Children talking to ChildLine about bullying

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Children talking to ChildLine about bullying

November 2008

Front cover of Children talking to ChildLine about bullying ChildLine Casenotes is a series of reports based on analysis of calls to ChildLine, a free confidential helpline for children and young people in the UK provided by the NSPCC.

Children talking to ChildLine about bullying (PDF, 211KB) is based on detailed analysis of calls to ChildLine between April 2007 and March 2008.

Key findings

Bullying was the biggest single reason for children and young people calling ChildLine in 2007/08.
In 2007/08, 32,562 children and young people spoke to ChildLine about bullying as their main problem, representing 18 per cent of all calls answered.
Of these 32,562 children and young people who called, 19,994 were girls (representing 17 per cent of all calls to ChildLine by girls) and 12,568 were boys (representing 22 per cent of all calls to ChildLine by boys).
As well as the 32,562 callers, 5,132 children and young people called to talk about another issue but also mentioned bullying as an additional problem.
In total, 37,694 children and young people spoke to ChildLine in 2007/08 about bullying (either specifically or among other subjects), representing 21 per cent of all calls answered.
The number of calls answered by ChildLine about bullying as the main reason for the call has fallen slightly.
In 2007/08, calls about bullying represented 18 per cent of calls compared to 23 per cent in the previous year. This could be a reflection of changes in government policy, the promotion of peer support, or in children accessing help through other sources, such as online services.

Children talking to ChildLine about bullying

November 2008

Key findings

Children talking to ChildLine about bullying (PDF, 211KB)

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