Bullying is an issue that leaves few of us untouched, whether we have seen it, done it or had it done to us.

The impact of bullying can be profound and have serious short- and long-term effects on the physical, emotional and mental wellbeing of children and young people. Children need to be protected from bullying behaviour so that they can survive, develop and participate in a fulfilling life.

When we respond to bullying incidents, children and young people are watching and listening intently. Are we taking it seriously? Do we take time to listen or are we too busy? Will we listen to and include what they want to happen in any action that is taken? Will we consider the full consequences of that action?

• Bullying: We need to listen to pupils’ school experience
• Research: Why your anti-bullying strategy isn’t working
• Long read: How one Scottish school tackled bullying by focusing on relationships and empathy
• School bullying: What Northern Irish legislation tells us

While working with Scotland’s anti-bullying service respectme to co-design our latest campaign, young people shared their own experiences of not feeling heard when they reported bullying to an adult. They wanted to encourage adults to actively listen, to take children and young people seriously, to know that bullying is a violation of children’s rights and to place those rights at the heart of all effective responses to bullying.

As an adult, your response to a bullying situation is an opportunity to show the young people in your life that we are there to support them, and to tell them that bullying is never acceptable - it is not a “normal” part of growing up and it is not something they need to put up with. On behalf of respectme and the members of its Youth Action Group, I ask each of you to take steps to Listen Up! (that’s the name of our new campaign) for children and young people.

Respectme is inviting educators, schools, youth and sports club settings to commit to a five-step action plan, devised with members of the Youth Action Group:

Step 1: Register for respectme’s free Anti-Bullying Learning Academy eLearning modules by clicking here.

Step 2: Refresh, review and update current anti-bullying policies.

Step 3: Create a pupil forum or anti-bullying committee to inform anti-bullying policy and practice.

Step 4: Create simple, safe pathways for reporting bullying that protect children’s rights.

Step 5: Involve children and young people with Listen Up! (Respect Our Rights) activities and messages for Anti-Bullying Week - look for the hashtag #ImListening22.

Find the pledge and everything needed to explore respectme’s new anti-bullying campaign here. Download the pledge card and pin on school walls and noticeboards so that children and young people see your commitment.

Lisa Armstrong is joint interim director of respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service

*For Anti-Bullying Week 2022, Tes aims to helps children deal with online bullying through the launch of the second of its Live Lesson series - a new interactive lesson for older primary school pupils on online bullying, with internet-safety experts Childnet. For more details and to sign up at the Tes Live Lessons hub, click here.