Teachers 'help bullied pupils build confidence'

Primary and secondary school staff have an important role to play in helping children build confidence and assert themselves, says a children's mental health charity.

Hannah Smith, YoungMinds' policy and media officer, said that a child's education could suffer as a result of bullying.

Having access to someone to talk to whether it be a parent, an advice line or someone at school is a key part of helping bullied children regain their self-esteem, she said.

Ms Smith added that resources such as Childline played a valuable role in teaching young people to express and manage their feelings.

Her comments follow figures released earlier this week by Childline which suggest that boys are increasingly using the telephone counselling service.

The advice line helped support a record number of boys last year, more than double the amount five years ago.

While Childline welcomes an increase in boys feeling able to talk about their feelings, it says that more needs to be done to support children.

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