Many of the young people polled said the effects of bullying have continued to cast a shadow over their lives after leaving school. Nearly half (46%) said that being bullied has had a long lasting effect on their self-esteem and confidence since leaving school and almost 37% of those bullied said it had had a negative effect on their ability to form personal relationships.
40% of those young people who were bullied said access to a supportive teacher trained in dealing with bullying would have made a difference. Yet, 70% of the 170 teachers surveyed said there was inadequate support for schools working with children with mental health issues and over half would value better training. 57% of teachers said in-school counsellors would help schools better support these vulnerable children.
In a separate survey conducted with the Royal College of General Practitioners, 92% of the 126 family doctors surveyed said they have had no formal training, resources or information to help them support children and young people with symptoms that relate to bullying. They confirmed that bullying has long lasting effects with 92% of GPs having seen adults with symptoms relating to childhood bullying.