Cyber-bullying can be defined as the use of ICT to upset someone else. It is often an extension of face-to-face bullying, with technology providing the bully with another route to harass their target. However, it differs in several significant ways: the invasion of home and personal space; the difficulty in controlling electronically circulated messages; the size of the audience and perceived anonymity.

Cyber-bullying can take a number of different forms:

• threats and intimidation
• harassment or “cyber-stalking”
• vilification / defamation
• exclusion or peer rejection
• impersonation
• manipulation
• unauthorised publication of private information or images (including what are sometimes misleadingly referred to as ‘happy slapping’ images)

Cyber-bullying doesn’t only affect pupils. It also affects school staff who may be ridiculed, threatened and otherwise abused online by pupils.

While some cyber-bullying is clearly deliberate and aggressive, it is important to recognise that some incidents of cyber-bullying are unintentional and the result of simply not thinking about the consequences. What may be sent as a joke, may not be received as one. The distance that technology allows in communication means the sender may not see the impact of the message on the receiver and there is less opportunity for either party to resolve any misunderstanding or to feel empathy.

For more information download the Dcfs report -
Safe to Learn: Embedding Anti-Bullying Work in Schools - Cyber-bullying