NEW BID TO BEAT BULLYING

The group has held a series of meetings since being formed in May by Mark Dunn, cabinet member for children and young people's services, following an inquest into the tragic death of Ben Vodden, an 11-year-old schoolboy from Horsham.

Ben's parents, Paul and Caroline Vodden, have been closely involved with this work and attended a final meeting of the task force at County Hall.

Key recommendations considered and supported by the group, which cabinet members at County Hall are shortly to consider adopting,

include:

Providing a 'hotline' to the county council for parents who are unhappy with the way their child's school responds to alleged bullying.

Providing an information line for pupils, supported by a specialist anti-bullying caseworker who will work with families and schools to resolve children's concerns.

Establishing new reporting arrangements concerning the way schools record and follow up incidents of bullying.

Updating the county's 2005-2008 anti-bullying strategy in the light of progress and new challenges (such as 'cyber bullying') since 2005.

Setting up a driver accreditation scheme. This would include independent references and a training programme for drivers and managers. This will reinforce the importance of appropriate pupil management, in terms of acceptable adult/child behaviour during all journeys to and from school.

For full story see West Sussex Gazette October 3