Bullying in schools is a major problem not just for the victims and schools but also for society as a whole, with thousands of bullied children leaving education and failing to reach their full potential every year. That is the message Liberal Democrat MP David Howarth gave to the Government at a Westminster debate last month. David Howarth went on to criticise what he perceives to be the Government's policy of placing bullied children in pupil referral units which are designed for children with behavioural problems asserting that such a policy "...lumps them in... with children who have very different types of problem..."

Anti-bullying charity Red Balloon has highlighted the extent of the problem of bullying in schools, stating that as many as 6,000 children leave mainstream education annually because of bullying.

By law, all schools must adopt an anti-bullying policy; there is, however, no clear guidance on what this is to include, resulting in huge discrepancies between school attitudes towards the problem.

Children's Minister Dawn Primarolo has said the Government plans to investigate these figures and will continue working with local authorities to try to ensure that bullied children are not forced out of the education system.

Educating pupils and schools about the implications of bullying is vital in order to help eradicate this issue. dbda's "Life's Journey" resource, designed for 12-14 year olds, demonstrates some of the issues and consequences around bullying and peer pressure and provides teachers with a sound, educational basis to implement new ways of tackling these issues in schools.

This year's anti-bullying week runs from 16-20 November.