'One in three children faces bullying at school'

One in three children are bullied at school and a quarter are threatened with physical violence. More than one in 10 have also suffered a physical attack, according to a Mori poll carried out for the Association of Teachers and Lecturers.

The survey of 2,600 11 to 16-year-olds found the worst problems among younger children, with more than half of 11-year-olds reporting incidents, compared with a quarter of 15 and 16-year-olds. Nearly one in three said their teachers were not aware of bullying, while one in 11 said they had missed school because of their fear of violence.

A quarter of pupils were worried about travelling to and from schools. Girls were more concerned about violence and problems on the journey to school than boys, although boys were three times as likely to have been attacked at school.

The report was launched to coincide with the start of the union's annual conference in Belfast. Delegates will debate the implications of government policies on social inclusion on Wednesday. Teachers have warned that measures to help keep difficult children in school may make it impossible to maintain discipline.

External links: Bullying in the workplace |Bullying stats UK |How to deal with bullying |Information on bullying |The serial bully |Bullying, a bibliography |