Cork children turning to Childline to highlight bullying concerns amid return to school

A NUMBER of children in Cork are turning to Childline as a last resort after being left in serious fear of their classmates, this newspaper can reveal. 

Childline has been working with young service users who suffered extreme anxiety about returning to school in recent days after being impacted by everything from physical bullying to emotional abuse. 

As well as its 24/7 listening service, the organisation now offers an initiative known as Smart Moves, teacher-led evidence-based sessions that provide young people with a range of strategies aimed at enhancing their resilience.

The programme also helps  children as they prepare to transition from primary  to  secondary school.

Cork woman and community engagement manager with the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC), Victoria Howson, said:

“School refusal is an issue that often comes up for us and parents are really feeling the pressure of that this time of year. Children and young people were able to hide during the summer and now they are preparing to meeting meet their bullies again.

"The worry is that when they go back it’s all going to start again.

“It is particularly difficult for some children returning to school who don’t like the routine or the feeling of being almost trapped," she added. 

"For the next couple of hours in the day they are somewhere where they don’t want to be. We also have the parents and caregivers asking how they can help their child in this situation when they also have to send them to school. You are coming up against something that you don’t have a choice in."

'Such Force'

Ms Howson highlighted one story involving a child the charity was dealing with who attempted to keep his nightmare a secret.

“There was one case of a boy who was shoved into a wall with such force that a picture in the corridor fell down, breaking the glass”, she told The Echo. “The boy had cut himself when picking up the glass to try to hide what had happened. It was hard enough that he had a mark on him but things like that had been happening all the time to this child. Physical bullying doesn’t always have to take the form of a severe beating. It can also involve physical alternations that are quite frequent."

Ms Howson said the school were extremely supportive when the matter was finally brought to their attention.

“A lot of the time the child will be hesitant to tell somebody because they don’t want to come across like a tattle tale," she explained. 

"If you are looking at physical bullying or even general bullying, there is a level of shame and embarrassment attached. People will often think they are having some light bulb moment when they ask 'why don’t you just tell someone?' - unfortunately, it’s not that easy. A lot of the young people that we talk to won’t open up about it at first because they feel shame and embarrassment as if they somehow allowed this to happen. 

"If they tell you about it it’s almost like admitting a weakness that they are not liked by people," she added. 

"They will mistakenly feel there is something about them that made them a target."

Ms Howson described the shock that can occur for someone affected by physical bullying.

“When something like this happens, you are physically hurt but also emotionally shaken by the experience," she explained. 

"This is because someone has used physical dominance on you and that can stay with you just because of the unexpected nature of it. Physical altercations aren’t something that are the norm for the most part. When they do happen they can shake you to your core."

The Cork woman outlined the knock on difficulties for parents unsure of how to help their children.

"Parents and caregivers may also have anxiety because they themselves didn’t like school themselves," she said. "They know what they are putting their child or young person through. 

"They also feel that frustration knowing that there is very little they can do."

Ms Howson stressed that there is hope for children and parents in this situation.

“There is a lot of help available, including Smart Moves which operates as part of Childline and helps children prepare for the transition between primary and secondary school," she said.

Childline comes under the umbrella of the ISPCC. To find out more about the charity visit www.ispcc.ie.