe, included or respected in a place that they’re forced to go. It can affect their participation in school, their achievement and ultimately their life options. Bullying can lead to trauma and leave lasting impact on how someone sees themselves, sees the world around them, and their ability to cope.

We know that bullying in childhood can ultimately lead to mental illness in adolescence and adulthood. I see it a lot with my own clients, dealing with issues from horrible experiences in school and describing them as clearly as if they happened yesterday.

Here we are in 2025 and it’s still happening in schools, it’s just evolved with online bullying often having bigger and more lasting consequences than people in middle age might have experienced. Research in 2021-22 showed that nearly a third of pupils in P5-S3 had been bullied in the last 12 months.

I took a look at my old High School’s website tonight, a good thirty years since I left, and while there’s a lot of talk of supporting LGBTQ+ pupils, supporting pupil mental health and encouraging inclusion, an actual anti-bullying policy is nowhere to be seen and nothing about the schools commitment to tackling it. Nothing.

Respectme, Scotland’s Anti-Bullying service, managed by Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH) and LGBT Youth Scotland supports adults involved in the lives of children and young people and provides them with the practical skills and confidence to respond to bullying and bullying behaviour. These organisations know what they’re doing and there’s a wide range of resources available. ‘Respect for all’ is a national approach to bullying intended to ensure that all adults working with children can provide a safe and supportive environment, and that children can expect consistent support.

So really there’s no excuse for schools to just carry on regardless, particularly when we know the long-term impact that bullying has on kids. Schools may make grand talk about their values and notions of respect, but it’s meaningless unless there’s a genuine commitment on the ground to tackling bullying and supporting vulnerable children.

In the meantime, counsellors working with adults will continue to help manage the impact of bullying years afterwards. But those are a lot of lost years and missed opportunities. Scotland should be doing better.

If you would like to talk to me about working on your mental health, you can complete the online submission form or contact me directly at: mckellarCBT@gmail.com