THE man brought in to stamp out bullying in York is no stranger to school work.

NSPCC education adviser John Stead has been appointed to the post of Anti-Bullying Alliance Regional Coordinator for Yorkshire and Humberside, a role he will carry out alongside his NSPCC work.

This week, York schools have been supporting Anti-Bullying Week, which ends today, in a number of ways, including holding special assemblies on the theme of bullying, raising the issue through the School Council and Governing Body, and writing special newsletters for parents about the school's approach to bullying.

Mr Stead said: "My role is to capture, disseminate and promote successful practice in challenging bullying.

"We now know the damaging impact that bullying can have on the lives of children and young people.

"We also know that many schools are successfully challenging bullying and are able to create a caring and supportive ethos. There is no excuse for not acting to prevent this abusive behaviour."

Bullying levels in York's secondary schools remain low, according to a recent survey of the city's secondary schools.

More than 3,000 pupils, aged between 11 and 13 took part in City of York Council's annual bullying survey, which asks pupils their views on bullying and how it is dealt with by schools.

The results show that the percentage of pupils being bullied on a regular basis has remained static, at 4.1 per cent in 2004 and 2003, compared to 4.3 per cent in 2002.

Mark Ellis, the council's principal education officer, said: "The survey provides us with a picture of pupils' confidential experiences of bullying. It's important that we listen to what they are telling us and use the information to improve our bullying policies.

"Although we are pleased that bullying levels are low, we recoginse that any harassment is a serious issue for both pupils and parents and we will continue to work with schools to try to reduce incidents even further."

The survey shows that name calling is still the most common form of bullying, though text and email harassment is on the increase.

Teachers are also becoming more vigilant and are more likely to intervene than ever before. A part of this, the council's attendance and behaviour consultant, Yvette Bent, is working the schools to develop teaching strategies that promote positive behaviour and enhance the quality of relationships between staff, pupils and the community.

Updated: 11:36 Friday, November 26, 2004