Mobile bullying is a growing problem in the UK with a recent survey showing that one in five school children aged 6-13 have received abusive text messages. Orange launched the programme to help meet demand from schools, parents and children for more information on how to deal with this growing problem. Orange is the first operator to offer this type of support and resources to schools.
The ten minute film dramatises a case of mobile bullying, based on real life experiences of young people. The classroom activities encourage pupils to talk about the fictional characters’ experiences, rather than refer to incidents they know about. Most importantly, the film provides practical advice for pupils who have been victims of mobile bullying.
The Orange anti-bullying programme has already been successfully trialled at Patchway Community College in Bristol.
Millie Riddell, Deputy Head Teacher of Patchway Community College said, “With mobile phones now being an integral part of pupils’ lives, bullying via text messages has become a new way for bullies to target their victims and one which must be dealt with in a specific way. We welcome these resources from Orange which show children that there are actions that they can take and supports teachers in dealing with this new and growing issue.”
Carmel O’Hara, Corporate Responsibility Manager for Orange, added “Operators have an important role to play in educating people about using our services responsibly. Media reports about children whose lives are being made a misery have highlighted the issue and we wanted to step up and help address the problem. We’ve created a programme that enables teachers to approach the issue with the information and tools that they need.”
The Minister for Schools, Jim Knight MP, is supporting the work of Orange and said, "Cyber bullying is something we take very seriously. In many ways it can actually be worse than other forms of bullying because it can follow you wherever you go, making it particularly insidious. It's important that young people realise that it can be stopped. I urge any young person who receives malicious texts or emails, or any other form of electronic bullying, to report it to their teacher immediately. We will shortly be issuing guidance to schools to help them deal with this and we are working with mobile phone companies, including Orange, to see what they can do to assist in tackling the problem."
The film was developed to support the national curriculum’s Personal, Social and Health Education and Personal and Social Development lessons for 11-14 year olds.
